Halo: Combat Evolved is one of those rare games with cultural influence extending beyond its own orbit. The 2001 original laid the foundation for console shooters as we know them, all while introducing millions to Master Chief. Twenty-five years on, Halo Studios is returning to the landmark release with Halo: Campaign Evolved, a ground-up remake which aims to modernise the original without re-writing its legacy. From reworked AI and redesigned campaign levels, to remastered audio, accessibility improvements, and meaningful quality-of-life upgrades, here are fifteen things you need to know before you crashland once again onto the storied ringworld.
UE5 Remake Built on Legacy Code
Halo Studios Game Director Greg Hermann stated to Xbox Wire that despite Halo: Campaign Evolved being a remake, it is critical that it delivers gameplay that is 100% authentic. So, how is his team achieving this, given Campaign Evolved is a ground-up Unreal Engine 5 remake? Well, by layering modern lighting, geometry, and animation tech on top of legacy code, the team has been able to metamorphose the original’s DNA piece-by-piece. The result isn’t just prettier visuals, but a reestablishing of Halo’s emotional and narrative impact. In simpler terms: gameplay is modernised, yet identity is preserved.
More Reactive Enemy AI
We discussed Campaign Evolved’s co-op modes in our “10 Major Differences From The Original” feature, but going deeper to outline its implications on gameplay we can look to Halo Studios’ mid-June Reddit Q&A where they confirmed that enemy encounters will scale according to human players. Together with difficulty selection, enemy numbers will increase in-line with players, but co-operative play also brings the chance of higher ranked enemies too. Meanwhile, AI has been re-thought – they’ll target more efficiently based on your loadouts and positioning while falling back more intelligently to preserve health. Encounters with the enemy, then, should feel dynamic, with potential for less predictability in repeat playthroughs.
Preserving the “Halo Feel”
It’s fair to say that responses to certain elements of Campaign Evolved’s design are mixed, with conversations orbiting the concern that the remake is simply copying contemporary FPS games. If anything, Campaign Evolved is a replica of its twenty-five year old self, with Halo Studios using cutting-edge systems and development tools to bridge the gap between the modern player’s expectations and the partially-archaic feel of the original Halo’s combat. Now, the gunplay’s pioneering rhythm – of shield breaking, retreating, repositioning, then re-engaging – is smoother. Every new mechanic, Halo Studios assures, has been measured against preserving “Halo feel”.
Narrative Delivery
Through re-recorded dialogue, more natural vocal performances, and a sprinkling of additional conversations, Halo: Campaign Evolved’s narrative delivery should feel uplifted. So, while Chief remains relatively reserved, the game’s supporting characters gain greater presence and personality, strengthening storytelling while remaining recognisably Combat Evolved.
Remastered Music
Combat Evolved’s score is among the most evocative sounds in gaming, instantly transporting you back to the original’s menu screen. If Halo Studios truly want to refresh the core of Combat Evolved’s identity, then remastering Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori’s original score is a no-brainer. So, instead of a newly-composed soundtrack – fresh compositions for the prequel levels aside – 2001’s choirs, sweeping orchestral arrangements, synthetic ambience, and marching beats have been revitalised, treating one of Halo: Combat Evolved’s greatest strengths with the respect it deserves. Check out Halo’s official YouTube channel if you haven’t already for a six-hour preview of Campaign Evolved’s remastered music working harmoniously with the remake’s refreshed menu screen.
Higher Fidelity Sound Design and Spatial Audio
And, together with the remastered score, the remake is also levelling up the original’s sound design. Gunfire, for instance, has been completely overhauled with crisper, weightier sound, with clearer distinction between UNSC weaponry, moving away from Combat Evolved’s overly-compressed stock effects. Now, weapons are as much a part of Halo’s iconography as music, vehicles, or level design, so there is concern that redesigning sound means losing identity. But, to counteract this, consider the reworked sounds are also being implemented into spatial audio systems, with their higher fidelity dispersing realistically across different environments, resulting in more immersion and better gameplay readability.
Changes to the Flood
The Flood are among Campaign Evolved’s biggest changes. For starters, the Flood Tank Form first introduced in Halo 3 makes an appearance, sporting physical armour plates which need to be shredded by spraying bullets whilst they spew Infection Forms at you. They’re tough to dispatch, and together with an ability to reanimate corpses the Flood now pose significantly more threat. Elsewhere, a dismemberment system inspired by Halo Infinite makes discarding limbs – revealing the tendrils beneath – a possibility. Some things, however, haven’t changed: plasma-type weapons are still nigh-on useless.
