Halo: Campaign Evolved Review (PS5)

Writing about Halo: Campaign Evolved is surprisingly difficult because, to me, it’s more than just a game. It was an experience. When it launched alongside the original Xbox, it became the killer app that convinced people to buy the console. Halo wasn’t simply another shooter. It defined a generation, and trying to bottle that feeling for a modern audience is almost impossible.

The best way I can describe it is like cracking an extra cold drink on a hot summer’s day. That very first sip is perfect. It is exciting, refreshing and instantly familiar. Then, after a while, the novelty settles, and you begin noticing the little imperfections you never paid attention to before. That is exactly how returning to Halo felt. The nostalgia hits immediately. Within seconds of picking up the controller, albeit this time
a DualSense!

Yet every movement came back through pure muscle memory. I didn’t need a tutorial. I already knew where I wanted to go, which weapons I wanted to use, and yes, my Magnum and I were once again in a very serious relationship. I missed her. One of the strangest parts of this release was playing Halo on a PlayStation 5, as I mentioned. That still feels surreal to say out loud. Yet after only a few minutes, it completely disappeared from my mind because Halo is still Halo. The controls remain responsive, the gunplay feels fantastic, and the combat sandbox is just as entertaining as ever. Throwing sticky plasma grenades, watching enemies scramble before they explode, driving Warthogs through chaotic battlefields and tackling encounters however you choose is still endlessly satisfying.

Changes this time around, however, include some weapons, movements and vehicles at our disposal which were only available in other Halo games in the franchise. They’re more liberally available here, and these minor changes are peppered throughout the experience. There were moments where I had to second-guess myself to really think if that was the way it was to begin with.

It had a compounding effect on me that it genuinely confused me. It felt so familiar to use these weapons, but they weren’t available in the original, such as the Energy Sword, which is from Halo 2. My last experience with Halo was with Halo Infinite, so going into this game I played it in a similar fashion, which is all guns blazing and bouncing around the battlefield. It felt right at home, which was both odd and yet so
natural considering they had added these small new changes in the game.

The equipment abilities introduced never really bothered me either. They act more as inventory rather than power-ups. They don’t fundamentally change the experience. Halo’s combat is already so satisfying that I naturally fell back into that rhythm.

The campaign itself remains relatively short, but Halo has always been built around replayability. Whether you’re playing solo or jumping into co-op with a friend, it never loses that addictive quality. In fact, it has such a strong co-op focus, and it’s still the best way to experience the campaign when you’re battling your way with friends. It becomes less about reaching the end and more about the ridiculous moments that
naturally happen along the way.

I didn’t have many issues with co-op. There was a moment where I couldn’t get a connection, but once I did, it was a blast. You can also do crossplay co-op as the game simply places your Xbox friends in one tab while my PlayStation buddies in another tab. To note one function that left me a bit frustrated was local co-op. To play this, you need both players to be signed into a Microsoft account, which felt a bit backwards to try and commit to the social aspects of the game. So you’ll need to make sure you have your accounts ready.

With that said, time has exposed a few areas that haven’t aged quite as gracefully. I never realised just how many corridors Halo had until replaying it. While the environments are still iconic, there are stretches where rooms begin to blur together and some levels overstay their welcome. The corridors especially felt like I was in one of those old school Looney Tunes cartoons, where they all just blend and feel recycled. This felt more prevalent in the new missions. Otherwise, there are changes to some levels to make it look more natural with a more modern touch, and everything felt like it was an accentuation rather than a detraction.

The new prologue missions, however, left me a little conflicted. I appreciated having extra content, but they didn’t quite capture what makes Halo feel like Halo. It almost felt like someone trying to imitate Bungie’s formula rather than naturally expanding it. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it lacked the magic that defines the original campaign. It was odd, and perhaps it could just be me, but something felt a little off. If
you’re a fan of the dynamic between Chief and Sgt Johnson, you’ll love this.

Difficulty remains one of Halo’s greatest strengths. I jumped straight into Heroic expecting a challenge and the game certainly delivered. Encounters demand patience, expert movements and a keen attention to weapon management. Thankfully, the checkpoint system is incredibly generous, making even the tougher sections feel fair instead of frustrating. Want it to make it more tough? How about trying to collect some skulls? With 42 skulls on offer to find through the levels, each one bringing in a unique modifier to your playstyle.

Visually, this remake is excellent. Character models look fantastic. Master Chief has never looked better, and the updated cutscenes are incredibly well produced. Performance was a silky 60fps smooth experience for almost my entire playthrough, although I did notice a strange animation issue during larger firefights where some enemies appeared to move at a noticeably lower frame rate than everything else around them. It only happened occasionally and never affected gameplay, but it was noticeable enough to mention.

I also encountered a couple of odd glitches during the new prologue missions where dying unexpectedly pushed me further through the level than it should have. Thankfully, these issues were isolated and never spoiled the experience.

The soundtrack is as incredible today as it was over twenty years ago. Those iconic chants still send chills down your spine. Every piece of music instantly transports you back to the original Xbox era. Very few games have music this memorable, and Halo remains one of them.

Perhaps what impressed me most is that Halo is still simply fun. Sometimes we overanalyse older games looking for flaws instead of appreciating why they became classics in the first place. Halo’s physics, enemy encounters, vehicle combat and open-ended firefights still create moments that feel completely unique. There is something incredibly satisfying about being the lone supersoldier taking on impossible odds while the game constantly throws memorable battles your way.

I don’t think this remake radically reinvents Halo, nor do I think it was ever trying to. Instead, it carefully modernises one of gaming’s most important shooters while respecting almost everything that made it special in the first place. For newcomers, this is still one of the best introductions to the Halo universe. For longtime fans, it is a welcome excuse to revisit a game that helped define an entire generation.

Some experiences simply cannot be recreated because they belonged to a particular moment in gaming history. Halo: Combat Evolved is one of those experiences. The magic of 2001 may be impossible to fully recapture, but what remains is still an outstanding campaign that reminds us exactly why Master Chief became one of gaming’s greatest icons. Whether this is your first trip around the ring or your twentieth, Halo is still an absolute blast to play.