Halo: Campaign Evolved delivers a beautiful version of the first-person shooters campaign, but I still want to see more

Date:
Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:30:17 +0000

Description:
We go hands-on with a small slice of Halo: Campaign Evolved, the stunning upcoming remake of the first Halo campaign.

FULL STORY ======================================================================
I played a small slice of Halo: Campaign Evolved ahead of its official
reveal, and can confirm that this upcoming remake of the first games
legendary single player offering is absolutely beautiful.

Diving into the start of the fan-favorite The Silent Cartographer mission,
its clear why the developers chose this section of the campaign to show off their vision. Its a level that back in 2001 seemed incredibly ahead of its time, with a semi-open environment that encouraged exploration and defied the more linear designs of other first-person shooter (FPS) games of the era.

It was a real looker, too, with lush sandy beaches that provided breathtaking views across a wide ocean expanse.

Built in Unreal Engine 5, Halo: Campaign Evolved is very much positioned to recapture the same sense of magic and wonder when it launches in 2026.

Running at a crisp 4K resolution, this new version of that famous beach
landing is dripping in cutting-edge visual tech, be that the near photorealistic textures or impressively life-like lighting effects. Its all brought together with a remastered soundtrack and tastefully re-recorded
voice lines that seem so close to the original clips that its difficult to
tell that anything has changed unless you compare them side by side.

This is very much Halo: Combat Evolved as you remember it, though I did spot
a few interesting changes here and there that hint at a little more going on behind the scenes. Firstly, the beach environment definitely seems a lot
closer to its remastered incarnation in 2014s Halo: The Master Chief
Collection , with quite a bit of added grass and foliage that wasnt
originally there. A minor, but interesting decision.

Although I didnt clock it at first, the controls have also been substantially altered to be more in line with modern expectations.

The right trigger is still used to fire as you would expect, though you now have to hold the left trigger to zoom in your weapon. Grenades are much less fiddly than before, bound to the left bumper, and you now no longer have to scramble for the B button every time you want to use your melee - thats now bound to pressing down the right thumbstick.

Do the same to the left thumbstick and youll enter a sprint, something
entirely absent from the original game. It all feels completely natural and should go a long way to making it more approachable than before, and if youre not such a fan of it, Halo Studios has confirmed that youll be able to turn
it off.

The developers have also said that there will be some more comprehensive changes in the full game.

Visual differences aside, the segment of The Silent Cartographer that I
sampled played out nearly identically to its original incarnation, though
other parts will receive more substantial tweaks. The infamous library, for example, will be significantly less maze-like with design alterations to improve the pacing of encounters and additional dialog for 343 Guilty Spark, your AI companion, to presumably guide you so that you dont get lost.

New weapons are coming in from across the series, too, including the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, and Needle Rifle, which should give even the most
seasoned Halo veteran a few more combat possibilities. I didn't spot any in
my play time, so Im interested to see just how well they fit in each level
they appear. If that wasnt enough, youll be able to pilot more vehicles, or crank up the challenge with the Skulls modifiers that return from the Master Chief Collection .

There are three tantalizing new prequel missions to boot, set before the
events of the original story and bringing in brand new enemies and
characters. The developers say that this remake is powered by the 2001 games code, with Unreal Engine 5 acting something like a layer for its visuals (an approach that also underpinned the recent The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered ), so Im curious to see what kind of things theyll be able to cook up while still using parts of that original tech.

I just wish that some of these exciting additions were present in my demo, as die-hard series fans will surely be wondering whether these new arrivals enhance or detract from the overall experience. With the game set to release
in 2026 for Xbox Series X and Series S , PlayStation 5 , and PC, its still early days, so Ill be waiting with baited breath for further news. At least
the visuals have been nailed down quickly.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/halo-campaign-evolved-delivers-a-beautiful-ve rsion-of-the-first-person-shooters-campaign-but-i-still-want-to-see-more

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