Halo: Campaign Evolved

Halo: Campaign Evolved was provided by Xbox for review. Thank you!

Our Steam Deck performance evaluation will be updated later today, as the key we initially got sent was for Xbox PC app.

Nowadays, video games are quite complex. They offer winding narratives, complicated mechanics, and have an insane amount of detail. However, it’s nice to go back to the basics, back to the days when we would sit down on our couches, boot up our PS2 or Xbox, and dive into the action, without thinking about weapon upgrades or stat growth. Sometimes, I miss the good ol’ days, and that’s why I was so excited for Halo: Campaign Evolved. My fond memories of the game stem from the simplicity and action, being able to just focus on killing the enemies in front of me and completing objectives to finish the mission. It was a magical time.

So, with the remake of Halo, I had high hopes. I wanted to feel like I went back in time and experience the original release without huge modern systems. I wanted to go into each mission and focus on the task at hand, killing enemies, driving my Warthog through scores of Covenant, and being able to do it all with a friend. My hope was to see if Halo: Campaign Evolved could bring back that nostalgia with enhancements that don’t change the original's feel, and I feel Xbox has done just that.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a full-fledged remake of the campaign of the first Halo game, giving us a chance to relive the events of the game that defined the original Xbox era. We can play through the full campaign, either alone or with friends, as well as a few brand new missions to experience.

The core Halo experience hasn’t changed, and that’s the best part of the game. Each mission was a blast, full of action and explosions. It felt just like the original, with some minor changes that made shooting feel more impactful. The satisfaction of running around and one-shotting grunts with my Magnum was a highlight, but the entire gameplay loop is still as satisfying as it was years ago.

For newcomers to Halo, this is a shooter without any of the complicated fluff. You go in, complete objectives, kill enemies, and finish the mission. There are no upgrades, stats, or leveling; you just go in and shoot. Similar to DOOM, there’s a heavy emphasis on cycling through weapons, so you will find yourself using the assortment of different guns that enemies may have or are dropped on the ground. All of the weapons have their pros and cons, but they are all effective. I’m usually someone who has favorite weapons, like the Magnum, but letting go of that to just pick up whatever weapon is in front of me made the game so much more enjoyable.

Along with our weapons, we also have grenades and abilities to pick up. The abilities can range from going invisible to creating an extra shield around you, and can help turn the tide in difficult situations. However, the flexibility of using all of these weapons and abilities in conjunction keeps the action fresh and dynamic.

And then we have vehicles. Some missions will allow us to use a multitude of vehicles, classics from the Halo franchise, like the Warthog and Banshee. I did have to change one setting to get more modern driving controls, but apart from that, it’s ridiculously fun to run over our enemies and use the turret to mow down scores of them.

There are 10 missions in the main campaign, but each of them has its own charm. Some may take place on an alien spaceship, while others may have us in our Warthog, trucking along a beach, and going into multiple buildings. The variety that each mission has keeps the excitement rolling. I rarely felt that any of the missions had striking similarities, and ultimately, it felt like I was getting a unique experience in each one.

And just like the original, we can find some collectibles throughout. Skulls, gameplay, and modifiers make a triumphant return, and we can also find terminals that give us more on the Halo universe. There are over 40 to find, with some helping us and others making it more difficult. I’ve always liked the idea behind Skulls, especially when playing with friends, though I found a little motivation to go back and play alone with them.

However, for those who want to customize their experience, Skulls is a great way to spice things up. There’s also a fantastic set of difficulty options we have right out of the gate, like toggling Friendly Fire, changing the crosshair size and color, toggling Hit Markers, and changing HUD details. We can even save different presets to modify Damage, Ammo, and Shield Recharge Rate. And if you wanna spice things up aesthetically, we do have different skins for weapons and Master Chief himself.

On top of that, once we unlock a few skulls, we get a new mode called Campaign Remix. This allows us to replay missions with random enemies, weapon placements, and random skulls that are enabled. This was way more fun than just enabling some Skulls and going back into the campaign. It streamlines enabling skulls and is a great motivator to go back and play again, since the core mechanics are tight and enjoyable.

And there’s something about being able to play all of it in co-op that really makes it way more fun. Driving around in the Warthog with our friend shooting enemies from the turret, running through alien spaceships, watching each other’s backs, and working together to complete objectives and find more collectibles is what makes this experience so great. It is nice to go back and see the original Halo in a new light, but nothing compares to experiencing this with a friend.

While there are a lot of smaller enhancements from the original, the biggest change comes with its fully rebuilt visuals. The entire game has gotten a major facelift, with overhauled lighting, more detailed models, high-resolution textures, and more. It makes Halo: Campaign Evolved look significantly more detailed and realistic. At first, I was worried that the new visuals would make the game feel like it was losing part of its older visual identity, but I was wrong. Oddly enough, the entire time I was playing, the world made me think of the series more than ever.

Looking at Campaign Evolved and Halo CE from the Master Chief Collection, there are some obvious, striking differences, especially when it comes to ambient lighting. The tone of the images looks quite different, but at the same time, I clearly see Halo in both of them. There’s something about the new UI elements and familiar weapon models that keep the image grounded in where it came from, but still pushes it forward. There were even some spots that I felt Campaign Evolved looked even better than the original, like when we are outside in the dark in The Truth and Reconciliation mission. There’s something about the purple hue that made it feel way more ominous.

Apart from the setting and lighting, most of the characters and weapon models look very similar to the originals. It’s more like they got a touchup and refresh versus an entire overhaul, and I’m glad that distinction was made. It definitely helped keep the remake from feeling like it strayed away from the game it's remaking.

The story itself remains pretty unchanged on top of that, still following Master Chief battling the Covenant on Halo. It’s very similar, though we do have remade cinematic cutscenes that enhance the level-to-level transitions. There are also three new bonus missions that take place 1 year before the events of the main game, where Master Chief and Sergeant Major Johnson have the task of stealing navigation data from a Covenant Research Ship. It’s a fantastic bonus with some great levels that have a good chunk of variety to them. I first expected the bonus missions would all take place in similar environments on the spaceship, but I was very wrong and very happy to be wrong.

The biggest question to answer is whether this remake is worth playing at all. The Halo: The Master Chief Collection is $39.99 and includes 6 games, including the original Halo. It also has multiplayer for each game, which the $49.99 remake is lacking. On paper, the collection seems like a better value, as it includes 6 games and their multiplayer counterparts.

However, Halo: Campaign Evolved is the definitive way to experience the original campaign. The overhauled visuals, extra missions, and small quality-of-life changes make it one worth playing through. It was tough for me to go back to the original and play through a mission after experiencing the remade campaign; there are just too many small improvements and huge visual changes that make this game worthwhile to play through, even if you love the original and have the collection.

Halo: Campaign Evolved - Steam Deck Performance

My thoughts on Steam Deck performance will come later today. For the review, I only received a code for Xbox PC, so I was not able to test on the Deck yet. However, I will be testing on the Deck today and updating with it.

However, if you want to see how the game runs on the ROG Xbox Ally X, we are finishing up a dedicated article on that and will post it soon.

Conclusion

Halo: Campaign Evolved is what I hoped for with a remake of the original Halo. It enhances in a multitude of ways, while retaining the core experience of Halo. The visuals don’t ruin the identity that was defined during the Xbox era; the change is made to bring it up to a modern feel without the modern mechanics. With this only including the campaign, it can feel like the value isn’t there, compared to The Master Chief Collection, but this is a special experience, and one that Halo fans will love.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.