Review Halo: Campaign Evolved Gives Us Hope for a Reforged Franchise

The original Halo: Combat Evolved established the franchise as the crown jewel of the Xbox lineup, so it's not too much of a reach to say that Halo: Campaign Evolved marks an important turning point for Microsoft as a whole. The game, which remakes the single-player portion of the original using Unreal Engine 5 instead of the Slipspace Engine used by last mainline entry Halo Infinite, is a key technical milestone for newly renamed developers Halo Studios, as they seek to rebuild confidence in Halo's future by returning to where it all began. The game also marks the debut of Halo on PlayStation, opening the doors for a completely new audience to experience the early high point of the series.

Thankfully, Campaign Evolved succeeds in capturing the essence of the original game, demonstrating a clear understanding of what made the classic experience so special. Nearly every element - from the colour palette and map design to the visual direction and core gameplay mechanics - feels authentic to the source material, resulting in an exceptionally well-crafted experience.

This level of success and understanding serves as a welcome zag from past efforts, from the promising but flawed Halo Infinite to the at-times garish Anniversary Edition of the original Halo in 2011, which must rank as one of the worst attempts at remastering a game's visual design ever. Campaign Evolved is a mulligan, a chance to start over with new leadership and new tech, and the remaster absolutely delivers.

A lot of that comes down to Campaign Evolved's presentation, which leverages modern technologies like hardware-accelerated Lumen ray tracing, emissives and MegaLights to enhance its atmosphere while staying true to the tones of the original. Where Anniversary felt washed out, Campaign Evolved fills environments with ambient lighting, rich shadows and carefully placed highlights, creating a far more convincing sense of depth, space, and grounded realism.

The developers have also refined the environments by moving away from strict adherence to original geometry. Distant rendering is far more beautiful, even fixing the missing shadows from distant trees in Halo Infinite, while upgraded materials - such as the reflective metallic sheen on the pistol - adds visual richness. These adjustments help preserve the original game's feel while making the world feel more believable and cohesive than previous attempts.

Major adjustments have been made to level design, most notably in The Library, which has been effectively redesigned to improve progression and flow. Rather than just repeating flat platform sections, the remake introduces unique layouts, mini-boss battles and organic environmental changes, with the walls getting more recognisably infested as you head deeper in. Gameplay changes also extend into the inclusion of lengthy, well-made bonus missions that tie into the broader plot.

The audio experience also receives significant attention, with the new release supporting high-quality sound over a greater number of discrete audio channels, well worth experiencing in a surround sound setup. More specifically, Evolved captures the atmosphere of these areas more effectively, with new reverb effects based on room size, and offers satisfying, punchy sound effects for weaponry. The soundtrack remains dynamic too, properly layering drums and pacing to match the on-screen action.

While Campaign Evolved does stand as a technical triumph, there are still some minor issues. Chromatic aberration and film grain are forced on, for example, and are fairly strong effects that some players might prefer to disable. Cutscenes are also displayed using pre-rendered video, which is fine on PC but provoked some stutters on Xbox Series X - which should definitely be fixed.

We'll have more to share on how the game runs on every console platform in a follow-up video and article, so stay tuned for that.

Ultimately, Campaign Evolved stands as an outstanding reimagining of an iconic series. It functions as a statement of intent for the new studio, proving they understand how to modernise the classic without losing its identity. It is a fantastic way to experience the original Halo and offers genuine hope for the franchise's future.