Halo: Campaign Evolved Review – LEGENDARY STATUS

Anthony Culinas Adventure, First-Person Shooter, Halo, Halo Campaign Evolved, Halo Campaign Evolved Review, Halo Combat Evolved, Halo Studios, Microsoft, Microsoft Game Studios, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Game Studios, Xbox Series X and Series S

This one moment has to be, hands down, the strangest thing I’ve ever seen in the history of video games… Halo on PlayStation! Has Neo been messing with The Matrix again?! Because I seriously still cannot believe it.

What I also can’t believe is how well the original 2001 release still holds up. While there have been several gameplay and story changes, Halo: Campaign Evolved remakes them in a way that remains mostly faithful to the source material.

Better Than Ever

The classic level designs remain largely the same, yet missions like The Library, which spam the “Hey look, it’s-the-same-room-for-the-50th-time” approach, have been edited just enough so you won’t feel like you’re slowly going insane. Halo Studios also included new enemies and redesigned encounters with different layouts, which do feel familiar, yet give veterans a solid excuse to come back. Not like they needed one anyway.

The original levels and gameplay feel like they haven’t aged a day, varying the combat with unique weapons, encounters, vehicles and mechanics like the famous sniper-stealth mission, Truth & Reconciliation, which still smacks major butt. Adding to this, the devs have included modern features from the series like sprinting, ADS, hijacking, a 4th seat for the Warthog, control over Covenant Wraiths, and letting the Chief use Overshield and Active Camo on command, instead of being auto-triggered on pickup. An absolute game-changer. You can even use iconic weapons like the Energy Sword and Fuel Rod Cannon that were previously locked out of the OG Halo. Plus, there are a whole bunch of skulls (42 exactly) to unlock for Campaign Remix. A custom campaign randomising everything from a literal flying Master Chief, to unlimited ammo, and that game little Grunts play called The Floor is Lava. So big wins, all around.

The three new missions with Sergeant Johnson are definitely worth playing through too. Not only do you get some extra prequel lore nuggets, but the banter between Chief and Johnson will put a big smile on the dial, that’s for sure. The missions themselves feel right at home with the rest, and the invincible one himself can actually throw down when it counts. I won’t spoil too much, though do expect to see some familiar faces and something very different at the end that may take you off guard.

Lost in Space

One aspect I couldn’t try unfortunately, was the co-op. Both the online 4-player crossplay and local console 2-player modes just kept me on a network screen that I couldn’t move past. So hopefully it works well. Hopefully… There aren’t any competitive modes here either, with no concrete plans to add them at a later date. So I could see this being a huge deal-breaker for a lot of people. And as a reviewer, I can only critique what’s in front of me. But man, omitting the VS modes is such a gigantic missed opportunity. Holy fruit cakes.

However, I did really enjoy the new campaign cutscenes, as they provide a bit of extra context and visual flair. Plus, the voice acting from the main cast is even better than before. The original actors for Master Chief, Cortana and 343 Guilty Spark all re-recorded their roles with extra lines of dialogue, while Keyes and Johnson have been recast. Yet it’s honestly hard to tell, because they do such a good job in their respective roles. Not to say that the original’s story is the bees McKnees, but these changes really do help bring it to life.

On that note, the Unreal Engine 5 energy is strong with this one. Using Performance mode on my base PS5, I hardly noticed any dips at all below 60FPS, even when explosions and grenades were going off like an early 2000s LAN party. As well as looking spectacular, the visual HUD, audio and iconic music are much cleaner, with all sorts of gameplay and accessibility toggles to tinker around with. For an experience that’s roughly 10 hours long, there are quite a few options to choose from.

Decision

Halo: Campaign Evolved is the best way to revisit one of gaming’s most legendary shooters. It keeps the heart of the 25-year-old classic, while modernising the gameplay with sprinting, ADS, hijacking, extra weapons, encounters, a custom Campaign Remix, and three brand-new prequel missions that make it even more fun kicking those Covenant to the curb.

On top of this, Unreal Engine 5 gives the game a huge visual boost, the updated cutscenes and audio are excellent, and the performance on PS5 is smoother than Johnson’s one-liners. The only real casualty is the lack of competitive multiplayer. A massive disappointment. Even so, if you’re after a fresh take on Combat Evolved without losing what made it so special, then this is my easiest recommendation of the year.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PS5

Must Have

Faithfully modernising one of gaming’s genre-defining shooters with smart QOL upgrades, stunning Unreal Engine 5 visuals and strong new content, Halo: Campaign Evolved is the definitive way to replay the original. The lack of competitive multiplayer is a huge missed opportunity, but it barely dents what is otherwise a no-brainer pickup.

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