Halo fans rejoice, the OG game is making its long-awaited return

Halo fans rejoice, because the OG game that started it all could be set to return in its purest form.

When it comes to important games of the FPS genre, it arguably doesn't get much more important than Halo, at least on consoles.

If I were to pick my Mount Rushmore of FPS games, it would be DOOM, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Half-Life 2 and Halo: Combat Evolved. Each important game is in its own right, but for the topic of today’s discussion, it’s all about the adventures of the Master Chief.

Halo: Combat Evolved was first released in 2001 as an original Xbox launch title. Other than being a fantastic game, one of the reasons why it's such an important FPS game is that developers Bungie proved that you don't necessarily need a keyboard and mouse for a smooth gameplay experience.

Sure, the keyboard and mouse combo will always provide the most responsive gameplay experience, but when using the Xbox controller, Halo: Combat Evolved did not feel clunky, unlike many console FPS games that came before.

To this day, Halo: Combat Evolved is still a joy to play, especially the anniversary edition included in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, boasting improved HD visuals and a super-slick framerate.

Yet, despite Halo: Combat Evolved being a timeless classic, rumours have recently been making the rounds that it’s going to get an Unreal Engine 5 remake in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

However, as spotted by Twisted Voxel, Halo: Combat Evolved might be getting another release, as part of GOG's game preservation program.

Game preservation is massively important to GOG, which the PC platform not only re-releases classic games of yesteryear that may have been previously unavailable for sale, but they also look extra snazzy in HD and are DRM-free.

The GOG game preservation program has seen properties such as Capcom’s original Resident Evil trilogy and Dino Crisis become easily accessible on its platform, at reasonable prices, might I add.

What’s more, gamers can vote on what they’d love to see preserved on GOG courtesy of its Dreamlist, which may not only see Halo: Combat Evolved join that elite DRM-free club, but also Konami’s Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 soon.

News of Halo: Combat Evolved, as well as the two Silent Hill games, were teased in a recent and nostalgic trailer from GOG.

One of the other great things about games revived on GOG is that the developers of the platform also add additional features, such as controller support.

So, let’s say, for argument's sake, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, a game that has no official controller support on PC via Steam, would then get that support if launched on the GOG platform.

It remains to be seen whether or not Halo: Combat Evolved and both Silent Hill games will arrive on GOG, but we’ll keep you updated once we know more.