Halo: Campaign Evolved is a modern remake of what is considered one of the greatest shooters of all time. Developed by Halo Studios and published by Microsoft, it aims to update the 25-year-old classic for contemporary audiences. While it succeeds in making the game visually stunning and technically proficient, it struggles to capture the essence of the original, often replacing its unique design choices with more conventional, and arguably less engaging, modern conventions.
Modernization Over Transformation
Unlike remakes that reimagine their source material, Halo: Campaign Evolved falls into the category of modernization. The developer has aimed to make the game play more like its successors, foregoing a distinct new vision. This approach presents a significant hurdle, as the original Halo: Combat Evolved remains a fantastic game, readily accessible and enjoyable through The Master Chief Collection. In comparison, Campaign Evolved feels like a superfluous addition, offering fewer features and no competitive multiplayer.
The game does offer some novelty. Scouring familiar battlegrounds reimagined by a new team, and watching expanded, high-fidelity cutscenes, provides a fresh perspective. Halo Studios has also made an admirable effort to integrate later-game weapons into the earlier parts of the campaign without overshadowing the original arsenal. Technically, the remake is impressive, successfully translating the feel of Halo into an Unreal Engine 5 framework. Grenades bounce correctly, and Master Chief's movement feels appropriately floaty, contributing to what is arguably the best-feeling Halo experience the studio has yet assembled.
Design Choices Under Scrutiny
Despite its technical achievements, Campaign Evolved falters in its design decisions, which often feel at odds with the original's strengths. The inclusion of a sprint button, for instance, diminishes the tension of Flood encounters and makes vehicles less impactful. An assault rifle with extended range and abundant ammunition negates the need to experiment with other weapons. The Warthog, made easier to control and harder to flip, strips the tension from the iconic "Warthog run" sequence. Constant waypoints, while seemingly helpful, override the environmental cues that once guided players organically.
These changes suggest a belief that modern gameplay sensibilities are inherently superior, a notion the review questions. The original Halo's deliberate pacing, the challenging handling of its vehicles, and the rewarding exploration of its environments were core to its identity. Modern conveniences like sprinting, easily controlled vehicles, and ever-present waypoints, while standard in many modern FPS games, arguably detract from what made Halo: CE unique.
Visuals: A Double-Edged Sword
Visually, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a striking achievement. The Unreal Engine 5 showcases impressive environmental detail, from ocean wave effects to the intricate design of Master Chief's armor in the updated cutscenes. However, this pursuit of photorealism comes at a cost. The game's aesthetic can sometimes lean towards a generic realism, losing the alien atmosphere of the original's vistas. What once felt like a hauntingly beautiful, misty landscape can now appear as a picturesque, almost postcard-like scene.
While some vistas are more dramatic and communicative than the original, others suffer from excessively dark rooms due to ray tracing, making it difficult to appreciate the detail. This contrasts with the original's precisely placed baked lighting, which offered superior readability. The remake's interpretation of Forerunner architecture, with its highly reflective steel, also sacrifices the distinct, alien feel of the original's brutalist concrete and metal. These reflections can also lead to overstimulating visual noise during firefights.
The artistic changes extend to the audio and effects. Plasma grenades have lost their distinct visual and auditory cues, making them harder to detect. Gun sounds have been altered, with the beam rifle losing its iconic "shutter click" and the sniper rifle's sound being significantly changed. These alterations, while perhaps aiming for modern fidelity, can detract from the original's memorable sound design.
Content and Value Proposition
For its $50 price point, Halo: Campaign Evolved includes the main campaign, three bonus missions set before Halo: CE, and four-player co-op. Notably absent are any forms of PvP multiplayer or a theater mode, significant omissions given the series' multiplayer legacy. The bonus missions, set on a Covenant ship, offer little variation and suffer from repetitive combat encounters and uneven difficulty tuning.
Compared to The Master Chief Collection, which costs $40 (often less on sale) and offers six Halo campaigns (two with Anniversary updates), full multiplayer support, Forge, and Theater mode, Campaign Evolved presents a less compelling value. While the four-player co-op is a welcome addition, the lack of PvP multiplayer significantly limits its long-term appeal.
Performance was excellent on high-end hardware, but concerns remain about how the game will run on less powerful systems, especially when DLSS can introduce visual artifacts. Ultimately, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a technically impressive remake that highlights the enduring brilliance of Bungie's original design. However, its adherence to modernization over genuine reimagining and its questionable design choices make it a difficult recommendation for those who already appreciate the classic.