Halo: Campaign Evolved Review - The Remaster the Franchise Deserved
We spent ten-ish hours playing through Halo Campaign Evolved, alongside its included newly added bonus missions - a little disclaimer: This was the reviewers first experience with a Halo game - they went in unfamiliar with the franchise, and shared their perspective with fresh eyes, as opposed to nostalgia goggles. If you’d rather watch the review on YouTube, please do so here:
A Beautiful, Well-Deserved Remaster
One of the biggest opening surprises is how closely Halo Campaign Evolved mirrors the constant momentum found in other franchises, like DOOM. Halo Campaign Evolved delivers that exact same high-octane energy but trades the dark, heavy metal underworld for a vibrant sci-fi quest, traversing planets and rather odd-looking spaceships. While there’s a story and a bit of lore scattered throughout the game, you’re certainly not going to find yourself becoming attached to the characters, eagerly awaiting a dramatic resolution at the end of the game.
While the story features cinematic cutscenes and cinematics, the character development for Master Chief and Cortana feels somewhat underdeveloped - however, the development team has shown immense attention to detail by remastering every level, and entirely remaking every cutscenes to create a true one-to-one reflection of the original experience. They stayed loyal to the source material, keeping most of the original dialogue and narrative beats, rather than altering the story structure to fit modern trends - this is greatly appreciated, given that this is the first experience many will get to have with the Halo franchise.
Visually, the game is stunning. It’s a significantly better visual remaster than projects like The Elder Scrolls Oblivion; which threw the original game into Unreal Engine, tweaked a few minor elements and called it a day. While Halo Campaign Evolved may not reach the obsessively polished standards of a modern release - like Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 - the remastered environments, weapon textures and fully-rendered cutscenes encouraged us to stop and admire the scenery more than once. It manages to feel modern, without losing the identity of a game designed over two decades ago.
Halo: Campaign Evolved - Screenshot from Review Video
A Remastered Combat Experience
The gameplay loop is where Halo Campaign Evolved truly excels, as a reviewer that hasn’t had the privilege of playing a Halo game in the past. There is a great variety of weapons - all of which feel substantial and fun to use. Unlike modern shooters that rely on custom loadouts, survival in this remastered epic has you relying on scavenged weapons dropped by enemies, or looting corpses stashed in the corners of rooms.
The vehicle selection is introduced rapidly, and as a reviewer that had heard of the all the legendary vehicles from the game through years of browsing Reddit and hearing the references via YouTube videos and other social platforms, driving the Warthog across sweeping beaches, piloting the Ghost while weaving through incoming fire, and flying the Banshee are all incredible memories I wish I’d made 25 years ago. Even when using a mouse and keyboard on PC, the driving mechanics feel pretty responsive. The only minor drawback is the final mission, which features a ten-ish-minute driving sequence that requires players to constantly avoid obstacles; this felt slightly rough-around-the edges, but would be perfectly fine when played on a controller.
Halo: Campaign Evolved - Screenshot from Review Video
Despite the engaging combat, the game notably lacks traditional boss fights. Instead, stronger enemy variants with slightly different mechanics are sprinkled sporadically throughout the campaign. Fortunately, the game provides a room fully stocked with gear and grenades before most major choke points, to ensure shields and health are maxed out before a fierce fight.
Another frustration stems from the very (very) aggressive use of grenades and one-hit kill weapons that wipe you out, even when playing on “normal” difficulty. Additionally, the enemy AI feels pretty retro, too - perhaps its because we’ve been treated to incredibly intelligent enemy movements in modern titles, and it’s a bit of an unfair comparison to make on a game that is older than most of our readers. But, given the attention put into the visuals and combat as a whole, it’s disappointing that the enemies can become monotonous over long sessions - particually when you pair that with the lack of versatility in the enemies you’re fighting.
Scale, Collectibles & The Premium Edition
As the campaign progresses, the scale of each battle shifts dramatically, from standard room-clearing to sprawling battlefields, with each mission taking over an hour to complete. Players suddenly find themselves in the middle of a warzone, frantically moving between objectives, hopping from vehicle to vehicle. While a direct playthrough takes between 8-10 hours, attempting to clear every single enemy could easily stretch that time to thirty hours; then add another 5-10 hours for those looking to grab all the collectibles along the way.
Speaking of which - there are 42 forty skulls and an 13 terminals hidden throughout the game. Throughout our playthrough (admittedly getting a bit carried away with the combat and lore), we only found 3 skulls and 2 terminals, as they are exceptionally well hidden. Each terminal provides a bit of lore, and each skull unlocks a unique modifier for the game - with some making the game harder, others making them easier, and some new additions like the “perspective” skull found in the first mission, that allows the game to be played in third-person mode - which is the only way to view armour skins unlocked in the premium version of the game.
Halo: Campaign Evolved - Screenshot from Review Video
Alongside a completely remastered campaign, Halo: Campaign Evolved features three additional prequel missions. These missions run for 30-40 minutes each and offer a noticeable step up in quality, with each mission feeling like they were made with modern tools, using the weapons and vehicles we know and love from the original game. They feature unique weapons, scattered items, and exclusive assets not seen in the main campaign, making the bonus missions some of the best content.
Final Thoughts
Halo Campaign Evolved provides a complete, high-octane package that accurately recreates the best parts of a legendary game, while overhauling the visuals. Whether you’re experiencing the origins of Master Chief for the first time, or looking forward to potential remasters of titles like Halo Reach, this game serves as a demonstration as to how companies should accurately remaster and re-release their games.