Restructured Levels
Yes, we mentioned already in our “10 Things” article that Campaign Evolved aims to improve wayfinding, citing the maze-like Library as an example. But, what the remodelled Library also encapsulates is the remake’s willingness to restructure itself wholesale, not just for clarity but for pacing and avoiding repetition. So now, each of the Library’s spaces is visually distinct, making each encounter more memorable than merely destroying wave-after-wave of The Flood. This philosophy extends to the rest of the remake, where the goal isn’t to modernise level design for modernisation’s sake but to make each environment more engaging to play through.
HUD & UI Changes
Halo: Campaign Evolved reshuffles the original HUD’s layout to support modern readability: the motion tracker shifts to the top right, the shield and health indicators become a top-centre meter, while weapon, ammo, and grenade information now appears bottom right and left respectively. Icon locations are adjustable, of course, but noteworthy is how diegetically embedded they are into Chief’s eye view. In line with visor indentations, Campaign Evolved’s HUD changes overlay the first-person action as if you’ve entered the fray wearing Chief’s helmet yourself. Elsewhere, additional objective prompts and hitmarkers bring the remake up to speed with modern shooters, although you can switch these off if you’re chasing an old-school appearance.
Accessibility and Controls
Campaign Evolved’s modernisations don’t stop at visuals, sound, and combat design either, but the remake brings a suite of customisable controls and accessibility options. Control-wise, layouts can be re-mapped entirely, with dead-zone adjustments ensuring you can finetune responsive movement and targeting. The Warthog can now be directed with driver-based steering, bringing it in-line with modern racers, although the traditional aim-based steering is still an option. Elsewhere, accessibility options feature tools for visually impaired players, including UI narration support, adjustable text sizes, and alternative colour schemes to ensure the game remains readable for colourblind players.
Difficulty Rebalance and Modifiers
The remake’s difficulty modes have been rebalanced in single player, while dynamically-scaling difficulty in co-op modes can be calibrated further via a quintet of modifiers. Each modifier can be tailored individually, ensuring anybody, no matter their skill, can participate as part of a co-operative team. Damage resistance, shield recharge rates, melee damage, infinite ammo, damage dealt – there’s scope to finetune the experience to be as easy or challenging as you like.
Reworked Checkpoint Spacing
A small quality-of-life improvement, sure, but it’s one, according to Campaign Evolved’s Creative Director Max Szlagor, that the community has repeatedly highlighted as a point of frustration. Not only does the remake shorten the gaps between set pieces, but checkpoint spacing adjusts dynamically depending on whether you’re playing solo or as part of a co-op team, ensuring no comrade is left behind while also tightening the flow and pace of each level.
The Remake Feels Like a New Dawn
If we take Halo Studios’ Executive Producer Damon Conn’s words as truth: “starting with the original campaign means people that have never played the game before will be able to understand the story from the very beginning, and that can help us chart a course forward with new Halo stories,” then Campaign Evolved isn’t just a celebration of Halo’s origins but also a flag planted firmly in the series’ future. It’s the first title from 343-rebranded Halo Studios, and the first to land on PlayStation. Whether Microsoft’s multi-platform strategy subsides is unclear, but one thing is certain: Halo is back with the blueprint for future titles and remakes.
Release Date, Platforms, Price, and Editions Available
Halo: Campaign Evolved launches globally on July 28th to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam or the Xbox PC App. The Standard Edition is priced at $49.99, while the Premium Edition will set you back $69.99, and for the extra outlay you’ll get exclusive cosmetics and five-day early access. A Collector’s Edition, adding statues, a steelbook, and other collectables to the Premium package is currently sold out with reprints looking unlikely.
PC Requirements
Minimum system requirements, as per Campaign Evolved’s Steam page, details an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-10700K CPU, an AMD Radeon RX 6600, Intel Arc A580, or GeForce RTX 2060 Super GPU, and 16GB RAM. Recommended hardware includes an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 or Intel Core i7-12700K processor, AMD Radeon RX 9070 or GeForce 3080 Ti, and 32GB RAM. Finally, you’ll need at least 100GB storage space.
