Halo 5’s forge feature launched last December, and already people are starting to put together some pretty creative maps. Much like Halo 4, 343i has already started to include forge maps in a custom playlist called “Community Breakout” where players can vote on their favorite forge maps. They have also indicated that these maps may be mixed into regular match-making in”dedicated weekend socials.”
However, if you aren’t interested in waiting for 343i to start mixing in Forge maps, they are always available to play in the Custom Game menu if you have friends to play with. In order to download a forge map, you must first be friends with the maker of the map on Xbox Live. Then from the Custom Game menu, press x. Hit RB to access your friends list and select the make of the map you wish to play on. A menu should pop up that has the option Map Variants. Click A and select the map from the list that you would like to play.
Check out the list for maps that are re-creations of old Halo maps, ones that are inspired by other franchises, custom game types that play with new gameplay mechanics in Halo 5, and a wellspring of other imaginative forge maps.
Name: Primus
Maker: Omni42
This impressive map is perfect for the Metroid Prime fan. Glowing cooled magma mixes with elements of platforming to create a map that looks and feels a lot like playing the popular Gamecube Metroid title.
Name: Avalanche
Maker: Julianoz1224
Avalanche has been a staple custom game in Halo since it was created in Halo Reach. This ultimate king of the hill style game features Spartans in an epic battle against an avalanche of snowballs.
Name: Battle of Hoth (Aesthetic)
Maker: Bearscopff
Some of the maps featured on this list are simply aesthetically impressive creations, just like this re-creation of an AT-AT from the Battle of Hoth. The colossal machine doesn’t move, but it will move the Star Wars fan in you.
Name: Mongoose Sumo
Maker: TurbTastic
This custom game type showed up first in Halo 2 Anniversary, and finds new life in Halo 5. The premise of the game is simple, one team on mongooses tries to push another team of mongooses off of the platform. As the game goes on the platform gets smaller.
Name: Simulation (Halo 3 The Pit remake)
Maker: Berserk on XBL & Lil Black Bubba
The Pit is one of the more beloved maps from Halo 3, and also found its way into Halo 4 as Pitfall. In this re-imagination of the map several details are changed to account for the new Spartan abilities available in Halo 5. Sight lines are opened up in order to create a faster gameplay style.
Name: Twice Forsaken
Maker: SecretSchnitzel
A pretty simple map featuring four towers, a bridge, and pathways between the features, Twice Forsaken is a map that takes advantage of Halo’s increasingly vertical gameplay. Weapons are placed in risk-reward areas. The risk being that the player opens themselves up to be shot, while the reward is a coveted power weapon.
Name: Halvalla (Halo 3 Valhalla remake)
Maker: No God Anywhere
Anyone who has ever played Halo 3 remembers playing every other match on this classic. Halvalla is a painstakingly detailed remake of the huge map, Valhalla. Maintaining sight lines and aesthetics with the fast-paced play will give Halo fans a uniquely nostalgic experience.
Name: Lava Pit
Maker: PRz ii Webo
This custom game plays a lot like Mongoose Sumo, but rather than trying to maintain position on a platform, the player is thrown into a cylindrical pit tasked with avoiding the lava at the bottom. In a free-for-all, players will attempt to knock the other Warthogs off the edge or into the molten hot magma.
Name: Super Mario 64 (Aesthetic)
Maker: Bearskopff
There probably aren’t too many people that look at Halo and think “I’d really like to play in front of Peach’s Castle, but after seeing this map there may be a few more. Sticking with the aesthetic and color pallet of Super Mario 64, this map will get the player watching his/her back for goombas.
Name: Wipeout
Maker: Unsorted Guy
Can Chief survive the embarrassment of being knocked into the water on this replica of the obstacle course from ABC’s Wipeout? Dodge, jump, run, and finesse your way through the labyrinth of obstacles as you try to reach the end of the course.
Name: Uncaged (Halo Reach remake)
Maker: Beshem Yeshua
Halo 3 isn’t the only iteration that has gotten love in Halo 5’s forge feature. This remake of Uncaged from Halo Reach stays true to the original with a few slight variations that attempt to take advantage of the new Halo 5 gameplay mechanics.
Map: Pac-Man
Maker: SexyMasterChief
Pac-man was a custom game that was introduced in Halo 4. Players try to navigate the maze while avoiding or eliminating the opposing team on Ghosts.
Name: Jurassic World dwxx mrg
Maker: DEATH WEAPONxx & Mike G Live
Another mash-up of franchises sees Halo 5 meet Jurassic World in this custom map. Complete with a shark-eating mosasaurus and giant reptiles fighting each other in the center of the map.
Name: MLG Narrows V1 (Competitive)
Maker: Resivore
This map is a re-creation of the competitive variation of Narrows from Halo 3. Featuring the two lifts that carry players from one side of the map to the other and the MLG-specific weapons locations including sniper, rockets, and shotgun.
Name: Drive Thru (Aesthetic)
Maker: Pandaz 4 Life
When the crew starts getting a little famished from a marathon of Halo playing, allow them to pull up to this interpretation of McDonalds in Drive Thru. This map is a bit incomplete as it doesn’t feature a double quarter pounder with cheese.
Name: Clockwork
Maker: Panyc333
Clockwork is an original competitive arena-style map. It is designed to highlight the new spartan abilities in Halo 5 with a heavy emphasis on close-quarters-combat. The map also features areas designed for weapon juggles.
Name: Ground Pound Arena
Maker: zzSOzz or Patty Freakin
Ground Pound Arena is a new custom game type that features a small cylindrical room with an assortment of lifts and platforms from which players attempt to ground pound their opponents. Just watch the gameplay. It is complete mayhem.
Name: Luxury
Maker: Epicookies
Racetracks have become a very popular thing to create in forge. Luxury is a two-car wide track that features 5 jumps as the players race to the finish on both man-made structures and the terrain.
Name: Rainbow Six Siege
Maker: Denis109xd
Halo meets a different kind of tactical gameplay style in this mash-up with a Rainbow Six Siege style map. Complete with destructible walls and a multi-level house, there are plenty of ways to attack and defend this structure in breakout.
Map: Perplexity (Inception-style)
Maker: Scootiee
Perplexity is the acid-trip of the Halo forge maps featured in this list, with most of the map forcing the spartan to play at a 45 degree angle. This inception-style map will mess with the player’s head.
Name: Haunted Estate
Maker: Scootiee
Darkness reigns in this eerie rendition of a haunted house. With features like a graveyard and hidden passageways accented by very little light and dense fog, this map will provide the perfect spooky setting for Infection.
Name: Severed
Maker: RD Katrell 22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvgm17vRVrQ
Severed is another original competitive arena-style map that while appearing to be wide open actually has very limited lines of sight. Players will have to utilize strategic jumps and grenade throws to gain access to the map’s power weapons.
Name: Cantina
Maker: Shooty Person
Yet another Star Wars inspired map, Cantina actually provides a playable map option for fans of the series. The sand-covered terrain, abandoned speeder, and diner will have the player feeling like they have stepped right onto Tatooine.
Name: Golden Eye’s Facility
Maker: BlueFlash
Keeping with the theme of maps inspired by other properties, this map is a re-imagining of the Facility map featured in the second mission of Golden Eye on N64.
Name: Boardwalk
Maker: TFA Daryl
Boardwalk is another map that was popular in Halo: Reach and has been recreated by TFA Daryl. This wide open map features the gigantic staircase in the center leading down to a corridor under the map. It maintains the feel and the angles of the original.
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