It’s no secret that Halo – Xbox’s leading franchise through the early 2000s – has struggled to gain a footing since Bungie passed the baton on. Just weeks after Halo 3’s launch back in 2007, Activision and Infinity Ward blew up the entire genre with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, effectively gluing themselves to the FPS throne thanks to yearly back-to-back releases. In that time, Halo has continued to reinvent itself, the recently renamed Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) pulling the big remake lever to give itself a clean slate, rallying fans both old and new ahead of the series’ next big instalment.
Halo: Campaign Evolved does exactly what it says on the box. This is in many ways a faithful remake and a light reimagining in others, preserving much of the gunplay from the 2001 original Combat Evolved, but feeding in some gameplay elements from later entries, and giving it all an Unreal Engine 5 makeover. Despite being a key ingredient to Halo’s success, online multiplayer isn’t included, though there’s an expanded co-op option and a decent amount of bonus content, including brand new missions that act as a prequel to the main events of the game.
For those completely new to Halo (we imagine there’s a handful of PS5 owners out there) this explosive first chapter pits the plucky, chest-beating marines of the UNSC against the seemingly unstoppable alien alliance known as The Covenant. As they are chased across the galaxy, players assume the role of the hulking, armour-clad super soldier, Master Chief. After awaking from cryostasis, he is forced to flee the UNSC Pillar of Autumn as it is overrun, crash landing on an artificial, ring-shaped world where the fighting continues.
Halo’s story is just as captivating as it was nearly a quarter of a century ago, galvanised by cinematic cutscenes that feature newly recorded dialogue from the game’s original cast. These upgrades to Combat Evolved’s presentation can be felt throughout the remake, though Halo Studios has been careful not to override its art direction – something that the 2011 Anniversary remake was guilty of. The sci-fi visuals have a distinct early 00s look to them, sporting sterile environments that are brought to life by a vibrant mix of bright greens and purples, streaked with bolts of blue and red amidst each chaotic gunfight.
It’s a reminder of how bold and full of character Xbox and PlayStation 2 games looked compared to those from the next console generation, when studios leaned more and more on hyperrealism, swapping rich colour palettes for various shades of brown and grey.
The first person shooter gameplay has also been reworked, lifting a lot from the action from Halo: Reach, yet the changes will feel subtle to those who haven’t recently revisited those classic Halo games. Movement is faster and more fluid, with Master Chief now able to sprint which certainly helps given Halo’s spacious environments. The default control scheme mirrors that adopted by most modern shooters, Campaign Evolved cramming a slew of additional weapons and abilities into the game’s arsenal that weren’t originally there. This, combined with tweaks to stage layouts and the way NPCs behave, helps to add some much needed variety, toning down that inherent gameplay repetitiveness which comes from simply gunning your way from one combat encounter to the next.
In 2001 it was enthralling game design, but FPS campaigns have come a long way in terms of giving players more systems and mechanics to mess with, constantly changing pace while weaving in set piece moments. By contrast, Campaign Evolved can feel plain outdated though intentionally so, to preserve that spirit of the original game.
Despite being created more than two decades later, the new bonus missions pay homage to that classic Halo style. Alongside fan favourite, Sergeant Johnson, players will lead the Master Chief through three levels that take place a year before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. They slot in nicely with the rest of the game, introducing new enemies and environments while expanding Halo’s Covenant lore with a satisfying, never-before-seen chapter in Master Chief’s story, written by long-time series veteran, Troy Denning. The cutscenes are particularly worthwhile, even if they’re occasionally spliced with some hokey Marvel-esque banter between characters.
Beyond the core campaign and these bonus missions, there isn’t much for those who don’t consider themselves hardcore Halo fans. By collecting Skulls – first introduced in Halo 3 – you can go back and replay missions, applying modifiers that introduce new challenges, or elements such as a third person camera. Skulls are completely missable, but add some much-needed zaniness while dialling up the fun factor, especially in co-op. Speaking of which, Halo: Campaign Evolved allows you to play with a buddy in local split-screen or create online squads of up to four players from your friends list, when the original was limited to two. The complete absence of online PvP is certainly a letdown, though we imagine Microsoft is reluctant to further fragment the remaining Halo multiplayer community which is already split between Halo: Infinite and The Master Chief Collection.
