Should You Play Halo 5 in 2023?

Halo 5: Guardians is a direct sequel to Halo 4. It follows two teams, Blue Team led by Master Chief, and Osiris led by Locke. 343 Industries, developed the game and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is playable on the Xbox One. And is currently available on the Game Pass. If you want to know in what order to play the Halo games, click here.

Halo 5 Plot

Initially, the game takes place over two missions taken by each team. But Master Chief (Why Master Chief is baddass) discovers traces of Cortana. In Halo 4, she was destroyed. The UNSC tasked another team with tracking down Cortana. Master Chief disobeys orders and heads out to find her. And his team goes along with him.

UNSC assigns Osiris Team with bringing in the Blue Team. Using a gadget that locks up Spartan armour. The game swaps between the two teams and it keep the intrigue of what will happen high. The only downside to this is that the story ramps up with mystery and only one team is on the cusp of finding out. Halo 5 switches away, and it feels like a chore going through the other team’s mission.

The main enemies are the Forerunners, yet there are still moments where you have to battle with the remnants of the Covenants. There are many of them with different designs. And new enemies called the Wardens, which are the standard grunts on steroids. There are also Guardians, which are very large Forerunners that are controlled by Cortana.

Bringing it Back to Basics

Halo 5 strips back on a lot of features that were in Halo: Reach and Halo 3. The player has access to weapons, vehicles and grenades. There are no deployable shields or armour upgrades. But the gun-play is miles better than the previous games.

No longer is aiming down the sight restricted to the left analogue stick. It is now the left trigger and is available on all weapons. A feature that has been missing from the series. It’s an enjoyable feature and makes every gunfight feel more action-packed.

A new feature is that your teammates can now revive you. No longer is Master Chief a lone wolf. He has three other Spartans who can provide fire support. Should you run out of health, you bleed out. Other members of the team can then revive you. A prominent feature that can make some confrontations easier.

Halo 5 Presentation

The graphics have improved yet again. The detail on each Spartan’s armor is high. Including the visors, which look amazing during cut-scenes. They have also given enemies a visual update to make the game very easy on the eye. It makes me excited to see what Halo Infinity brings to the table.

The soundtrack and sound effects are at the top of their genre. This is what we expect from Halo. and 343 Industries has delivered. The orchestral score adds to the climactic sequences.

Overall, the presentation of the game has improved over Halo 4. 343 Industries had a tremendous act to follow, and they have impressed me. It still has the same feel as the Bungie trilogy, but with modern updates.

Halo 5 Replayability

I’ve been playing on Heroic difficulty for my first play-through, and it just feels right. There are a few collectibles that can be found during missions. Which adds more information to the lore of Halo. There are also skulls to collect, which add challenges to your next playthrough. Unfortunately, I won’t be replaying soon as I have Halo Infinite to play next.

Final Verdict

Halo 5 is well worth playing. There is a lot of fun to be had, and the story constantly develops, keeping you in suspense. I cannot wait to find out the ending and see how it leads into Halo Infinite. The combat is as fun as ever and everything else works. You need to play this.

Rating: 4/5

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