The first gaming franchise I ever truly fell in love with was Halo. As a kid, I would constantly search YouTube for Halo 3 trailers, obsess over whatever came next, and beg my parents for a copy of Halo: Reach. Those games played a huge role in shaping my love for the medium, and even the weaker entries in the series have elements I still admire. Because of that, when the newly renamed Halo Studios announced Halo: Campaign Evolved, I expected to be excited. Instead, I found myself quite skeptical.
In theory, the concept of remaking the very first Halo game in a new engine and for new audiences to commemorate the 25th anniversary makes perfect sense. Campaign Evolved brings the game to a new engine, adds three entirely new missions, and, shockingly, brings the series to PlayStation for the very first time. Yet, the absence of PvP multiplayer and the decision to remake a game that has already received an anniversary remaster made the project feel frustrating from the get-go.
Still, I wanted to give Campaign Evolved a fair shot. After recently replaying the entire Halo series, I was especially curious to see how Halo Studios would reinterpret a game I know so well. After playing it, though, I came away conflicted. Campaign Evolved changes enough to weaken parts of what made the original special, yet remains so conservative in other areas that it struggles to justify why Combat Evolved needed to be remade again in the first place.
Like Riding a Bike
Halo: Campaign Evolved starts much the same way Halo: Combat Evolved did 25 years ago, and the way Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary did 10 years ago. The UNSC ship known as the Pillar of Autumn has just made a blind jump to a set of coordinates in the middle of deep, empty space. The only thing visible beyond the stars is a massive Ring the size of a planet. An alien army known as the Covenant starts to attack the Autumn, and so Captain Keyes and the ship’s AI wake up the Master Chief, the greatest soldier under the UNSC’s banner.
From there, the game moves at a breakneck pace: the Master Chief and his AI, Cortana, must uncover the secrets of the ringworld Halo. Along the way, they will fight the Covenant armies hoping to control Halo for themselves and reunite with their scattered UNSC comrades. A simple Human vs Alien conflict quickly turns horrific, as the two accidentally unravel an ancient evil, leaving both the Master Chief and Cortana with a desperate mission to save the entire universe from the dark intentions of those occupying the ring.
When separated from the expectations of a remake and viewed as its own game, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a great time. One of the elements that you will immediately notice, regardless of your prior experience with the franchise, is the new visuals. Unlike the original Anniversary, made in Saber Interactive’s engine, or Halo Infinite‘s Slipspace Engine, Campaign Evolved is made with Unreal Engine 5. Despite my distaste towards the Unreal style and how it seems to prioritize lens flares and very generic assets, this uses the engine wonderfully.
The sections where you are staring at a massive skybox look absolutely gorgeous and maintain the awe-inspiring yet mysterious atmosphere of the original, rather than the more aesthetically pleasing look of Anniversary. This also applies to levels like The Silent Cartographer, where details such as the sand on the beach and the water are beautifully rendered. There are plenty of other details that are highlighted too, such as the blood of Covenant soldiers spilled across stones in Truth and Reconciliation, which are present for the duration of the fight. My favorite has to be the icicles in Assault on the Control Room, visible in a cave that you pass through filled with stalactites.
That said, levels like The Silent Cartographer and Halo looking “pretty” is a foregone conclusion. To me, the part of Campaign Evolved‘s visuals that I was most curious to see was how it would handle the more “darker” sections. Once the parasitic flood are introduced, the game takes a turn and shifts into survival horror territory, which is reflected in the level design. The wide open sandboxes are replaced with tight spaces, where the use of a flashlight is a must. Anniversary failed to capture the tension of these segments, instead over-saturating the environment and removing any sense of fear. Thankfully, this new iteration of Combat Evolved brilliantly maintains the horror of the Flood.
343 Guilty Spark, where the monsters are first introduced, is easily the best level of the game. The first part of the level takes place in the midst of a thunderstorm, and not only does the heavy rain enhance the visuals, but it also obscures your vision. It is impossible to tell if the distant shadows are a trick of the light caused by the rain, or something watching you. Once you enter the compound itself, there are plenty of new details to emphasize the horror of the Flood, such as the spread of blood and objects that have been visibly overtaken by the infection.
When it comes to gameplay, Campaign Evolved delivers one of my favorite re-interpretations of the classic Halo formula. The impact of firing each weapon feels weighty, partly due to the sound design, and partly because of the heavy vibrations of the controller. This is a massive improvement over the toy-like feeling of the last few mainline entries. The Magnum in particular retains the same power as Combat Evolved, and is so satisfying to use in order to headshot Grunts or slowly whittle down the health of Elites.
