I credit the Halo series with changing my entire video game history. At a birthday party in 2001, I got my hands on Halo: Combat Evolved for the original XBOX, and from that moment forward, I became an XBOX guy. The gunplay, excellent graphics, cutscenes pulled straight from Star Trek, and an alien menace called the Covenant trying to dismantle humanity made me never look back.
I had Halo fever from 2001 onwards, and with the return of Halo in Halo: Campaign Evolved, it turns out the fever still burns hot. Halo: Campaign Evolved brings one of the best FPS titles that revolutionized the genre to the current gaming landscape, and it has never played better.
For returning UNSC members, Halo: Campaign Evolved is far different from the 2011 anniversary remake. First, let’s rip the bandage off and say what is missing: there is no player-versus-player multiplayer, which is a sore spot for the experience. But with that single removal comes a wealth of additions that make this the best way to play the original Halo campaign experience.
“I credit the Halo series with changing my entire video game history.”
The 4K visuals allow Master Chief to glisten in the sunlight, with gunfight scarring giving the Mjolnir Mark V armour history worthy of the legend. Halo: Campaign Evolved also adds a total of nine new weapons to the game for dispatching the Covenant hordes. Battle Rifle and Energy Sword fanatics, these additions are for you, and they play like they were pulled from later entries in the series.
On top of the nine new weapon types, there are a whopping three new missions that set up the events of the base game. These prequel missions focus on the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief himself, and the duo must embark on a mission to retrieve vital intel and destroy a ship where the Covenant are conducting experiments. Halo fans may even recognize an enemy or two here, with no spoilers. These missions fit right into the DNA of Halo: Campaign Evolved and feature exhilarating firefights that give Legendary difficulty players a run for their money.
What Halo: Campaign Evolved did not change is the legendary voice acting that has made the franchise iconic for the past 25 years. Cortana and Master Chief are recast with their original voices, Jen Taylor and Steve Downes, and their performances carry the title through the narrative. Downes’ raspy assertions and Cortana’s matter-of-fact delivery still hit just as hard in 2026 as they did in 2001.
“Halo: Campaign Evolved brings one of the best FPS titles that revolutionized the genre to the current gaming landscape, and it has never played better.”
Max Szlagor, creative director of Halo: Campaign Evolved, said these choices were by design. The team recreated the game as best it could while adding quality-of-life improvements where necessary, and those improvements are written all over Halo from the first cutscene. Its mission was to make the title feel as undeniably Halo as possible, and the team hit a home run. One of the downsides to that attention to detail is pre-rendered cutscenes, but hear me out.
Before, the actual in-game character models would be used in cutscenes, and hilarious glitching would sometimes occur, such as a rogue vehicle unexpectedly taking out Master Chief. Unfortunately, or fortunately for some, this jank no longer occurs, but cutscenes have been improved to the level of Prime Video’s Secret Level series. They bleed character and show glorious detail that even the 2011 remaster held back. When Captain Keyes hands you his Magnum in “The Pillar of Autumn,” the first mission, you can tell it is unique this time around.
When I started Halo: Campaign Evolved, I could not put the controller down until the credits nearly rolled. It is that good. Halo Studios took everything it has learned since becoming the steward of the series, formerly known as 343 Industries, and stapled it to this remake to make this one of the best-playing Halo campaigns possible, and it has succeeded. Master Chief feels like the true demon the Covenant fear, and stepping behind the visor feels powerful.
“Halo: Campaign Evolved is the best way to play the first title in the series, split-screen included and all, and it is not close.”
The sound team also worked magic to make Halo: Campaign Evolved explode through speakers. The original soundtrack is remastered here, and the Gregorian chant of the theme echoes through the main menu with authority. It gave me goosebumps in 2001, and here it accomplishes the same goal, even when Master Chief first looks at the big weapon of mass destruction itself, the game’s namesake, Halo. Sound effects, including grunts running for cover or Sangheili, the Covenant Elites, shouting “That’s the Demon!” can be heard clearly. Cortana still buzzes in your ear like an AI version of Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
For veterans, a whopping 42 skulls, up from 13, can be found on the campaign maps, and after you locate three of them, a new Campaign Remix menu opens on the home screen. Here, fans can dive into a completely randomized experience from the Halo Studios team, kind of like a Master Chief Dungeons & Dragons session where the game master is chortling behind a wall. With this randomized skull selection deployed, you can even spawn into “The Pillar of Autumn” with a rocket launcher, with all grunts replaced by heavier-hitting enemies.
While the missing player-versus-player multiplayer is a glaring absence from the experience, Halo: Campaign Evolved still retains its identity. Attention to detail has been given to every single corridor in Halo: Campaign Evolved, and everything has been reworked from the ground up to give fans the best possible Halo campaign experience imaginable from the first instalment. New skulls have even been added to undo some of the gameplay improvements; the Halo faithful can turn off sprint. While it still has some blemishes, Halo: Campaign Evolved is the best way to play the first title in the series, split-screen included and all, and it is not close.
