Halo: Campaign Evolved review – they don’t make ‘em like this any more

PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5 (version tested); Halo Studios/Xbox Game StudiosHalo’s modernised introduction to all that was great about the 00s’ first-person shooter is also a welcome return trip for those of us who were there at the time This 25th-anniversary remake of Xbox’s most iconic shooter comes loaded with symbolism. It arrives at a time when Microsoft’s gaming division (and indeed the games business as a whole) is in turmoil. It’s been made by Halo Studios, an outfit that has arguably never quite recaptured the magic conjured by Halo: Combat Evolved’s original developer Bungie, a studio now owned by rival Sony. It has been polished and prettified using Unreal Engine 5, making it look and feel more modern at the expense of visual uniqueness: Halo now looks similar to hundreds of other games made with those same tools, where Bungie’s 2001 original, made with a bespoke engine, still looks austerely distinctive. I never wanted to become this person, but: perhaps things were better in the old days? I had my misgivings after the opening level, in which freshly defrosted supersoldier Master Chief fends off an alien attack on a disintegrating spaceship. Originally this wa