Something I especially loved was the choice to bring in weapons from Halo 2 and beyond, and integrate them into the Combat Evolved sandbox. Specifically, the SMG, Energy Sword, and Fuel Rod Cannon are weapons you can pick up and use, which offer plenty of new ways to approach combat scenarios. Maybe you can use the Energy Sword to instantly kill an Elite, or you can use the SMG to quickly kill a horde of Flood infection forms. As a whole, that sandbox feels richer than ever, not just because of the returning Jackal Snipers and new weapons, but also due to the new explosion effects. These not only create a burst of particles that is mesmerizing to watch in action, but can also cascade with other objects in the environment, creating pure chaos.
There were very few moments during my playthrough when I was not having fun with Campaign Evolved. The only exception was towards the late game, when the Flood enemies started to become more prevalent in the environment. Due to the increased system power, there are far more Flood forms that can fill the screen and overwhelm you within seconds. This was especially frustrating in levels like Keyes, where you have to dodge Covenant and Flood alike in order to get to the next area, or risk fighting them all as they endlessly spawn and drain both your shields and ammo in seconds.
These frustrations were made worse by the bugs I encountered throughout. Even the most minor of glitches, such as the frame drops in the early levels, were enough to get me killed by a stray beam rifle shot that I could not prepare for. When these bugs were at their most noticeable, it would result in me getting stuck at a checkpoint right before getting exploded by a Flood carrier form and dying over and over again upon every respawn. Still, as a game, these minor shortcomings are not enough to keep Halo: Campaign Evolved from being an incredibly fun adventure. However, as a remake, this inaugural release from Halo Studios falls short in several key aspects.
An Odd Experience
In order to entice longtime fans of the series into playing Halo: Campaign Evolved, despite it being the second remake for Combat Evolved, Halo Studios promised a slew of new additions. Some of these would be minor, such as the aforementioned new weapons and visuals. Others promised to be more major, like the inclusion of new bonus missions that would serve as a prequel to the main story and re-recorded lines of dialogue. While a lot of these adjustments landed well, quite a few fell short.
The core concept behind the bonus missions is sound: it features Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson on a mission to recover a set of data from the Triumph of Tolerance, a Covenant space station containing data that could result in the end of the war. All three new missions highlight a new setting and cast of characters separate from the those found on Halo itself. Furthermore, these push the new gameplay elements to their limits and include even more enemies like Brutes and weapons like the Battle Rifle. While the levels themselves are fun from a gameplay perspective, they are quite disappointing from a narrative perspective.
Much of the dialogue between Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson feels like cheap fanservice. One example is when Chief says “Boo” to a Grunt, just like he did in Halo 2, or when Sgt. Johnson references the “Missions change, they always do” line from Halo Infinite. These are particularly distracting if you are a fan of the series, as they are peppered throughout the missions, which are around 3 hours in total. In between these lines are odd one-liners, such as the strange exchange where Johnson is hoping they’ll be back by dinner, and Chief remarks that “You’re always hungry.” It does not feel natural for the character, who usually only shows this level of humor and vulnerability with Cortana.
Then there are the new characters introduced: Lieutenant Williams and Tiger Company, all of whom are ODST soldiers that have been trapped aboard the Triumph of Tolerance. Save for a few interesting moments where Williams mentions her distaste for the Spartan program and Master Chief, they lack any actual character traits or memorable moments. For instance, unlike some of the other “regular human” NPCs from the series, these characters do not have points where they are fearful and uncertain of their current situation.
Instead, Williams just repeats her same dislike for Spartans over and over again, so when she eventually does change her mind about Master Chief, it does not feel earned due to just how sudden it is. Worse still, her eventual fate is cheapened by the carefree nature in which she departs the story. Tiger Company could have easily been removed from the bonus missions, and it would have made no impact on the broader narrative. Considering this was the first attempt at a new story from the Halo Studios writing team, I am not exactly filled with confidence in how they might approach future entries.
These oddities are not exempt from the main story, either. Naturally, the cutscenes have had to be completely redone due to the new engine. But strangely, rather than re-using the lines from the original, a lot of the dialogue has had to be re-recorded. Some of this works out for the better, as both Steve Downes and Jen Taylor’s performances as Master Chief and Cortana, respectively, shine brighter than ever in some of the later missions. On the other hand, the choice to constantly make Cortana say tutorial lines that explain how an Overshield or Active Camo works is annoying, and often made me want to completely mute dialogue at times.
