Halo: Campaign Evolved

August 7, 2026

Overview:

A remaster/remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign. There really isn’t much to say that wasn’t in my original take on the first game but there are some quality of life fixes. The controls have been modified which allow you to run and aim with the left trigger. I dunno how to feel about this as I feel it’s taken the feel of Halo and made it a generic shooter. It does help aiming but the game never had that problem to begin with. Running makes the evasion aspect of the game a heck of a lot easier to do but it too also takes away the original feel. I’m not really complaining about them but their addition does make the game feel different.

*Even though pre-rendered, Master Chief still looks good.*

Visuals:

This is where the most work was done for the game with Unreal Engine 5 being used to remake the game. I know I’m all about the old games and think that the style the game had was always good but I think what 343 has done captures what the game could have looked like in the developers’ minds. The enemies all look more detailed but behave exactly how you think they should. Nothing was changed just for the sake of changing as everything has that same Halo vibe to it. The only thing I wish was that they got rid of the pre-rendered cinematics. They’re jarring when the game looks so good already. It does look loads better than the Anniversary version released some 15 years ago, so that’s a plus.

Audio:

The game sounds exactly how it did 25 years ago. The voices seem off a little bit but I can’t really tell if they were recorded again.

Completion:

I’m working through the game still and have passed one of the worst parts of the game: The Library. This level sucks in that it’s confusing and enemies are everywhere. I found out that the level did get redone and it flows better but to take away the level feels kind of like rewriting history. Let sleeping dogs lie, I say. I’m almost done with the game but it still feels like Halo.