Halo: Campaign Evolved Is a Pretty Remake Coming to PS5, but Not an Exact One

I honestly wasn’t definite what to expect erstwhile I sat down successful beforehand of an Xbox Series X to play an aboriginal demo of Halo: Campaign Evolved, the just-announced Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original-Xbox slayer app (and yes, it’s a due remake, not a remaster similar Halo Anniversary was). And I’m honestly inactive not definite precisely however I consciousness astir it aft playing it. I decidedly wanted to beryllium blown distant by the visuals, successful the aforesaid mode that the archetypal Halo: Combat Evolved knocked my socks disconnected backmost successful 2001. Heck, we cognize Unreal Engine 5 is afloat capable! I besides didn’t privation Halo Studios (nee 343 Industries) to messiness with excessively much. Or did I? Would Halo 1 conscionable consciousness aged nary substance what? And volition PlayStation 5 gamers adjacent attraction astir this 25-year-old Xbox classical erstwhile it hits Sony’s consoles for the archetypal clip ever, day-and-date with Xbox and PC? So I went successful with tons of questions, and I near with, well…some answers. Let maine explain.

I accidental we mightiness arsenic good commencement with the obvious: however it looks. Is my look decently melted? No. But possibly yours is? I’ll beryllium funny to work the comments connected this one. Anyway, Campaign Evolved does look precise nice, nary doubt. It surely doesn’t look similar it’s 2 decades aged anymore. I played a chunk of the legendary Silent Cartographer ngo from aboriginal successful the campaign, and the skybox is beautiful, the h2o looks great, the trees look precise nice, and the terrain texture looks crisp and clean. Once you get indoors, the alien architecture has a unsocial sheen to it that the archetypal evidently ne'er had. Meanwhile, the weapons each look precisely however you’d expect them to look successful the modern era, and the Grunts, Jackals, Elites, and Hunters each look convincingly caller alternatively than reskins of quarter-century-old creatures. Everything looks clean, but not successful a soulless way. At slightest not to me. It works arsenic a cohesive art-directed abstraction successful the caller engine. I admit that VO from the main actors (read: Steve Downes and Jen Taylor, astatine the precise least) has been rerecorded, portion mocap has each been redone for the rebuilt-from-scratch cutscenes.

But let’s speech astir my biggest interest coming into this demo: the classical Halo feel. Movement, aiming, jumping, conveyance controls – it’s each got to person that semi-floaty Halo consciousness to it, and I’m pleased to study that adjacent successful this precise aboriginal state, Campaign Evolved is simply a bully spot of the mode there. No uncertainty they’ll proceed to tweak it implicit the coming months – this merchandise has nary authoritative merchandise day beyond “2026,” by the way, but I’d beryllium stunned if it’s not timed to merchandise astatine oregon precise adjacent the 25th day of Halo: Combat Evolved successful November of adjacent twelvemonth – but determination person been immoderate gameplay modernizations implemented present that person been ported backmost from consequent Halos into this remake, and portion purists mightiness bristle astatine it, astir of these look similar they’re for the champion for a 2026 first-person shooter release.

For starters, vehicles are boardable and destructible now, arsenic they were successful consequent Halo games. That means a Ghost tin nary longer torment you endlessly, nor are you efficaciously invulnerable successful a Scorpion tank. On a related note, a 4th subordinate tin present beryllium connected the backmost of a Warthog. Oh, and though I didn’t get to effort it retired connected The Silent Cartographer, the Wraith is drivable now, too, arsenic it archetypal became successful Halo 2. Also, immoderate weapons the atrocious guys wield, you tin too. As such, the Energy Sword is present successful your toolbelt if you instrumentality 1 disconnected the corpse of a Gold Elite. Halo Studios says determination volition beryllium 8 weapons successful Campaign Evolved that aren’t caller to Halo but are usable for the archetypal clip successful Master Chief’s archetypal adventure. On the question front, sprint has besides been added. It’s not connected a cooldown; you tin tally endlessly. I could spot this 1 annoying the Halo 1 purists astir of all, but not lone bash the developers accidental you tin crook it off, but you tin besides just…not usage it. I recovered it useful erstwhile moving down the formation backmost towards my ngo nonsubjective aft wandering disconnected to spell look astatine much of the caller Unreal Engine 5-rendered spaces.

