Reviewed on Xbox Series X.
25 Years Later, Halo Still Feels Like Halo
There are some games you play because they’re good.
Then there are games that remind you why you fell in love with gaming in the first place.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is the former. But when I jumped into co-op with the boys, 25 years after Halo: Combat Evolved first changed everything, it became the latter.
I went into this remake wondering if Halo Studios could actually pull it off. Could they take one of the most important FPS campaigns ever made, rebuild it in Unreal Engine 5, modernize it for a new generation, and somehow not lose what made the original so damn special?
Somehow, they did.
While it isn’t perfect, this is one hell of a way to experience the original Halo campaign all over again.
The Story Still Doesn’t Need Much Fixing
The beauty of Halo’s original story is just how simple it is.
Master Chief wakes up aboard the Pillar of Autumn as the Covenant attack. The ship crashes onto a mysterious Halo ring, and before long, you’re uncovering secrets that are far bigger than you could have imagined.
That’s basically it.
And yet, it still works.
The story doesn’t drown you in exposition or throw a million characters at you. It gives you just enough information to make you curious, then lets the world itself pull you forward.
The new cinematic cutscenes are absolutely gorgeous. My eyes were glued to the screen every time one started. The characters, environments and lighting have all received an enormous visual upgrade, and seeing these iconic moments recreated with modern technology never stopped being impressive.
Unreal Engine 5 Somehow Doesn’t Lose the Halo Magic
This was probably my biggest concern going in.
Halo has a very specific visual identity. It’s colourful, vibrant, slightly chunky and unmistakably Halo.
I genuinely didn’t know if a modern Unreal Engine 5 remake would preserve that feeling or turn it into another overly shiny, photorealistic remake that loses the soul of the original.
Thankfully, Halo Studios absolutely nailed it.
The visual overhaul is impressive from top to bottom. Lighting is dramatically improved, plasma effects look fantastic, environments have far more detail and the atmosphere is stronger than ever.
And then there’s the Flood.
Some of the Flood sequences have a genuinely creepy quality to them now. The improved lighting and environmental detail make those encounters feel even more unsettling, particularly when the game starts leaning into the horror elements that were always lurking beneath Halo’s surface.
I honestly didn’t think they could make Halo look this modern while still feeling like Halo.
Well done, Halo Studios.
The Combat Still Holds Up
This is where Halo: Campaign Evolved reminds you why the original was so influential.
The combat remains fantastic.
Grunts, Elites, Jackals, Hunters and the Flood all behave differently, forcing you to constantly adjust your approach. The weapon sandbox still feels excellent, and there are few things in gaming more satisfying than grabbing a Warthog, jumping into the Scorpion or taking a Banshee into battle.
Positioning matters.
Grenades matter.
Weapon choice matters.
And on Legendary, you better know what the hell you’re doing.
I still found myself thinking about encounters, figuring out how to approach groups of enemies and making sure I had the right weapons before pushing forward. The fundamentals are still incredibly strong.
And I’ll never get tired of blasting through an encounter while that iconic Halo music kicks in.
There’s just something about it.
The Modern Changes Work
Halo: Campaign Evolved introduces a number of modern gameplay changes, and for the most part, I think they’re fantastic.
Sprinting makes traversal much faster without completely destroying the rhythm of exploration. Regenerating health replaces the original medkit system, and the equipment system adds another layer to combat.
There’s also vehicle lock-on for the Rocket Launcher, along with additional weapons including the Fuel Rod, Energy Sword and Sentinel Beam.
Some of these changes might sound sacrilegious to longtime Halo fans, but I never felt like they fundamentally damaged the experience.
The game still feels like Halo.
It just feels like Halo built for 2026.
New Skulls Add More Reasons to Replay
The addition of new Skulls and Remix modifiers is another welcome touch.
The Remix system can shake up encounters with randomized enemies and weapons, giving returning players a reason to revisit familiar missions and see how differently things can play out.
It’s especially enjoyable in co-op, where things can descend into absolute chaos pretty quickly.
And speaking of co-op…
Playing Co-op Again Was Everything
My god.
Playing through the campaign with the boys again, 25 years later, was one of those gaming experiences that I genuinely don’t think you can manufacture.
We cleared the campaign on Legendary together, and it was magnificent.
There were moments of pure chaos, moments where everything went completely to shit, and plenty of times where we were laughing our asses off.
That’s Halo to me.
It’s not just the shooting. It’s not just the music or the story.
It’s those memories you make with other people.
You don’t find this type of joy in games as often anymore, and getting to experience Halo together again after all these years was easily one of my favourite parts of Campaign Evolved.
The seamless co-op is a fantastic addition, and it feels like the perfect way to experience this remake with friends.
The Three New Prequel Missions
Halo: Campaign Evolved also includes three new missions set one year before the main campaign, featuring Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson.
These missions add roughly two hours of additional content and give us a little more insight into the world before the events of the original game.
There are some cool moments here, including retrofuturistic ship interiors, outdoor combat arenas, new Brutes and even a short Seraph space dogfight.
The new Brutes are particularly interesting, with a chest-mounted chip that can be shot to send them into a berserk state.
There’s some fun Halo cheese here, and I appreciated the attempt to expand the story.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find these missions anywhere near as polished or memorable as the main campaign.
There’s still quite a bit of hallway combat, and overall, the experience felt a little “meh” compared to everything else.
For me, the three prequel missions land around a 6/10.
They’re a nice bonus, but they’re nowhere near the same level as the main campaign.
The Missing Multiplayer Is Noticeable
This is probably my biggest disappointment.
There is no traditional multiplayer or PvP component.
I understand that Campaign Evolved is specifically focused on remaking the original campaign, but Halo and multiplayer have always been inseparable in my mind.
Even though I spent most of my time playing the campaign, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.
The seamless co-op helps enormously, but I would have loved to see some kind of multiplayer component included to make this feel like the complete Halo package.
The Verdict
Halo: Campaign Evolved is a fantastic reminder of why the original Halo became such a massive part of gaming history.
The fundamentals still hold up. The combat is still brilliant. The soundtrack still gives me goosebumps. The open encounters remain incredibly satisfying, and the Unreal Engine 5 makeover is far better than I expected.
Most importantly, it still feels like Halo.
That was the biggest hurdle Halo Studios had to overcome, and they cleared it.
The three prequel missions are a weaker addition, the lack of multiplayer is noticeable, and I did run into a few small issues here and there, but none of that takes away from what is, for the most part, an excellent remake.
And then there’s co-op.
Playing Halo with the boys again, 25 years later, and conquering the campaign on Legendary together was something I’ll remember for a long time.
Halo: Campaign Evolved isn’t perfect.
But sitting there, hearing that music, grabbing a Warthog and watching the boys get absolutely obliterated by the Flood?
Yeah.
Halo is fucking back.
Final Score: 8/10
