This is the latest in a series of retrospective write-ups where I relate my experience playing through the campaigns of the Halo series all over again, this time in the remastered form of the Master Chief Collection. You can find previous posts in The Great Journey here:

1. Halo: Combat Evolved

2. Halo 2

3. Halo 3

4. Halo 3: ODST

Welcome back, dear readers, to the return of The Great Journey! It’s been a little while since the previous entry in the series but rest assured that I intend on continuing my retrospective through the hallmark shooter franchise. This time I will be taking a step away from The Master Chief Collection in order to look at a different yet vital part of Halo’s lore. Halo: Reach is distinctive in a variety of ways, both big and small. Of course, this was Bungie’s final Halo game before handing off the reigns to 343 Industries, but there’s more to it than just that. The game’s plot is an adaptation to the novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, and so finally expands the narrative of the games to take advantage of one of gaming’s better extended universes. It also makes it known from the very start that this game will end in tragedy, and so the triumphant tone of previous games is not seen anywhere here. This is a somber, almost funereal tale that makes some bold changes to Halo while still honoring the series’ past.

The game starts in an unorthodox manner, asking you to design your player avatar. It’s not quite at a Bethesda level of character customization, but you get to select your character’s armor design, call sign, and gender, among other things. In addition to the campaign, this character stays with you through all of Halo: Reach’s modes, including multiplayer and Firefight. It’s a great design decision that enables a strong bond between player and avatar. In practice this character doesn’t work all that differently than playing as the Master Chief, but with the Chief you are dealing with an iconic figure that the player is always slightly distanced from. Here it’s less “the Chief is fighting the Covenant” and more “I’m fighting the Covenant”. This is one of the recurring motifs of Halo: Reach, and the campaign manages to use it effectively in telling its story.

After finalizing the design of the player character, referred to as Noble 6, you meet up with Noble Team as they are stationed on the planet Reach. The team is comprised of five other Spartans; the leader Carter, the tech expert Kat, the gunner Jorge, the sniper Jun, and the skull faced Emile. Each character isn’t necessarily given a whole lot of characterization due to the fast paced nature of the campaign, but there’s bits here and there that help to endear them. Carter and Kat exude a familiarity with each other and banter while also displaying great aptitude in managing a deteriorating situation. Jorge is the standout, showing a warmth and empathy that one would not expect coming from a hardened Spartan soldier. Jun and Emile are a bit less fleshed out, but their rapport with the rest of Noble team helps to humanize them. This emphasis on character interaction tends to be the focus of the early campaign, with Noble team investigating a disturbance in a civilian sector.

The first mission ominously starts off as you search for the source of the radio silence. Noble encounters a family at their farm, who mention that their son was killed recently in what they believe to be an animal attack. This conversation sets a new tone in the lore of Halo, as it becomes quickly apparent how little this family trusts the Spartans, and by extension, the UNSC. Up until this point the games have not directly addressed the civilian’s perspective of the Covenant war, and the player would be forgiven to think of the UNSC as a benevolent and heroic fighting force looking after humanity’s best interest. But it’s in this small interaction that this optimistic facade starts to crumble. We begin to account for the possibility that while we are fighting to defend humanity from the Covenant, we may also be fighting for a system that does not have every citizen’s best interest in mind. I may be making a bigger deal about this moment than the designers intended, but I do love the fact that Bungie took the time to show what life is like for those not carrying a gun.

After leaving the farm, Noble team quickly realizes that the communications shutdown wasn’t human sabotage, as originally suspected, but of course the first wave of a full scale Covenant invasion. The initial reveal isn’t exactly a major moment, as you simply engage some Jackals and Grunts in a courtyard, but the conflict builds steadily and soon you’re engaging with Elites and Drones. Eventually, you are left to defend a bunker as Kat tries to get the door closed. Waves after waves of Covenant arrive as you desperately try to hold them off until finally the door get shut just as the crowd gets too big to manage. After a brief moment of respite, Noble encounters one of the most interesting cutscenes in the Halo franchise. We see a scientist murdered and his daughter nearby in shock. Jorge attempts to communicate with her just as the team is attacked by a group of high ranking Elites. The ensuing scuffle is fast paced and well choreographed, but what sets it apart is that it is almost entirely seen from the player character’s point of view. I really can’t do justice to this scene in words, but you can see how it plays out here. It was a small change in how Halo presents its story but it was quite effective in selling the scene. I feel that this moment helps set the tone for the remainder of the game, with a confident design team knowing exactly what buttons to push to get Halo fans to take notice.

