The Halo remake highlights Xbox’s legacy.
It’s hard to discuss a new Xbox game without diving into the current state of Xbox itself. Microsoft’s gaming division is facing significant challenges, with recent news highlighting extensive layoffs, studio closures, and a muddled strategy, all stemming from a series of poor decisions and costly acquisitions. However, it wasn’t always this way. In its early years, Xbox held its ground against established competitors like Nintendo and Sony, largely thanks to Halo. Bungie’s iconic shooter combined an epic sci-fi narrative with nearly flawless gameplay, creating a compelling reason to own an Xbox. Now, that classic has received a full remake, reimagining the core experience for today’s gamers. Remarkably, Halo remains an exhilarating title more than twenty years after its launch, but the remake also underscores how far Xbox has drifted from its original vision.
Titled Halo: Campaign Evolved, this remake is precisely what it promises: a modern revamp of the original game’s story campaign. Players once again step into the shoes of the supersoldier Master Chief, leading humanity against the alien Covenant, only to find themselves embroiled in a much larger conflict that could determine the galaxy’s fate. While Halo’s narrative isn’t the most groundbreaking—drawing clear inspiration from classics like Aliens—it’s well-crafted, featuring dramatic twists that motivate players to push through its numerous battles. The game excels at shifting tones, starting with large-scale warfare on alien worlds and transitioning into horror-like scenarios with tense encounters against unsettling foes. Campaign Evolved enhances the storytelling with expanded cutscenes that provide more context and character depth, all while keeping them brief and impactful.
The most striking change in the remake is its visual upgrade. Built on Unreal Engine 5, Campaign Evolved looks like a first-person shooter from the future. The environments are richly detailed, and the scale of the levels is impressive. When exploring the surface of Halo, players truly feel immersed in a massive battle, with explosions and wreckage creating a chaotic atmosphere. This heightened detail becomes particularly effective during encounters with the Flood, a parasitic alien race that transforms corpses into zombies. Close-quarters combat becomes even more intense, with gruesome alien deaths, walls dripping with growths, and gunfire illuminating dark corners filled with lurking horrors. While some artistic choices may not resonate with everyone—like the shift away from the original’s brutalist alien architecture—the overall visual presentation is stunning.
Gameplay also sees some notable adjustments. There are minor tweaks, such as the ability to hijack enemy vehicles and a broader selection of weapons. The most significant change, however, is the introduction of a sprint button. Early Halo titles didn’t allow Master Chief to sprint, but this addition in Campaign Evolved makes the action feel faster and more dynamic, especially useful for dodging larger enemies. The remake also includes three new missions and modifies some existing ones. While I may not have an encyclopedic knowledge of Halo to pinpoint every change, Campaign Evolved captures the nostalgic essence of Halo, enhancing what was already a fantastic experience and smoothing out most rough edges. Although I played through the campaign solo, it also supports co-op for up to four players.
Despite the remake’s quality, it’s launching at a challenging time, just weeks after the new Xbox CEO initiated a “reset” that will lead to over 3,000 layoffs in the coming year and significant downsizing of iconic studios like id Software. In many ways, the Halo franchise reflects Xbox’s decline. Since Microsoft took full control of the series through its internal Halo Studios, the gaps between new releases have widened, while attempts to expand Halo through ventures like a streaming series and live-service models have largely faltered. Campaign Evolved embodies some of this chaos. Not only is it the first new Halo title since 2021, but it’s also being released on PS5 alongside Xbox and PC, adding to the confusion surrounding Microsoft’s console exclusivity strategy.
While I’ve relished the chance to battle the Flood once more, I can’t help but view Campaign Evolved through the lens of Xbox’s broader situation. The original Halo was groundbreaking, demonstrating that action and narrative could coexist harmoniously, influencing a generation of first-person shooters. Over the years, however, the franchise’s prominence has waned, leading Microsoft to revisit the past instead of innovating. Five years after Halo Infinite, rather than introducing a new installment, Xbox has opted for the safer route with a remake. Campaign Evolved arrives at a time when the future of the Xbox lineup appears increasingly uncertain due to significant studio cuts.
Campaign Evolved successfully recreates the thrill of experiencing Halo for the first time. However, that alone isn’t enough to restore Halo—or Xbox—to the level of necessity it once held.
