Halo Campaign Evolved | PC | REVIEW

''TIME TO START THE FIGHT''

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Developed: Halo Studios

Published: Xbox Game Studios

Genre: First Person Shooter

Release Date: July 28th, 2026

Platforms: Xbox Family Series/Windows/PS5/STEAM

Game provided to me by XBOX

Halo Campaign Evolved is a return of a beloved classic and it is developed by Halo Studios and published XBOX Game Studios. With the franchise being on the backburner since the mixed reception of Halo Infinite, the team at XBOX Game Studios decided its time to go back to the beginning and remake the game that started it all. But was this is a wise decision to touch such an amazing classic? or should they have taken a new route entirely? Only one way to find out, so lets start the fight!

''MOMENTS BEFORE DISASTER''

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GAMEPLAY:

If you're like me and started your journey with the franchise back in 2001, then you know this release of Halo Campaign Evolved is kind of a big deal, not only in an overall sense relating industry wide, but because, since 2001, it has redefined the first person shooting genre not only with the way it told its story, introduced its characters, but overall how it told its narrative through gameplay and Sci-Fi elements. Not to mention being one of the main titles to usher in the golden era of online match making with lobbies that would make people nowadays have their head spin and clutch their pearls from the words they heard. Me however? I was fascinated, as an 11 year old in a lobby of screaming adults saying the most obscene and profane things my ears have ever heard, it was freaking awesome. It was peak gaming and only got better as the franchise moved to XBOX 360, which remains not only one of my favorite consoles of all time due to its game variety and online play, but it's also my favorite XBOX console in general. I mean, come on, don't you guys remember the movie app they had on it, where you can pull up a movie and invite friends to a party and then it would show you all inside a theater like you're watching a newly released movie? that floored my brain. Same goes for all the awesome Arcade titles like Dorito's Crash Course or Trials HD?, oh man, I miss it. But were way off topic, sorry about that. My point is that Halo ushered in a new era for me personally and for many other gamers in general, and even through its ups and downs through the original trilogy, Reach, ODST and even Halo Infinite, the franchise still remains beloved, all things considered. Here in Campaign Evolved, its exactly what the name says, its the original game, Combat Evolved, but simply focused on the main story campaign over any multiplayer aspects. Yeah I know, that's a huge bummer, mostly since Halo's multiplayer is pretty iconic and a mainstay for the franchise, so no multiplayer means, yeah... no tea bagging, sorry guys and gals. Well, to be fair, you still CAN tea bag someone, just only in single player mode during the campaign, case and point, me doing it to a trash soldier who couldn't put up a decent fight till I showed up to save the day... stupid noob, he deserved it... HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES BRO? HUH?. Uh oh, oh man this is embarrassing. I totally broke my own rules and went against my own personal PSA I made about tea bagging...now I have become part of the problem. Multiplayer aside, Campaign Evolved still does a great job at helping you re-live the past glories of the franchise and reminds you why the original game in 2001 is still just as great here in 2026.

Returning to the simplicity people know and love with the over abundance of sci-fi elements, hordes of enemies to blast away with assault rifles, needle guns, rocket launchers, banshee and warthog driving, its all here and still feels as smooth and fluid as ever. But just like in the case of 2001, my skills with the Warthog have not changed whatsoever and I'm still as bad as I've ever been, there really is no hope for me. Hell, I can't even properly throw a plasma grenade anymore without blowing myself up, we've reached that stage in life where someone just has to old yeller me and take me out to the back of a shed to put me out of my misery because I'm way past my prime. My waning skills aside, the game still remains as funny and fast paced as you remember it, with fast flowing action that has you constantly switching weapons to survive an intense fire fight, or laughing watching the little grunts run at you screaming as if they're going to murder you, then as soon as you shoot back and engage, they raise their hands and run away screaming in squeaky high pitched voices.. its pretty dang hilarious and even more hilarious if you run after them and smack them in the back of the head or just straight blow them up, good times. The games set pieces have also been revamped with higher fidelity to make an already epic adventure feel even more of an authentic modern experience that lets it stand side by side with a more contemporary standard seen in the gaming industry today. I know its a taboo to say ''made for a modern audience'' nowadays, but for Campaign Evolved, it mostly works, albeit with some downsides here and there that don't quite pan out. Some things people will have issue with is modern additions to the game like equipment use, more in depth aiming options for guns that wasn't present in the original and even adding in a sprinting feature that wasn't a thing till installments after the original game. While on paper, for me, it isn't a big deal, but for purists I know it could be a headache or a pet peeve, believe me, I know, I'm a Final Fantasy 7 purist at heart and some of the changes made in the Remake series have ticked me off pretty good, like the overly used Advent Children themes at the end of each game or those DAMN FORCE GHOSTS... I know I'm a broken record about that, but damn, I need therapy about it at this point. So what I'm trying to say to all you Halo purists out there, I'm with you, I get it. But... at least you get dancing dismembered enemy body parts!.