What astir co-op? After Halo Studios fumbled that successful Halo Infinite, you’re astir apt wondering astir it for the remake. Two-player split-screen is confirmed, though sadly it wasn’t disposable successful my abbreviated preview build, and the improvement squad besides promises four-player online co-op with afloat cross-play and cross-progression support. As for due competitory multiplayer, though? Unfortunately, the reply to that is close successful the sanction of this remake: Campaign Evolved. There’s nary multiplayer here, which is simply a shame due to the fact that it’d definite beryllium amusive to spot Blood Gulch oregon Sidewinder oregon Hang ‘Em High successful Unreal Engine 5 with online cross-play support. I asked Halo Studios astir this, and Executive Producer Damon Conn gave maine an highly media-trained answer, saying the squad is “very focused connected recreating the archetypal run that started it all” and “[Halo] Infinite and [Master Chief Collection] supply truly large experiences for multiplayer.” Sure…for Xbox and PC players. That doesn’t assistance caller PS5 players autumn successful emotion with Halo’s glorious multiplayer, though. Presumably they didn’t privation to propulsion immoderate players distant from MCC for this, and/or adding afloat multiplayer enactment would’ve apt meant the task couldn’t get done successful clip for the 25th anniversary. But it’s inactive disappointing.

That led maine to wonderment astir pricing. Would this beryllium a full-price $70 merchandise (or possibly adjacent $80 by the clip it comes out, since Microsoft already tried to propulsion to that terms constituent this year)? Or volition it beryllium priced little – peculiarly since it’s campaign-only? The Halo Studios squad wouldn’t accidental erstwhile I asked them directly, truthful that remains to beryllium seen. Personally, $50 feels close for this, but that’s conscionable my opinion. I besides deliberation that $20 per period feels similar the close terms for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate…

OK, truthful nary multiplayer, but determination is 1 important summation I’m legitimately excited about: a caller three-mission prequel run that revolves astir Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson. This could beryllium highly cool, but unluckily that’s virtually each we cognize truthful far. In fact, Halo Studios wouldn’t adjacent archer maine if it’s accessible retired of the container oregon if you person to implicit the run successful bid to unlock it. I besides asked if they’d beryllium repurposing existing euphony from the Halo 1 soundtrack to people those missions, oregon if they mightiness committee thing caller (dare I imagination they scope retired to Marty O’Donnell himself!), and they didn’t person an reply for maine determination either.

Getting backmost to gameplay, I indispensable accidental that I inactive had amusive hooning crossed the beaches of The Silent Cartographer successful a Warthog, my UNSC Marine buddies successful the rider and gunner seats helping to mow down Covenant atrocious guys portion I attempted to crook them into hood ornaments with my beforehand bumper. Just similar aged times. I besides manned the weapon turret astatine 1 constituent to trial retired the affable AI and…it inactive needs work. In fact, idiosyncratic connected the improvement squad acknowledged this aboriginal without maine bringing it up, truthful it’s intelligibly thing they’re alert of. Honestly, though, it’s not thing I’m adjacent disquieted astir erstwhile there’s inactive (probably) upwards of a twelvemonth of improvement clip left. It’s the aforesaid with the framerate: nary uncertainty immoderate folks went consecutive to the comments to enactment immoderate inconsistencies they saw (because I decidedly noticed some), and portion it is surely important, it’s not thing I’m sweating this acold distant from the extremity of the project.

Oh, and I should besides notation that Halo Studios is adding Skulls to Campaign Evolved. Lots of them, successful fact. “Dozens” was the connection they used, with an accent connected this remake having the astir Skulls of immoderate Halo run ever. Replayability is intelligibly a absorption for the workplace present – which is understandable, fixed Halo’s beardown past successful that section arsenic good arsenic the deficiency of adversarial multiplayer – and hopefully the Skulls volition spice things up for Xbox players moving done this happening for the umpteenth time.

On that note, I couldn’t assistance but wonderment if PlayStation 5 players getting their archetypal ace astatine Halo are truly going to attraction astir this successful a mode that turns a batch of them into caller fans of the franchise. It’s a genuine question; I’ve got a batch of idiosyncratic past with Halo, truthful I simply can’t reply this one. For idiosyncratic with nary nostalgia for Master Chief, volition those players find Campaign Evolved arsenic compelling arsenic I recovered Combat Evolved? And if they do, past what? Will Halo Studios remake Halo 2 successful Unreal Engine 5? And past 3? 4? 5? Reach? ODST? Infinite? Or volition they conscionable larboard The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite to PS5 to drawback those players up? I asked the squad astir this and again got a precise media-trained half-answer: “There is an accidental for america to turn the fanbase,” Executive Producer Damon Conn told me. “We're bringing the astir players, we believe, to Halo, ever. And truthful that maturation is what we're genuinely funny in, and again, I hinted earlier this paves the mode for aboriginal stories and Halos.”

And so, arsenic you tin present see, I’m inactive near with galore unanswered questions astir this remake project. But to Halo Studios' credit, this aboriginal demo did reply a mates of cardinal ones astir however bully it could look and however Halo-y it could feel. So acold truthful bully there. I’m precise excited astir the caller three-mission prequel run featuring Sergeant Johnson, arsenic it volition beryllium the archetypal caller single-player contented successful a Halo crippled in, by that point, 5 years. Can Campaign Evolved relight Halo’s spark? That’s the biggest question of all, and it’ll person to stay unanswered for a spot longer.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our monthly(-ish) interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.