It’s a flawed gem. There are some things I really do not agree with on the game but it’s a really significant chapter in the Halo story.
1 - Impactful events
My favourite Halo game is Halo 2 and a big part of that is that it has such universe changing moments. The Great Schism, the Fall of High Charity, the Invasion of Earth, the release of the Flood; these are huge events that continue to drive the story. Most Halo stories don’t do this and tend to be very self contained crisis that don’t change anything. That definetly is not the case with Halo 5. You do feel this rising dread as you realise Cortana isn’t going to be talked down, the insane scale of her plan and that she’s going to succeed. Added to this you have the destruction of the Storm Covenant and an end to the Elite Civil War.
2 - Setting the stage
Just my personal take. I’ve never been convinced this was a Dark Phoenix style story heading towards the Chief killing Cortana. Yes, the Warden says that, a lot; but he’s very consciously trying to drive a wedge between Chief/Cortana. In my mind this sets up three important things. Cortana being really powerful, her having something to atone for and there being a legitimate conflict/mistrust. I am just saying, it’s very suspicious giving her an army of anti Flood robots.
3 - Rogue Servitor
I love this concept in sci-fi. The amount of Stellaris runs I’ve done as this type of Synthetic empire. It’s just such a twisted notion and if Cortana is infected by the Logic Plague that makes sense. She’s a good AI, she wants to save everybody; the Logic Plague/Rampancy would turn that to an 11. Plus you have to wonder what’s going to happen to the galaxy. Also, Jen Taylor is pretty convincing as a megalomaniacal AI.
4 - Galaxy hoping
You go to the Elite Homeworld. Get to fight alongside the Arbiter. Defeat Jul M Dama on an ice planet. There’s also quieter stuff on Meridian, a dead world with humanity recovering from the war; contrasted very sharply with the garden world of Genesis.
5 - Blue Team
It was nice. There is actually a neat chunk of dialogue you miss out on unless you loiter in the missions. Like there’s one between Chief and Kelly where she asks him about Cortana and you can tell there’s this Sisterly vibe going on.
6 - Cortana’s “motive” and actions
They went too far. I stand by that it’s just so she has something to atone for and Logic Plague/Ranoancy so it’s not really her fault. But they really beat you over the head with “she’s killing people”. Plus, even if she is Logic Plague insane, it would have been better to give her better reasoning. The Domain means she’s a singularity. Humanity isn’t recovering from the war and is suffering. 2 of 3 humans died in the war; that won’t happen if I am there. If I do it on humanities terms people die. You can infer some of this if you squint but they instead lean in to her taking a dark path too much.
7 - The Warden
Look I didn’t mind him showing up more than once. But he clearly exists to provide an obvious antagonist since Cortana doesn’t want to kill Chief. Fair enough. But he’s also incredibly anti human. Rather than stress that Cortana is a singularity AI (which is alluded to on Meridian in a piece of dialogue with an NPC in Portuguese) they instead push this idea that “humans are animals”. Well, if that’s his view, then presumably that’s also her view. So he further poisons your view of Cortana which is excessive. Plus, it gets a little too weird and on the nose between him and Chief. It also undercuts Cortana being this powerful AI if she needs a general to command the Prometheans who is also able to defy her; assuming that’s not all staged pantomime.
8 - Linear and short
On lower difficulties you can blitz this campaign. It’s to the point where a lot of dialogue and ambience can easily be missed unless you literally stand in one place for a few minutes. This means a lot of atmosphere, mood and character beats can be missed. Being a linear game, even one with some twisting paths just doesn’t offer the most engaging worlds to visit. The game simply has too big a story to tell in the time it gives itself.
9 - Too many characters
Whilst Halo 4 is about the same length as 5, it benefits from having a laser like focus on Chief and Cortana. All the other characters just serve to drive that. Which is a compromise you have to make given the lack of time for character and story beats. There’s no point getting Palmers POV in Halo 4 story. So, two fire teams of Spartans plus all the returning Halo 4 cast and bringing back the Chief/Cortana story is a lot. Games like Mass Effect can get away with huge parties by having longer run times and areas where you can chat with your party. They sort of have these dropped in the campaign at Meridian and Sanghelios but its not quite enough.
10 - Osiris
Osiris are not bad characters. Iam not expecting War and Peace. They each get some character traits and have a role as the squad bond during their travels. their backstories get mentioned and there’s Vale. However, it makes zero sense to take the focus off Chief in Halo 5. In Halo 4 you play as Chief because they made the Cortana drama thing central. If she’s back and she’s trying to take over the galaxy that only puts more emphasis on their bond. It makes no sense playing as this other team. For me this is especially true after Reunion. Now I suspect that’s deliberate to increase the sense of urgency and tension; but it undercuts the Sanghelios section and feels like filler. Also, leaving the marketing aside, Lockes whole mission is actually from the outset to save the Chief from Cortana. This is problematic because Cortana doesn’t want to hurt the Chief at all and the Chief is fully aware she’s not herself. IMO the conflict should clearly have been that Osiris are sent to kill Cortana and the Chief hopes to talk her down before that happens. If they want Locke to be a nice guy who likes the Chief then fine but why not give him his own story like Spartan Ops? Only three Chief missions in Halo 5 was a mistake.
But yeah, I ve had my fun with Halo 5. Did a playthrough and very much looking forward to Infinite.