Halo: Campaign Evolved has saved the franchise; it's that exceptional

The road to Halo: Campaign Evolved has been riddled with anxiety for me, as the last few games from Halo Studios haven’t blown me away like a Breaking Benjamin song.

However, I’m happy to report that Halo: Campaign Evolved is almost everything I’d hoped it’d be. In fact, it might be more.

Halo Studios is still struggling to make its own Halo game, but it’s getting there

Before we dive into the main campaign, let’s talk about the prequel missions. Halo Studios developed three that take place long before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. They follow Master Chief and Sgt Johnson, infiltrating a Covenant vessel on the hunt for a high-profile target.

For three missions, the pair storm their way through the ship, and at first, I was worried it’d just be a lengthy retread of the Truth and Reconciliation mission from the main game. To my surprise though, the second and third missions boasted bespoke environments to keep things fresh.

Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a special shoutout to Sgt Johnson’s new voice actor, Keston John. He does a wonderful job and gives an incredibly authentic performance, so I’m excited to see him return in future projects.

Master Chief and Sgt Johnson in Halo: Campaign Evolved, Xbox Game Studios

The sandbox was also delightfully chaotic. Classic weapons from the original game were available, but so was a varied arsenal of guns not previously found in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Brutes also returned, and played almost exactly like they did in Halo 2, though this time you could trigger their berserker state by shooting a certain spot on their armour.

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I did enjoy these prequel missions, but they suffered from all of the same problems I’ve had with Halo Studio since it took over the franchise.

While they were fun to play, they felt like a small snippet of a game we never got; the experience felt incomplete by the end. Whether the intention is to set the stage for a future game remains to be seen, but for now, I can only judge what I’ve played. It had some good ideas, but still felt like it was riding the coattails of Bungie. It was also barely a prequel as it had no relevance to Halo: Combat Evolved whatsoever.

Halo: Campaign Evolved both respects and rejuvenates Bungie’s 2001 masterpiece

On to the bread and butter, the main campaign is the best work Halo Studios has done in its tenure.

When I first played the game during a preview session last year, I was concerned that Halo: Campaign Evolved would simply be Bungie’s game…again. Some spruced up visuals and modern flourishes here and there, resulting in an easy, but lazy win for both Xbox and Halo Studios. I would hope that Halo Studios would take advantage of this fresh start and make its own Halo: Combat Evolved. After playing through the campaign twice, it has somehow achieved the best of both worlds.

Halo: Combat Evolved launched in 2001 and got a remaster in 2011. It barely needed one though, as the original still holds up this day. It’s timeless.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a love letter to that classic FPS that started it all, and you really feel that love and respect in the latter half of the game. From The Pillar of Autumn to 343 Guilty Spark, the level-design and pacing is hardly touched. You just get enhanced visuals that respect Bungie’s original vision as well as an expanded weapon pool and modern gameplay additions. Stealing an Elite Zealot’s Energy Sword and hijacking a Covenant Wraith, for instance, are things I’ve wanted to do for years, so to finally see them possible in the remake was fantastic.

From the Library onwards though, you start to see some real, positive changes to the original levels.

While still enjoyable, I think most Halo fans will agree that the latter half of Halo: Combat Evolved is the weakest, as it’s basically backtracking through levels you’ve already torn through with little to no changes to the environment. The pacing of these levels could also get a bit excessive, with The Library especially being a mission that could make-or-break your playthrough.

Xbox Game Studios

Halo Studios has gone back to these levels and given them more than just a new coat of paint. Flood-infested areas now feature those familiar blobs of biomass and spores denoting their infection. Paths that would feel familiar to you could be blocked off, forcing you to take a new route, and there’s even a Flood enemy-type not found in the original game to keep you on your toes.

I won’t spoil too much, but overall, the level design has been tweaked just enough to respect Bungie’s original vision while feeling fresh to returning players.

Halo: Campaign ‘Remix’

Like previous Halo games, Skulls make a return as optional modifiers, though this time there’s more variety than ever.

You’ll need to scour the levels to collect them all, but once you do, I’d highly recommend the unlockable Campaign Remix mode.

It’ll either randomise all of the Skulls you’ve collected thus far, or you can pick and choose which ones you’d like to play with. Oh, and for those who despise sprinting and the reduced ammo count for the Assault Rifle, there are Skulls for you.

Three skulls are always switched on. These make any enemy faction appear regardless of level (so you can fight Brutes and The Flood onboard the Pillar of Autumn), randomise the available weapons and force enemy factions to keep the peace by not fighting each other.

With those three skulls alone, you’ll have a blast. Myself and two other reviewers started a new playthrough on Heroic difficulty and it was pure, unadulterated chaos.

However, if you combine them with other Skulls like those that change the camera to third-person, give you unlimited ammo, or make Grunts explode upon death, it’ll only make it better.

In many ways, this mode is exactly what I asked for. This is Halo Studios’ take on Halo: Combat Evolved, and despite being a ridiculous what-if scenario, I absolutely adore it.

Halo isn’t finished…we’re just getting started

As a lifelong Halo fan, I can confidently say that Halo Studios did an excellent job with this remake.

If this is the standard going forward, Halo might well and truly be back, and I’m already hungry for a remake of Halo 2 next.

The main game was exceptional, and the Remix mode adds so much replay value for both single-player and multiplayer playthroughs. It was only the prequel missions that I found to be a tad disappointing, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were bad or unenjoyable. I just wish they were a little bit more.

In many ways, I still think it’s a shame that we had to go all the way back to the beginning to get a truly excellent Halo game, but Halo: Campaign Evolved does give me hope for the future of this franchise.

Pros: Visual overhaul that respects and enhances the original, quality-of-life changes to both gameplay and even level design, Campaign Remix is so good I want to throw up

Cons: Prequel missions could have been better.

For fans of: Halo (duh), DOOM, Mass Effect

9/10: Exceptional

Halo: Campaign Evolved is available today, July 23, for early-access participants, and July 28 for the full-scale launch. It’s available for Xbox Series X/S (version tested),PC and for the first time in Halo history PlayStation 5. Review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.