That being said, some of the shifts made to the story and gameplay are perfect. One example that I am fond of is in Assault on the Control Room’s final cutscene. When Cortana is merged with Halo’s control room in the original, she talks really fast to show the input of information she is receiving. Here, she takes on a different form, growing both giant and orange as her tone turns almost megalomaniacal. It is a great change that subtly foreshadows how her character evolves in Halo 3 and Halo 5: Guardians.
In terms of gameplay, one of my other biggest worries pertained to how Campaign Evolved would handle The Library. The Library is considered one of the worst levels in the entire series, with the constant Flood waves being absolutely obnoxious to deal with. Further, the repeating level structure of using an elevator, opening a door, and then going back to the elevator is still obnoxious to play through after 25 years. Now, the level design of The Library has been completely changed. Rather than going up an elevator, you instead explore this massive facility, which has more open areas rather than tight spaces. Not only does it give you more options in how you approach combat, but it also highlights the newly added Flood Tank forms, which function similarly to the Covenant’s hunters.
Despite the changes, some of which work well, while others do not, the overall remake still feels too safe for my liking. This is caused by the lack of some key features, as for instance, while you can play co-op with others online or locally, there is no PvP multiplayer options whatsoever. This means that this is the first Halo game without any such options, even counting both Halo Wars games. Worse still, the quality-of-life features that Anniversary included, such as the animated Terminals and the ability to switch to the original graphics, have been removed entirely.
Even the choice to use more “dynamic music” feels uninspired. Throughout the game, a specific track will play while you’re in combat, and a different one when you are out of it. Where the problem arises is that there is no new music created for Campaign Evolved, rather, it just uses tracks from older games. Due to the fact that these tracks are not designed for a dynamic soundscape, a lot of levels re-use music from prior levels in spots where it does not make sense. Furthermore, there are parts where you will be exploring and there will be no music whatsoever, completely removing one of the most important parts of the franchise’s identity.
So much of Combat Evolved‘s core has been stripped away in Campaign Evolved, and the few bits of new identity are underwhelming in their execution. It is hard not to wonder why Halo Studios would even bother to make a remake if they would remove so many fundamental pieces of the original’s foundation. Considering these shortcomings, and how Campaign Evolved ends with a tease for a Halo 2 remake, I cannot say that I am optimistic about Halo‘s future.
A Self Contradicting Remake
What is the goal of a remake? Is it to rebuild a game from the ground up in order to appeal entirely to new audiences? Is it to restore a game without making any major additions, so as to not enrage those who have sunk hundreds of hours into the original? Or is it best to mix the two approaches? Personally, I believe a remake is at its best when it manages to appeal to both newcomers and long-time fans alike. Unfortunately, Halo: Campaign Evolved feels like a game that is unsure in what it wants to achieve as a remake.
When viewed in its own lens, separate from the preconceptions of a remake, Campaign Evolved is a fine enough game. The gameplay is great and manages to update the classic sandbox really well, despite the new engine. The new engine particularly shines with the visuals, which look stunning regardless of the platform you are playing on. Plus, the Flood have been perfectly adapted, with the inner horror of their existence being reflected in both combat encounters and the atmosphere in which you encounter them. If you are picking up Halo: Campaign Evolved as your first entry in the series, then you will probably enjoy yourself. But if you are a fan or even slightly familiar with the franchise, you will discover that so much of the game is severely lacking.
Some of the changes to the gameplay and level design are appreciated, but they are offset by the strange choices that plague this release. The constant tutorial dialogue from Cortana is insufferable, and while the bonus missions are fun, they are ruined by the uninteresting characters and poor writing. The dynamic approach to music feels lazy, and the removal of any PvP multiplayer options further strips away some of the most important bits of Combat Evolved‘s essence. This is a game that lacks the confidence to attempt to try something new with either the soundtrack or multiplayer, yet chooses to spend that effort on areas that never needed changing in the first place.
Since the beginning, I have always been optimistic about Halo‘s future. Even with 343 Industries at the helm and even after Halo 5: Guardians, I always had faith that the developers would be able to eventually create the ultimate Halo experience. But with Campaign Evolved being as lackluster as it is, and the hint towards a second remake for Halo 2, I cannot say I have any faith for where the series may go next. Regardless of all the good this game accomplishes, long-time fans and newcomers may be better off returning to the Master Chief Collection for a more cohesive Halo adventure.
Disclaimer: Halo: Campaign Evolved was reviewed on an Xbox Series S.
