Halo 5: Guardians Review Round Up

If there’s one game series which Microsoft’s Xbox will be inextricably linked with, it’s Halo. The first game helped to cement the original console’s launch, the second helped to define online multiplayer, and it has remained an influential cornerstone of Microsoft’s lineup, even as its creators have moved on to other projects and new custodians have come to the fore.

Halo 5 tries to do things a bit differently from before, dropping the local co-op for the campaign in favour of four player online co-op, and featuring a story that switches between two groups of Spartan soldiers. Online, there’s a new game mode which can handle two teams of twelve going head to head, in addition to a number of fan favourites.

Our review will be on the way as soon as possible, but in the meantime let’s check out what other critics from around the web thought. Given the troubles with The Master Chief Collection’s multiplayer servers and matchmaking, many are waiting for launch and the inevitable crush of players before delivering a final verdict.

Polygon – 9/10 (provisional)

Halo 5 feels like it knows its obligations. The campaign’s narrative is likely to prove controversial, though its biggest sin may be its familiarity. Otherwise, Halo 5 excels under the pressure, providing one of the most welcoming, competitive, balanced and fun games of the year — and providing my personal favorite Halo multiplayer since the series began.

Giant Bomb – 4/5

Trusted Reviews – 8/10

It’s superbly paced, endlessly spectacular and has some of the best set-pieces and moments of any Halo game. Yet for me it doesn’t reach the same dramatic heights of Halo 3 or Halo 4, and I can’t help feeling that the storyline doesn’t 100 per cent convince. It’s a game of immense shock and awe, laced with real humanity and humour, yet it can be clumsy and lacking in soul.

The exceptional high points and brilliant multiplayer make it a must-play for just about anyone with an Xbox One, but it’s going to be a long time before we’ll know if 343 has made the right choices here or taken Halo down a path that’s best not travelled.

Destructoid – 7/10

If it weren’t for Warzone, Halo 5: Guardians would probably be somewhere on the lower end of the franchise spectrum for me. It’s still a fantastic and well-oiled machine, but the story falls flat, and the shift in gameplay mechanics result in the loss of some elements that made the series so unique in the first place. Still, if you’re looking to shoot some dudes online, Guardians is your huckleberry.

IGN – Review in progress

Where single-player has its successes and failures, Halo 5’s multiplayer is one big, sustained high point. The new headliner mode is Warzone, and what I’ve played so far has been so much fun and full of heaps of exciting tension that I could ignore the rest of the modes and be satisfied with Halo 5.

Eurogamer – Review in progress

Perhaps the most important thing to say about Halo 5’s campaign is it’s a substantial improvement on Halo 4’s campaign, which I’ve always maintained was a decent first effort from a new developer still finding its feet. Halo 5’s missions do not revolutionise the FPS genre, or even the Halo series, but they are a welcome return to form. For me, that’s good enough.

Videogamer – Score pending

As much as I couldn’t believe Microsoft would allow Halo to dwindle into mid-level exclusive territory, a near incessant noise from naysayers had got me slightly worried about Halo 5. I needn’t have been. Halo 5 Guardians is as slick and bombastic as an exclusive should be, hitting all the right notes in a campaign that is thrilling from end to end. Maybe I am a Halo fanboy. Maybe you should be too.

Gamesradar – Campaign review only 

Halo 5 then. Not a bad game, but frustratingly one that succeeds despite its innovations, not because of them. An enjoyable campaign, but not a truly convincing one.

God is a Geek – Score pending

Halo 5 boasts the best campaign since Reach, mixing enormous, beautifully detailed environments with fast-paced, exciting combat across some of the most interesting and colourful locales 343 has ever produced. While the multiplayer needs to ferment a little to bring out its true flavours and the necessities of storytelling rob the campaign of some potentially stand-out set-pieces, this is still a huge, satisfying package that ticks every box on the list.

Ars Technica – Come for the multiplayer, stay for the multiplayer.

Currently, there’s still a lot of Halo 5 to love—and just about as much to raise our eyebrows at—but the multiplayer is the winner here. Even Warzone’s card-collecting gimmick hasn’t stopped us from loving the series’ biggest battles yet, while our experiences in Arena have ranged from solid, standard Spartan blasting to some of the most eye-bulging fun we’ve had dueling on Xbox Live in years.