I was exhibiting at the Halo World Championship in Seattle for work, and while we expected some huge news, I don’t think anybody expected a remake of the original campaign… primarily because it was already remade. Still, adding to the surprise was that there was a playable demo Halo: Campaign Evolved at the event, and to say the least–it absolutely felt like Halo, just modernized.
Aside from the fact that it’s a remake of the first game’s campaign, the two biggest takeaways were the fact that it’s also coming to PlayStation 5 and the game is being done on Unreal Engine 5, which honestly just felt like a matter of time with games like Gears of War and the upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator heading to PS5 too. Maybe we’ll see Master Chief on Smash for Switch 2, but I digress.
The demo I played at HWC only had The Silent Cartographer available to play, but it’s one of the most memorable levels in the entire series to this day, so I had no complaints. Known for its open-world design and combination of both shooter and vehicular combat, I don’t think there’s a better level to showcase what Campaign Evolved is all about.
Combat is just as enjoyable as I remember, but I also had fun running away. I know that’s a hot take.
Still though, it’s Unreal 5. While the game is undeniably pretty standing still, there were definitely some visual issues to note. For the most part, the game is absolutely gorgeous. From the waves crashing on the sand on the beach to the lighting on every blade of grass, the game in action is eye-popping. Of course, Unreal 5 has been known for inconsistencies in this department, and as good as the game looks, you’ll definitely notice clear imperfections up close. When Master Chief was being dropped on the beach, I noticed pop-in from the ship’s cargo dock. I also noticed the resolution and frame rate dropping during some of the more intense fights–which fans would know are plentiful in this level. I didn’t get a good look because of how the stations were arranged, but I’m pretty sure we were playing on an Xbox Series X instead of a powered up PC.
Getting back to how it plays, as I mentioned, it feels like modern Halo. So let’s make this clear now: I’ve honestly never been a series diehard, so the sprint mechanic doesn’t bother me at all. That said, you can turn it off. If you don’t want your spartan running, you don’t have to deal with it. You’ll end up with gameplay that feels a tad more clunky or heavy as a result, but that’s also what Halo used to be. I don’t believe there’s a need for either long-time fans or new fans to dock the controls. It’s worth noting that I was playing on Heroic and decided to just dash passed all the enemies. I don’t know if that’s something they want to improve or leave in since the level is historically known for tough hunter encounters, but I thought it was funny.
Something less funny was the difficulty I had with the Warthog. In all honesty, it’s something I struggled with in both the original and the Master Chief Collection, and I was hoping that it’d be easier to maneuver it, but that wasn’t the case at all. During my first playthrough of the demo, I ended up just leaving it there, because I was tired of rocks flipping the vehicle over, and the nostalgia of flipping it over again to make it feel like a balloon didn’t bring back good memories. I don’t expect this to change too much, but I wish the vehicles were closer-feeling to the ones we see in more modern shooters, which was something I hoped for in what’s supposed to be another modern take on Halo.
Ah, the bane of my Halo existence.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is slated for release next year on the Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PlayStation 5. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but I also look forward to the series hopefully entertaining new fans now that the series is no longer an Xbox-exclusive.
There’s still plenty of work to be done with Halo: Campaign Evolved, but I also look forward to the series hopefully entertaining new fans now that the series is no longer an Xbox-exclusive.
I was exhibiting at the Halo World Championship in Seattle for work, and while we expected some huge news, I don’t think anybody expected a remake of the original campaign… primarily because it was already remade. Still, adding to the surprise was that there was a playable demo Halo: Campaign Evolved at the event, and to say the least–it absolutely felt like Halo, just modernized.
Aside from the fact that it’s a remake of the first game’s campaign, the two biggest takeaways were the fact that it’s also coming to PlayStation 5 and the game is being done on Unreal Engine 5, which honestly just felt like a matter of time with games like Gears of War and the upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator heading to PS5 too. Maybe we’ll see Master Chief on Smash for Switch 2, but I digress.
The demo I played at HWC only had The Silent Cartographer available to play, but it’s one of the most memorable levels in the entire series to this day, so I had no complaints. Known for its open-world design and combination of both shooter and vehicular combat, I don’t think there’s a better level to showcase what Campaign Evolved is all about.
Combat is just as enjoyable as I remember, but I also had fun running away. I know that’s a hot take.
Still though, it’s Unreal 5. While the game is undeniably pretty standing still, there were definitely some visual issues to note. For the most part, the game is absolutely gorgeous. From the waves crashing on the sand on the beach to the lighting on every blade of grass, the game in action is eye-popping. Of course, Unreal 5 has been known for inconsistencies in this department, and as good as the game looks, you’ll definitely notice clear imperfections up close. When Master Chief was being dropped on the beach, I noticed pop-in from the ship’s cargo dock. I also noticed the resolution and frame rate dropping during some of the more intense fights–which fans would know are plentiful in this level. I didn’t get a good look because of how the stations were arranged, but I’m pretty sure we were playing on an Xbox Series X instead of a powered up PC.
Getting back to how it plays, as I mentioned, it feels like modern Halo. So let’s make this clear now: I’ve honestly never been a series diehard, so the sprint mechanic doesn’t bother me at all. That said, you can turn it off. If you don’t want your spartan running, you don’t have to deal with it. You’ll end up with gameplay that feels a tad more clunky or heavy as a result, but that’s also what Halo used to be. I don’t believe there’s a need for either long-time fans or new fans to dock the controls. It’s worth noting that I was playing on Heroic and decided to just dash passed all the enemies. I don’t know if that’s something they want to improve or leave in since the level is historically known for tough hunter encounters, but I thought it was funny.
Something less funny was the difficulty I had with the Warthog. In all honesty, it’s something I struggled with in both the original and the Master Chief Collection, and I was hoping that it’d be easier to maneuver it, but that wasn’t the case at all. During my first playthrough of the demo, I ended up just leaving it there, because I was tired of rocks flipping the vehicle over, and the nostalgia of flipping it over again to make it feel like a balloon didn’t bring back good memories. I don’t expect this to change too much, but I wish the vehicles were closer-feeling to the ones we see in more modern shooters, which was something I hoped for in what’s supposed to be another modern take on Halo.
Ah, the bane of my Halo existence.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is slated for release next year on the Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PlayStation 5. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but I also look forward to the series hopefully entertaining new fans now that the series is no longer an Xbox-exclusive.
by Danreb Victorio
