I played a little bit Halo: The campaign has evolved ahead of its official release, and I can confirm that the upcoming remake of the first game’s legendary single-player offering is absolutely attractive.
Delving deeper into the beginning of the fan-favorite mission “The Silent Cartographer,” it becomes clear why the developers chose this section of the campaign to showcase their vision. It’s a level that felt incredibly ahead of its time in 2001, with a semi-open environment that encouraged exploration and contrasted with the more linear designs of other first-person shooter (FPS) games of the era.
Absolutely unrealistic
Built in Unreal Engine 5, Halo: The campaign has evolved is on track to regain that same sense of magic and wonder when it premieres in 2026.
Running in crisp 4K resolution, this fresh version of the celebrated beach landing is dripping with cutting-edge visual technology, whether it’s near-photorealistic textures or impressively realistic lighting effects. All of this is tied together by a remastered soundtrack and tastefully re-recorded voice lines that seem so close to the original clips that it’s stiff to tell if anything has changed unless you compare them side by side.
That’s a lot Halo: Combat has evolved as you’ll recall, although I noticed a few engaging changes here and there that indicate there’s a bit more going on behind the scenes. First off, the beach environment definitely feels much closer to its 2014 remastered incarnation Halo: The Master Chief Collectionwith lots of added grass and leaves that weren’t there originally. A miniature but engaging decision.
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While I didn’t do this at first, the controls have also been fundamentally changed to be more in line with current expectations.
The right trigger is still used to shoot as you would expect, although you now have to hold down the left trigger to zoom in on the gun. Grenades are much less fiddly than before, attached to the left bumper, and now you no longer have to fumble for the B button every time you want to exploit a melee weapon – it’s now tied to pressing the right stick.
Do the same with the left stick and you’ll start sprinting, something completely absent from the original game. Everything feels completely natural and should go a long way towards making it more accessible than before, and if you’re not a fan of it, Halo Studios has confirmed that you’ll be able to turn it off.
Combat has evolved
The creators also announced that there will be more comprehensive changes in the full version of the game.
Visual differences aside, the segment of “The Silent Cartographer” I tried out myself played almost identically to its original incarnation, although other parts will receive more significant tweaks. For example, the infamous library will feel much less maze-like thanks to design changes that improve the pace of encounters and additional dialogue for 343 Guilty Spark, your AI companion who will presumably guide you so you don’t get lost.
There will also be fresh weapons throughout the series, including the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle and Needle Rifle, which should please even the most experienced Halo veteran a few additional combat options. I haven’t noticed any while playing, so I’m curious to see how well they fit into each level they appear in. If that’s not enough, you’ll be able to pilot more vehicles or boost the challenge with the Skull modifiers that return with Master Chief Collection.
Plus, there are three tantalizing fresh prequel missions set before the events of the original story and introducing completely fresh enemies and characters. The developers claim that this remake is based on the code of the 2001 game Unreal engine 5 acting as a layer of the visual layer (an approach that also underpinned the recent The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered), so I’m curious to see what kind of things they’ll be able to prepare while still using some of that original technology.
It’s just a shame that some of these thrilling additions weren’t present in my demo, as die-hard fans of the series will undoubtedly be wondering whether these fresh additions 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, it’s still early, so I’ll be waiting with bated breath for further news. At least the graphics were quickly polished.
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