Halo Campaign Evolved Review – Crisis of Identity

Halo Campaign Evolved is the fourth release of the first Halo game, and the first release under the Halo Studios banner (formerly known as 343 Industries). It’s an interesting experiment in rereleasing a classic 25 years after its original launch and expanding its player base by making it playable on the PlayStation 5 as well as Xbox Series X|S and PC. 

However, it’s not a complete remake as the title suggests, instead opting to focus on the campaign portion of the original Halo. There could be several reasons for this decision, including the existence of Halo Infinite and its multiplayer offering, as well as Halo The Master Chief Collection (MCC) already featuring all of the original’s multiplayer. 

It’s a tricky situation, one that mostly new players will benefit from, as Halo Campaign Evolved needs to answer one simple question: Why would anyone buy it and play it if they’ve already bought and played this game three separate times?

TL;DR

Halo Campaign Evolved is a litmus test for Halo Studios, and the results are mixed. With the absence of multiplayer and the addition of three new campaign missions, this Halo remake feels like little more than a test drive for future releases, which will hopefully be more original instead of retreading familiar ground again and again.

Story – Playing It Safe, For Better or Worse

Halo is a 25-year-old franchise, and most gamers have already played the original or are at least familiar with its premise. You play as the Master Chief, or John-117, an enhanced soldier who fights alongside humanity against the Covenant, a union of alien races that worship the Halo rings. 

The first game focuses on Master Chief’s first encounter with a Halo ring and his introduction to Cortana, his AI companion. Halo Combat Evolved never had an amazing story, but it set the foundations of a massive franchise which would then be expanded with games, books, and other media. 

As a remake, Halo Campaign Evolved doesn’t deviate from the original story but tries to introduce more context wherever appropriate. This is mostly done through CGI cutscenes with mixed results. Character movements are irregular, facial animations are uncanny, and direction is hit or miss. Apart from that, this is the first Halo campaign as you remember it, which is a good thing.

New Missions Add Little Value

One of the selling points of Halo Campaign Evolved is the introduction of three prequel missions. These take place before the original game and focus on the Master Chief and Sergeant Major Johnson as they infiltrate a Covenant spaceship. In terms of balancing, these missions assume you’ve already played the original campaign and feature harder combat encounters. 

In terms of story, they’re inconsequential and shy away from introducing any major plot elements that could potentially break existing lore. This is a shame, as simply introducing three new levels to play without worthwhile context is a missed opportunity. They’re over in a blink of an eye, and you’ll then be free to focus on the main campaign. Bizarrely, these missions aren’t organically woven with the existing levels and instead launch from a separate menu in Halo Campaign Evolved.

Gameplay – Relying on Your Muscle Memory

Halo’s gameplay is one of its most defining characteristics, and it’s mostly untouched here. Halo Studios has done a good job in modernizing the game’s visuals without sacrificing the underlying feel of the game. The Master Chief moves, jumps, shoots, and hits enemies just how you remember it, with a few caveats. 

Most notably, Halo Campaign Evolved features a sprint button. This changes the game’s feel to some extent, but you can disable it altogether. The same goes for ADS, with each weapon having its own aiming mechanism compared to the original, which was lacking in that department. 

Likewise, the team introduced weapons from subsequent games into Halo Campaign Evolved to extend its arsenal and allow players to use their favorite gadgets and armor abilities. It’s a healthy balance of old and new, but seasoned veterans may feel like the game steered too far into full remake territory.

Reworked Levels with a Few Surprises

One of the biggest weaknesses of the first Halo has to do with its pacing and level design. As a title on the original Xbox, Halo Combat Evolved didn’t have the most exciting levels. Its core strength lies in the gameplay and multiplayer. 

Halo Campaign Evolved aims to rectify that somewhat with twists to existing levels, introducing variety and unexpected changes. These are subtle in some areas and more notable in others, with different pacing or order of objectives sprinkled throughout the levels. 

The game also allows you to remix enemy encounters throughout the whole campaign for even more freshness if you’re a returning player. Overall, the team didn’t overdo it by completely rebuilding classic levels, but they’ve done a good enough job to make sure they’re not boring if you’ve played the first Halo before.

Visuals – Unreal Engine 5 on Top of Halo’s Skeleton

Halo Campaign Evolved retains the feel of the original trilogy to keep the experience consistent for new and returning players. This means Halo Studios opted to use the Blam engine for the underlying gameplay logic while using the Unreal Engine 5 for visuals. It bypasses the Slipspace engine used in Halo Infinite and goes for a hybrid approach. 

In practice, this means Halo Campaign Evolved feels like a Halo game but doesn’t exactly “look” like one. Unreal Engine 5 has been a mixed bag for developers over the years, and despite many improvements, it still struggles to provide consistent performance. We tested the game on Xbox Series X, where the game offers two visual modes, one focusing on performance while the other on graphical fidelity. 

The game unfortunately features a lot of pop-in and inconsistencies in visuals, including shadows and textures. These are less evident during combat with dozens of enemies and marines on screen, however. The performance mode offers a smoother gameplay experience, and it was our preferred method of play thanks to its 60FPS target.

Audio – Familiar Music Mixed with Strange Voice Direction

One of the things Halo has always been known for is its audio design. From the banter of human soldiers to various alien languages you’ll hear during combat, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience. Paired with distinctly designed weapons, each having its own weight, feel, and sound, and you have a recipe for a fun and engaging shooter. 

However, the staple of Halo has always been its main menu music, which quickly became the franchise’s anthem. Marty O’Donnell’s work on Halo is a gift that keeps on giving, with the soundtrack being carefully remastered for this release. The original Halo featured a less orchestral and more “early 2000s sci-fi” soundtrack compared to the rest of the games, and the same vibes are present here. In terms of voice direction, the results are uneven. The prequel missions feature entirely new voice lines and story, thus needing new recordings. 

In these missions, the Master Chief is too talkative, sharing banter with Johnson and other Marines too often. At this point in the story, John-117 is a programmer supersoldier with little to show in terms of humanity. Cortana breaks down his barriers over the course of several games, and this prequel campaign is odd from that perspective. 

However, this is something only existing fans will pick up on, as new players won’t mind. Until they start the main campaign, that is, and notice that the main character says a line or two of dialogue each mission at the most.

Conclusion – Should You Play Halo Campaign Evolved?

Halo Campaign Evolved sits at a strange intersection where it doesn’t commit to enough new material to entice existing fans. On the other hand, it doesn’t modernize Halo’s formula enough to bring it in line with modern players’ expectations, featuring nostalgic gameplay the original Bungie team created 25 years ago. 

Players who never experienced Master Chief’s story will enjoy playing Halo Campaign Evolved, but with an asterisk. Halo MCC is not available on the PlayStation 5, and they’ll either have to wait for a Halo 2 remake or find different ways to continue the story elsewhere. Besides that, PS5 players can’t experience Halo’s multiplayer, which is one of its biggest strengths and the reason so many communities have grown around it over the years. 

In some ways, rereleasing Halo MCC on the PlayStation 5 while focusing on a brand-new Halo game would have been the smarter choice. As it stands, there’s an aura of expectations surrounding Halo Studios in terms of their next project, with fans hoping for games that take the story forward.

Halo Campaign Evolved was released on July 28th on the Xbox Series X|S, the PlayStation 5, and the PC. You can also play it via Xbox GamePass Ultimate.

Big thanks to Xbox for sponsoring our review!