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''I FLEW OUT OF THE WINDSHIELD BTW''

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There's also a flipside to that same argument though. If you don't add new things or change stuff here and there then you're going to just run into a scenario where a game is just one to one with its original counterpart, but now with new coat of paint to make it more appealing to the eye. Campaign Evolved is somewhere in the middle of this argument too with changes made to the original games gameplay that annoys purist and at the same time, is completely beholden to the purists as well since Campaign Evolved isn't a Final Fantasy 7 remake scenario or even the re-tellings of Resident Evil like Capcom has done and it instead keeps everything intact that was present in the original titles campaign, all the way down to the instances of backtracking, and going down corridors or straight pathways just mowing down hordes of enemies for hours on end. Don't get me wrong, its still fun, unlike when Final Fantasy 13 and Final Fantasy 15 made you run down hallways of boredom, but it can still feel a little repetitious if you are in the mood of comparing it to how modern shooters are made. To make up for the repetitive nature people might have issues with, in this version of the game, you get many more options to customize your experience with unlockable skulls, better spawning and placements of weaponry so you aren't stuck trying to find the ''GOOD'' gun, and even ways to customize weapons and armor itself. In reality it may not seem like that much, but when the game is in motion, trust me, you'll notice the difference awfully fast. Even though the experience could be repetitive for some people who wanted a little MORE out of the experience, I however did not feel that way during my playthrough at all, a lot of the time I'd spend my time just gawking at the graphical overhaul and see all the areas I literally grew up in, brought back to life in stunning ways, and allow myself to sink back into the 11 year old me's brain for a little bit to truly appreciate the work that was done on the graphical and fidelity side of things, cause seeing how it is now is how my 11 year old self saw it in my head as I was playing back in 2001, and for me it was a coming full circle moment. But do you know what WASNT a full circle moment? Bullet Witch Remastered on PC. In my 10 years of reviewing games, it was such an abomination of a remaster that it's one of the ONLY games to get a straight up PASS from me, no, not a WAIT for a price drop like I do with a lot of games, just a straight up STAY AWAY verdict because good golly miss molly, its an abomination upon my gaming library and I blame Halo generic soldier for my pain, for no reason at all. SEE WHAT YOU DID YOU DANG JERK, ITS ALL YOUR FAULT.

Outside of the main story which is basically one to one with the original, new stuff beyond just the tweaks in gameplay mechanics were added and its an addition that left me pleasantly surprised at how fun and engaging it actually was and proves that new content for Halo can actually STILL BE GOOD if you try hard enough or care enough, what am I talking about? I'm talking about the new bonus missions that act as a prequel to the events of the original Halo title. In these three bonus missions, lasting roughly 2 hours or so depending on how many times you die, you team up with the ever vibrant Sergeant Johnson as you invade Covenant ships to learn more about this so called ''Halo'' thingy these boys are talking about around these parts. Through these 3 missions, you will take part in skirmishes, fight strong tank like enemies, take down power stations, infiltrate enemy bases, team up with other military members to help stop the threat from spreading, take to space in an awesome dog fighting scene where you must protect your teams vessel from being destroyed before they can use a decisive blow to take out the dangerous Covenant ship, it was really fun and just made me want even more of Chief and Johnson's team up. Definitely one of the highlights added to this remake and I feel a lot of people are going to feel the same way. Not generic soldier though because hes DEAD.

''NOW WHERE IS SLIPPY?!''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, Halo Campaign Evolved ended up being enough to satisfy my personal hunger for a great Halo experience. Granted its not perfect, with the game feeling a bit dated due to the backtracking, a few long walks of nothing happening via narrow pathways, one to one retelling of the main story, and even a lack of traditional multiplayer - those can all hamper the experience for some, for sure. However with three brand new prologue missions telling the events that take place directly before the first game in the series, quality of life updates for me like sprinting, weapon spawning, attention to detail given to the environments inside and out, fast and fluid gameplay, fantastic voice acting for all characters involved, and just the right amount of nostalgia bait, makes Halo Campaign Evolved a must play for me personally and I feel if you're a hardcore fan of Halo and are on the fence about it, to at least give it a look at, even if its just through Game Pass. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW.

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