Hello!
So, I was browsing the Halo 5 subreddit earlier, and someone made a post with the headline “halo 5 guardians campaign (story) was good”. I decided to write a few paragraphs about my thoughts on the game and thought some people might appreciate them here. Obviously this is my opinion of the game (which is that its story is very average,) why I believe this, and why I believe the game performed poorly to the general public, so don’t take it too personally. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please let me know if you agree or disagree. I’m happy to talk about my thoughts!
So, I don’t think it’s that bad. But I’ve read a decent amount of the books, and plan to read more. That’s more than you can expect of a typical fan. While it’s easy to complain about Locke and how he was some random guy on a team of unfamiliars (and Buck,) you’re also dealing with a team of Spartans with Chief that most people may not know about. So you have 6 brand new characters to play as, in a story not completely about Chief, and Locke doesn’t have a backstory that’s as interesting as another playable character from an earlier game, the Arbiter. Most people know Chief is a legend. Most people were excited to play as the Arbiter because he was cool af, from the covenant, and because he’s built up to essentially be a fallen god. He’s arguably just as impressive, and more so in some ways, than Chief. Locke simply doesn't have that strong base. Couple that with a story that feels cliché with a friendly AI gone rogue who, for all intents and purposes, is supposed to be dead, and you have a confusing story with protagonists that the player doesn’t care about.
The story as a whole is fine - not great - fine. The game carries interesting story elements for those who did their homework and read the books, but it didn’t provide a meaningful experience for casual players (the majority.) That IS a problem. From a business and story perspective, they need to provide fun gameplay (which I believe they had,) a relatable story that anyone can understand (they did not. No one knows what the domain is except for avid readers and fans, or how Cortana got there,) and enough of an interesting story to provide more content and possible theorycrafting for your more researched fans (which they did.) I believe they missed the casual market when developing the story, and assumed everyone read the Halo encyclopedia. From a sheer story standpoint, the game is just... too ambitious without a strong enough foundation for it to stand on. It missed the casual market.
Now, I liked the game. It’s still only okay compared to some, but it’s not the worst thing to ever come out of the Halo universe that people make it out to be. But I totally understand and empathize with the casuals who feel confused and left behind by the story.