Halo: Campaign Evolved Review – I Think We’re Just Getting Started

After restructuring, rebranding, and renaming, Halo Studios (previously 343 Industries) has finally release their first Halo game under the new name and new leadership. After Bungie left the IP to Microsoft, this new studio was created for the task of keeping the franchise alive. But with leadership changes and layoffs from Microsoft, the team hasn’t seemed to keep a consistent roster, let alone consistent games. While Halo Infinite was a big improvement on the campaign elements over Halo 4 and 5, it still left out some features core to the franchise.

Under this new leadership, the decision was made to build the next Halo games in the Unreal Engine. To test out this task and get the team familiar with the engine, the studio decided to remake the first Halo, Halo: Combat Evolved. As a big Halo fan, I personally wasn’t very excited for a Combat Evolved remake. We’ve already got the Anniversary remaster twice, once as a standalone and again in the Master Chief Collection. With Master Chief Collection, I already felt it was a great entryway into the series, and they should’ve taken this Unreal test with something like a new spin-off or the never-released Halo 3 Anniversary. Still, I’ll take any Halo over none at all.  

With this remake, titled Halo: Campaign Evolved, one of my worries was that the feel and look of Halo would be difficult to achieve in the Unreal Engine. Thankfully, these are the elements that most shine in the remake. The art style continues to respect the tones and atmosphere of Halo. That blue plasma fire from the Covenant weapons, in combination with those other Covenant purple and green military-sci-fi color palettes, perfectly captures the battlefield in a mysterious world against an alien race. The Marines keep that Aliens-film-inspired aesthetic, and Master Chief’s Mark V armor looks better than ever.

The arsenal has been expanded to keep that Halo feeling present with weapons from other games, such as the M7 SMG from Halo 2, now available to use for the first time in the Combat Evolved campaign. Thankfully, since the team is using a hybrid between Unreal and Halo’s previous engine, the Halo feeling remains thanks to the physics still being an important element that helps keep the game replayable due to the diversity it creates. However, while I’ve never cared for the sprint debate in the series, I think here it’s very noticeable because of the game’s level design choices.

One of the issues I’ve had with 343/Halo Studios’ previous games is the compact level design and smaller sandbox scale in comparison to the original Halo trilogy. What I most loved about Halo 3 (my favorite game in the franchise) is the big open missions the game offers, which were greatly inspired by the levels in Combat Evolved. While Halo Infinite included an open world-like design, it still fell short on the sandbox elements, with the game offering very little variety and thus replayability. Here, the team continues to bring that philosophy of a more compact level design, making levels from the original shorter and smaller, hence the fastest I’ve finished a Halo campaign.

Granted, I completely agree that the level design in some of the Combat Evolved original missions hasn’t aged well, with repetitive hallways and sections. The Library level in this version cuts a lot of the tedious hallways, but it is substituted by smaller sections as well. A big example of this is the elevators on the level, with the original being a large one inside a massive structure, whereas the remake is a smaller one in an already compact room. With these changes, the remake lacks the sense of scale the original is known for. That feeling of awe and freedom of exploration that these enormous alien structures and wide backgrounds caused in the original is simply not felt as much here.

Another element that felt short in this remake is the animations, especially in the new bonus missions. The animations in some of the cutscenes feel rough and unfinished. Not sure if this is due to a rush, since most Halo mainline games have been released in late months of the year as tradition. The problems with animation also translate into gameplay, with some actions not being possible to cancel, such as throwing a grenade while reloading, which greatly affects the gameplay flow found in previous games.

Fortunately, the cutscenes are carried by the superb voices of Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, and the rest of the cast re-recording the text from the original and adding new dialogue as well. Keston John replaces David Scully as the voice of Sergeant Johnson, doing an uncanny imitation, while also bringing his own take on the character when needed. All these performers do greatly in preserving the magic and uniqueness of the Combat Evolved story and its characters, making it a great entry for those looking to get into the Halo story and lore.

Speaking of lore, new terminals with additional story have been added alongside skulls that improve the gameplay experience. One of my favorites is the Perspective Skull, which transforms the POV into a third-person perspective. This, in combination with the dynamic Halo AI -which could still use some work but is still an improvement over the latest entries- offers a new and entertaining way to experience this story, even for Halo veterans like me who have replayed the original many times, including the LASO encounters.

Even without the LASO settings, the game still offers a challenging difficulty, and new modifiers have been added for those who want a simpler ride. One thing is for sure, though: for the next remakes, they need to include a multiplayer experience if no standalone multiplayer has been released by then. Halo’s multiplayer is one of the series’ most important aspects that new players should experience as well, and in this remake, it is greatly missed.

This might not be the new Halo game I was hoping for after the time frame it’s taking to receive a new game, but I’m still glad that Halo: Campaign Evolved exists with the hope of bringing new fans to the series, therefore keeping the franchise alive. This is also by far 343/Halo Studios’ best take on the series yet. With the after-credits scenes, it is a given that the team plans to remake the next installments, so hopefully Halo: Campaign Evolved is the fuel the team needed to get the series back on track.

Walter reviewed Halo: Campaign Evolved on PC with his own bought copy. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing, and our score will not be changed.