In addition to being a great set piece, that cutscene also gives the game an opportunity to bring the player up close and personal with the new Elite designs. The enemies in Halo: Reach have all been redesigned to look more menacing and alien than ever before. Jackals seem bigger, with more pronounced plumage on their heads, Grunts have bulkier and more visible suits to adapt them to the human atmosphere, but it is the Elite design that steals the show. Elites are bulkier looking this time around, and seem to take on a less humanoid posture. They look more formidable than in previous games, and there appears to be greater differentiation in Elite ranks. The zealot class in particular is quite scary looking and it feels like an accomplishment when you bring one them down. It makes sense why Bungie would opt to include more distinctive Covenant designs as the story necessitates that there will be no other factions for Noble to fight. To that end Bungie also included enemy types, such as Brutes, Drones, and Engineers, that wouldn’t be seen until well after Halo: Combat Evolved. It feels a bit like a plot hole, but I understand why the decision was made to help sell the overwhelming odds that humanity now faces.

With the threat of the Covenant revealed, Noble team is deployed to an Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) base in order to deny the enemy valuable intel. It is here that the game first introduces Dr. Catherine Halsey, the mastermind behind the Spartan program and major figure in the extended universe. The way the Spartans react to her is telling, with most of them weary, except Jorge, the oldest of the team and part of the same SPARTAN-II class as the Master Chief. I found it strangely touching that he refers to her as “mom”, although were one to read about the methods used in the SPARTAN-II program, this endearment comes off as quite disturbing. In any case, Halsey reveals that the Covenant are searching for an important Forerunner artifact on Reach, which gives justification as to why they have not chosen to simply wipe out the planet. This plot point will come up later but first Noble team is dispatched to assist the UNSC in a counterattack against the Covenant.

The various operations that follow are filled with excellent set pieces that really show off the coolest parts of the world of Halo. The initial charge of dozens of Warthogs to repel the Covenant invaders is reminiscent of Halo Wars’ large scale battles. The Nightfall mission involves thinning the Covenant herd with a sniper rifle that recalls Halo: Combat Evolved’s famed Truth and Reconciliation level. In addition to paying homage to the franchise’s history, Halo: Reach manages some new tricks. One memorable mission has Noble 6 piloting a Sabre fighter plane in orbit as they attempt to board and sabotage a Covenant capital ship. This is the first time that spaceship combat has occurred in the series, and the change of pace is really well done. The combat takes advantage of the 6 axes of movement and throws enemy craft at the player from all directions. This level is quite possibly the biggest risk that the game takes and it pays off wonderfully, never feeling like a gimmick from start to finish. As that mission ends, Noble boards the Covenant ship and there is an extended section of low gravity combat, something not seen since Halo 2. However, as this mission wraps up we begin to see a turning point in the narrative. What at first seemed like an effective operation by humanity proves disastrous, as Jorge is forced to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the ship. What deepens this tragedy is that it immediately becomes irrelevant, as many more Covenant ships appear over Reach’s skies. Unfortunately for Noble team, this becomes a recurring motif.

The last third of the campaign focuses on Noble’s desperate attempts to save as much of Reach’s populace as it can, with the dawning realization that the battle has been lost. The story takes on an urgent tone with no member of Noble safe from harm. After Kat is ignominiously shot in the head by an enemy sniper, the team is recalled back to the ONI base to destroy it and hide humanity’s secrets from the enemy. However, once they reach the base the story’s final twist is revealed. Dr. Halsey explains that Noble’s mission is not to destroy the base, but to ensure that a valuable piece of Forerunner and human technology safely makes it off planet. This item turns out to be Cortana, the Chief’s faithful AI companion. Noble is tasked with getting her to the Pillar of Autumn, the very ship that discovers the first Halo. Noble team, except for Jun who is tasked with getting Halsey off planet, then makes a final run to the shipyard containing their target ship, and both Carter and Emile sacrifice themselves to ensure that Noble 6 can complete this vital mission.

Upon successfully delivering Cortana to the Autumn’s captain, Jacob Keyes, Noble 6 is left alone with no escape on a planet filled with Covenant. The player is given one final directive: Survive. This mission has no aim, and while you can kill as many Covenant as you like, the game will not stop until Noble 6 dies. It’s a very dour note to end the campaign on, but it works to hammer home the theme of sacrifice one final time. As my Noble 6 fell under the overwhelming force of the Covenant, I felt a distinct sadness that very few games can evoke in me. My Spartan, dead and alone on a destroyed planet. There’s a beautiful futility in that.

When I first started writing this post, I thought I would spend some time focusing on the new mechanics and gameplay tweaks that Halo: Reach had to offer. Indeed, the rebalanced arsenal, the new Spartan abilities, and the improved squad combat all make for a better playing Halo, but all of that is overshadowed by the excellent narrative that Bungie had constructed. The use of a customized Spartan this time around helps to make the tragic tale become personal, and the final, lonely stand the player must make ended the game perfectly. Halo: Reach’s campaign is easily my favorite of the ones that I’ve played so far in this retrospective. It not only sets a high bar for 343 Industries to measure up to, but also sets a standard for shooter campaigns in general. There are those that say that first person shooters are inherently mindless with no emotional or narrative value, but this game stands as a firm rebuke to that line of thinking. Halo: Reach demonstrates what an experienced and talented team can deliver when they truly understand their source material, and I hope Bungie can return to this level of narrative greatness someday soon.