Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto hasn’t been silent when it comes to his criticisms of Halo: Campaign Evolved. While he previously had spoken about having quite a bit of fun with the remake, as time has gone on, Lehto has started to find more and more issues with the title. In a new post, he criticized the lack of PvP multiplayer in Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Since the franchise is quite well-known for its arena-style PvP game modes, Lehto believes that Halo: Campaign Evolved should have at least included split-screen PvP modes. He went on to blame the studio’s lack of oversight and poor planning for the feature being completely missing.
“Split-screen MP in Campaign Evolved should have been included. There’s little excuse aside from lack of oversight and poor planning that led to this misstep. So sad this wasn’t included.”
Halo: Campaign Evolved was confirmed to not feature PvP elements as far back as last year. Following a few rumors, Halo Studios would eventually confirm that the only multiplayer modes available in the remake would focus on co-op experiences for the campaign as well as a host of new missions that were created for the remake.
Lehto has been quite vocal in criticizing Halo: Campaign Evolved. Earlier this week, he took to social media to mention that Halo Studios had made quite a few mistakes when it came to art direction, especially for Forerunner technology. Pointing to the remake’s depiction of the ring in the main menu, Lehto said that it “looks like it was built a few years ago”. This is despite the fact that the ring is supposed to be an ancient structure.
“While Forerunner tech was metal (not stone), it was also ancient, vast, alive, and a tomb to the horrors that lurked within. It had seen hundreds of millennia of conflict. Yet the game shows it as shiny metal that looks like it was built a few years ago.” He also called it “the most offensive thing we see every time we boot up the game.”
“It should feel massive, dark, mysterious, sinister, but also full of wonder. This new ring looks like a shiny new toy – out of scale, no mystery, damn ugly.” He also noted that “For the lore, the ring in CE resides far out on the fringe of the Milky Way galaxy,” which was visible in the menu screen for the original Halo: Combat Evolved. The remake, on the other hand, has a largely empty field of space in the background dotted with a few stars.
Halo: Campaign Evolved was released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S last month. While no real sales data for the remake has been revealed, Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliot estimates that around 1.2 million copies have been sold so far, generating $67 million in revenue. Steam was seemingly the smallest contributor to this, accounting for only 17 percent of the sales.
For more details about Halo: Campaign Evolved, take a look at our review. Also check out rumors about what might be next for Halo Studios.
