Halo: Campaign Evolved is a sci-fi first-person shooter remake based on the original 2001 Halo game. Developed by Halo Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios, it is one of the rare Xbox gems to cross over to PlayStation. Along with last year’s Gears of War Reloaded, it marks the beginning of a new era in video gaming.
As Beautiful As The Day I Lost You
Halo is back (again), but this time around it’s not just another remastered version like the 2011 Anniversary or the 2020 Master Chief Collection. No, sir! This time it is a fully new remake, completely reconstructed on the Unreal Engine 5. It is brighter, flashier, and glossier than ever before, and apparently that was a problem for some hardcore Halo fans when the first trailer was released. But overall, the conversation over its visuals has shifted to the game’s lack of multiplayer mode, gameplay, and, well, its price.
Let’s jump in!
Gameplay
The story and gameplay haven’t fundamentally changed as much as some keyboard warriors on Steam and Reddit are furiously typing away in threads nobody asked for. The Master Chief and the rest of the crew of the Pillar of Autumn all crash-land on Halo after being chased in hyperspace by the Covenant. Once on Halo, Mast Chief and Cortana go into 80s action-hero mode and bullet-storm their way through its different levels to save Captain Keyes and his team. Inadvertently, they’re about to unleash the parasitic zombie-like alien life form known as the Flood. And thus the Halo trilogy begins.
As for gameplay, one of my biggest pet peeves was not being able to use a weapon right after switching to it. For example, Master Chief takes a second, yes, a full second, to chamber his pistol or reload his shotgun, which in the heat of battle against flesh-eating aliens is quite the nuisance. Pet peeves aside, Halo: Campaign Evolved enjoys simple quality-of-life features like sprinting, regenerating health instead of hunting for health packs, improved wayfinding, and vehicle hijacking. Most of these features were added in later Halo titles but weren’t included in the original, giving Halo: Campaign Evolved a strange feel as if you’re playing a mix of Halo 3, Halo Reach, and Halo Infinite. For example you can sprint but can’t slide, you can jump but you can’t crawl over an obstacle.
It’s hard to put into words how the Unreal Engine 5 changes the game on a molecular level. Everything is smoother, animations blend better, and the UE5 lighting makes every explosion pop. I guess it’s the old, janky, original vibe that wasn’t perfect but had a certain charm to it. But maybe that’s just the nostalgia in me speaking. The old games were a little more rough around the edges, and the battles were a little more unpredictable due to the bad AI. Somehow that made it more fun.
Speaking of AI, the hunters have tremendously improved intelligence. They are no longer just sluggish bullet sponges that occasionally shoot from their giant laser cannon. The hunters, well, they actually hunt you down now. Their pairing behaviours are much more aggressive than what I remember from the original 2001 game. Besides their classic strategy of having one cover while the other flanks you from the side, they now move faster and catch up to you much quicker. Their backs are now truly their only weak spots. Fighting them up front is basically a death sentence.
Co-op Campaign
Playing the game in online co-op mode was what really saved this game for me. Along with three other teammates, Legendary mode no longer felt tedious but fun and challenging. Without a doubt, the nostalgia hit hard when playing Halo online with a band of sci-fi nerds shooting their way through waves of the Flood. Unfortunately, getting there was quite the hassle. Firstly, I had to link my PlayStation account to my Xbox (Microsoft) account. After that initial step, I had to find fellow Halo fans on the Discord Halo LFG group chats. After that, connect with them on the Xbox app.
So now, I am connected to the Discord app, the Xbox app, and running Halo on my PS5. The final step is to befriend them on Xbox. They will then show up as cross-platform friends on the game, and you’ll finally be able to play co-op. What happens if these players are not online next time you start up Halo: Campaign Evolved? You’re going to have to start the process from the beginning, meet people on Discord, befriend them on Xbox, make sure your PS5 and Xbox accounts are linked, and someday play with them.
Graphics & Audio
As mentioned above, the graphics have been completely redone and are beautiful and colorful. Every environment has way more depth and texture now. The backdrop doesn’t just look like a painting but an immersive and living world, giving the Halo ring itself a real glow-up. There is a scale to the environments that finally gives players a sense of how gargantuan the Halo ring actually is. The Covenant design is loyal to its original design, but they no longer look dated. The character models look like they belong in a modern game of this stature.
That being said, there seem to be quite a few performance issues. I encountered several instances when the game started to lag in critical battle situations, as if it were overwhelmed by the high number of aliens and players.
I do have to agree with some Steam reviews on the audio not being quite on point for such a big project. The shots of the MA5B Assault Rifle sound strangely muffled, the flood splatter noise sounds generic, and some sound effects just don’t trigger or abruptly stop. Some sound effects simply stop mid-play, as if someone yanked the audio cable out. A grenade explosion or weapon fire will cut off abruptly instead of trailing into its natural decay, leaving these moments feeling clipped and unfinished rather than punchy.
Longevity
This game has been remastered three times in the past 20 years and is now remade. This should tell you all you need to know about its insane replayability. Playing co-op with friends doesn’t just make this game fun but memorable. Hopping on the back of a warthog, mowing down armies of the Locust, while your buddy is ramming the vehicle into more enemies, is a core teenage memory for me, and for thousands of other 90s kids out there.
A total of 39 collectible game-changing skulls are scattered around hidden spots in the game. Some skulls are extremely hard to find, whilst others are just lying about. All of them, when activated in the main menu, fundamentally change the rules of the game. The Acrophobia skull lets you fly, Black Eye only lets you regenerate health when punching enemies, Grunt Birthday Party causes headshots to shoot confetti out of enemies’ heads, and Bandana gives unlimited grenades and ammo. It goes without saying how much these fun little twists add hours of replayability.
Final Thoughts
Let’s just address the two elephants in the room and get it out of the way. Halo: Campaign Evolved does not have an Online Multiplayer mode. A game mode that made Halo, well, Halo. It cannot be overstated how Halo’s Multiplayer, along with games like Counter-Strike, World of Warcaft, Battlefield 1942, and others, transformed the early 2000s gaming era. Not including a multiplayer mode feels like buying half a game, which brings me to the second elephant in the room: the price tag.
For 50 dollars/euros/pounds, you’d imagine you’d get a full game. I understand that the game devs had to remake the entire game from scratch on the Unreal Engine 5, but I am certain people wouldn’t have minded waiting longer and paying more money to get Multiplayer mode.
Ultimately, the issue with Halo: Campaign Evolved is that it is a perfect remake of the original but doesn’t actually deliver anything additional or new. Considering we can play the remastered version right now for free with an Xbox Pass on PC or Xbox, I don’t think this remake brings enough to the table to justify its price tag, hell, even its existence. Halo Studios didn’t dare come out with a new title, maybe a Halo 7, right out the gate using UE5 and available on PS5, out of fear of alienating their hardcore fans. So they went a much safer route, which is to release the beloved, fan-favorite OG. Nobody could hate on that, right? Cowards! Meanwhile, if players want to play multiplayer, they can slowly rot on Halo Infinite, a game that has officially been abandoned by Halo Studios after its last update nearly a year ago.
As much as I wanted to give this game a Platinum Award, it just doesn’t deserve it in my honest opinion. This was supposed to be an easy home run for Halo Studios and Xbox Game Studios. This game was supposed to entice new players on the PS5. I’m not convinced it does much more than cater to its home base.
Despite my harsh criticism, Halo: Campaign Evolved is challenging, gorgeous, fun, nostalgic, and most importantly, incredibly replayable.
It is for this reason that I give Halo: Campaign Evolved The Thumb Culture Gold Award!
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