Halo Campaign Evolved review: An amazing makeover for an superb sci-fi classic

The Xbox exclusive Halo series returns but this time the original game gets a campaign makeover for modern audiences and comes not only to Xbox consoles but PC and Playstation 5 too

It feels incredibly odd to be playing one of Xbox’s best-ever exclusive blockbusters on a Playstation.

And yet here we are in 2026, with a fully fledged rebuild of a true classic, working brilliantly on PS5.

Campaign Evolved is a lovingly remade version of the original Halo story campaign from the 2001 original Xbox console.

That title was a game-changer for first-person shooters, and modern gaming in general.

And today it feels as fresh as a daisy and immense fun to play using a DualSense controller and that Playstation tech under the hood.

Halo Studios set out to not only remake a classic but also keep the spirit, wonder and excitment that made the original Halo: Combat Evolved so special a quarter of a century ago.

And they deliver in spades here.

Because the care and ambition on display throughout this mighty space battle is evident.

And the gameplay remains sublime for today’s audience, whether you’re a Halo veteran or brand new to the whole series.

It’s joyous, chaotic, colourful alien shooting fun from start to finish across 10 missions, with three new ones bolted on for good measure.

Rebuilt from the ground up, Campaign Evolved sits easily alongside more modern Halo titles like 2021’s Infinite when it comes to graphics.

The ageing 2001 designs make way for up-to-date animations and Unreal Engine 5 visual fidelity to deliver an astounding sci-fi backdrop as you traverse big open alien worlds and inside tight space corridors packed with gun-toting baddies.

It runs smoothly and there’s nothing better than pounding your Warthog battle motor across a planet while taking out colourful alien foes with your blaster.

Sci-fi heaven.

The gameplay remains totally focused on nailing billiant gun combat, with all kinds of wild weapons available to destroy and splatter armies of baddies while trying not to expose yourself to death after taking too many hits to your shield.

It’s fast and fluid, adrenaline-pumping action with controller movements simple at heart but tricky to master as the campaign rolls on.

Players can also experience the campaign solo, in two-player split-screen co-op on console, or in four-player online co-op with cross-play and cross-progression across Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam and PlayStation 5.

That in itself feels mad to say considering where this game first started and the console wars between then-bitter enemies in Xbox and Playstation at that time.

For those hoping for more than a single play-through you’ll find yourself returning to this title thanks to the 40-odd collectible skulls dotted around the campaign.

They unlock modified gameplay, from over the shoulder third-person viewpoints to visibility effects and replayable missions with randomised enemies.

Overall, it’s been a joy to jump back into classic Halo.

There’s a wonderful new sheen to this makeover but the gun game underneath is still addictive, brilliant shooter fun like it always was.

And now that it is on Playstation, gamers who have always steadfastly stuck to that ecosystem will get a chance to enjoy a true great in the gaming catalogue in all its modernised glory.

VERDICT 5/5