Halo: Campaign Evolved might just be the best Halo game currently available, and is a must-play for fans of the franchise.16:00, 23 Jul 2026Halo: Campaign Evolved manages to feel both modern and classic, combining stunning visuals with classic point-and-shoot gameplay that hits you right in the feels.‌While this isn't the first remake of 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved, the latest, 2026 version is by far the most comprehensive, with the game completely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. That means remade environments, cinematics, vehicles, characters and weapons, as well as new motion capture, voice acting, and music. There are also new prequel missions that take place before the main campaign begins, as well as more gameplay-modifying Skulls and a new Campaign-Remix mode.‌When it comes to such comprehensive remakes, the easy part is often making everything look modern and sharp; the hard part is keeping the magic, flow, and feel of the original. And, I'm pleased to report that Halo Studios has done a superb job in what is a stunning remake.‌Master Chief's makeoverFirst, we have to talk about upgraded visuals. This game looks absolutely gorgeous in Unreal Engine 5, whether you're fighting through Covenant waves on Halo's green, lush highlands, or on tropical islands, on the desert-like levels, or even within the indoor areas like the Forerunner structures or the iconic Truth and Reconciliation Covenant ship. Even the more glum, swamp-like levels in which you fight the Flood have been made to feel more remote, creepy and alien.Halo Studios has done a superb job in upgrading and improving the environments that made Xbox's original Halo game so iconic, with the variety of environments feeling even more distinct in this remake. And it's the same story with the character, vehicle, and weapon models, which have obviously had a massive visual overhaul, but their core, iconic designs have been faithfully retained, so much so that it really does feel like the original.Winning formulaOnto the gameplay, then, and Halo's gunplay was, and still is for some, the benchmark for first-person shooter games. Halo: Campaign Evolved retains the Halo feel and magic that made the original game so iconic, thanks to its simple yet satisfying point-and-shoot gameplay. They've not tried to overmodernise it or make it too complicated; the gameplay loop and gunplay feel pretty basic compared to modern shooters, but this game is all the better for it.‌Even down to the way that you drive the Warthog, for example, using joysticks to turn and accelerate, which feels downright primitive in this day and age, and is pretty frustrating at times, but I love the fact they've retained that control scheme, and it's an example of one of the small things that could easily have been changed, or modernised, but in keeping it, it keeps the feel of the original.It's hard to fully articulate what exactly this Halo magic is, but playing this game brought back memories and flashbacks that I haven't had since I last played this game aged nine. The fear I felt when running out of ammo for both weapons in the heat of battle, the frustratingly long reload time, the constant switching and picking up of weapons, the exasperation of not having a grenade when you really need one fighting a Hunter, the surprise of a silly Grunt blowing you to smithereens on a kamikazee mission with two grenades in their hands.‌And, I think we can all agree, the sheer annoyance at having to fight the stupid Flood, the most annoying enemies in the history of video games. If you've ever played Halo, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, and these are all feelings you'll relive playing Halo: Campaign Evolved. Which is the sign of a good remake, in my book.There is plenty of new stuff to get stuck into, however, with the addition of three brand-new prequel missions that take place before the events of Halo: Campaign Evolved. They're not particularly long, nor do they add any new significant lore, but they do add even more variety to the game, not least the new space warfare mission, where you are charged with fighting off Covenant forces in space, which is really cool.Replay remixHalo Studios has put quite a bit of effort into increasing the replayability factor, with 42 iconic Skulls to find and collect within the campaign, with each Skull unlocking gameplay modifiers that you can enable before any new playthrough, including the ability to play the game in third-person, enemies only dropping half the ammo, and even a Floor is Lava modifier!‌Collect any two Skulls, and you unlock a mode called Campaign Remix, which really spices things up. It allows you to replay completed missions with randomised enemies, new visibility effects, and much, much more, completely changing the original experience of those missions.Whether or not these will be enough to keep players actively engaged for weeks and months to come remains to be seen, but at least they've made an effort to offer players an incentive. Considering the standard edition of the game is priced at £49.99/$49.99, even with the three new missions, the campaign isn't particularly long, probably around 13-20 hours total, depending on the difficulty. So, it will be up to you if these replayability options are enough to justify the cost.Thankfully, you can also play the campaign in co-op with a friend, either online or locally, with this mode supporting four-player online cross-play and cross-progression across Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5. Modern perks, ay?‌I reviewed Halo: Campaign Evolved on PC, and even with a modest RTX 3070 GPU, the game ran pretty smoothly for the most part, averaging around 60fps in high settings, with a bit of DLSS, and at 1440p. I found one or two minor bugs during my time with the game, including an annoying one where weapons that couldn't be picked up despite a marker indicating they could be, but nothing game-breaking, and it feels impressively polished.Halo: Campaign Evolved overall thoughtsOverall, then, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a superb, gorgeous remake of one of the best video games of all time. Despite its comprehensive, modern visual makeover, it's managed to retain the magical feel and formula that made the game so iconic, while adding new missions, modes and modern features like cross-play.If you've never played Halo before, as a PlayStation player, for example, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a superb way to experience Master Chief's iconic adventure for the first time, with the PS5 version also being PS5 Pro Enhanced, featuring DualSense Haptics and Adaptive Triggers, so you're not missing out on any PS5-specific features.Article continues belowI've got my doubts about the replayability of the game over the longer term, and it's not a particularly long campaign, but if you get a fuzzy feeling whenever you hear the Halo theme music, and the string orchestra kicks in, Halo: Campaign Evolved is well worth your time. In a world full of complex, convoluted shooters, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a breath of fresh air, combining nostalgia and a pure, basic gameplay experience that's just really fun.Rating: 5/5