Halo is one of the most iconic franchises in the history of video games. Thinking about Halo brings to mind so many distinctive aspects of its world: Master Chief and his Spartan armour, the enormous Halo rings, the menagerie of Covenant aliens, and the 🍒stirring music powering it all.
However, these are what made Halo memorable all the way back in 2001. We are now over twenty years removed from the release of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Combat Evolved, and there aren't many new moments, characters, or locations that have had the same impact. It's not just the passage of time and the underwhelming nature of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Halo Infinite that's weakened what was once an epic adventure either, and the release of the franchise's latest novel helps to highlight what's gone wrong.
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in itself is a decent adventure written by talented author Troy Denning. There are a number of writers who've fleshed out the series' universe, each with their own distinct approaches, but sci-fi and fantasy legend Denning is one who has returned to it time and time again. His books have a distinctive flavour, often focusing on a number of competing factions fighting for - or blocking each other from - some sort of ancient MacGuffin. He's particularly experienced with world-building, having been a key figure in the history of Dungeons & Dragons and worked on lore-heavy sagas like Star Wars. This particular story tries to balance returning worlds, characters, and storylines with a standalone adventure, and Denning makes it digestible even for less knowledgeable fans.
The biggest flaw of the book, however, is that whilst it has a clear purpose, there isn't enough room for heart. The story is focused on a race to find a Guardian-destroying weapon hidden on the planet of Netherop, but the structure is too laser-focused on the dynamics of the parties involved. There's little enjoyment to be had across tens of pages chronicling the rivalries between alien species, or reams of dialogue and monologues explaining how different characters think.
It's the end result of a franchise which has lost sight of its origins as a high-octane space opera. This is highlighted by Denning having to drag in Halo 5's villains to drive the narrative, despite the fifth game being roundly despised by the community. Outcasts ends up weighed down by what Halo has become, and has much less action and adventure than you might expect from a first-person shooter spin-off with so much potential and history to draw from.
343 Industries is the current custodian of Halo, and has been increasingly determined to make the series commitment-heavy. This has unfortunately resulted in storytelling that feels awkward and barely coherent for a lot of gamers, no matter how willing you might be to jump onto Halopedia. Halo 4 began this by focusing on a Forerunner called the Didact, a villain who has the motivation of a poorly written comic-book character, unless you're willing to seek out hidden melodramatic cutscenes.
Halo 5 and the more recent Infinite are even worse offenders, following on from cliffhangers t𒐪hat few will have experienced and introducing characters known only to those wanting to brush up on the books and other such supplemental material. This disjointed storytelling hardly allows the momentum to build, and turns the story from fun into a head scratcher.
The big problem is that there's always a pressure to keep everyone satisfied when it comes to major franchises. The original trilogy is so iconic that every instalment since has had strong ties to what has come before, whether the return of a thought-defeated Covenant, yet another Halo ring, or another secret alien race. There's also the pressure of hardcore fans who are deep into the great mass of content Halo has produced. 343 obviously has a desire to do something new, whether it's fighting Prometheans or exploring settlements in Halo 5. All these competing impulses make for a Frankenstinian experience that has little of the clarity or direction of what came before.
But there is a way to do Halo right, and the books sometimes show how. Kelly Gay is a particularly noteworthy author because of the zest she's brought to an increasingly tired property. She started boldly with a trilogy focused on a motley space-faring crew, a refreshing change from its overly sombre military origins. She recently followed this up with The Rubicon Protocol, a thrilling prequel to the narratively disappointing Infinite. Both weave in elements of familiar lore from various sources but never feel hamstrung by them, largely because she recognises that the themes of Halo matter most. Memorable characters, humour, humanity, and adventure are what make for triumphant and exceptional instalments. The Rubicon Protocol is a much more worthwhile experience than the game which it precedes.
Halo needs to return to what made it appealing in the first place. People become fans of the franchise not because of the intricate caste system of the Covenant, the machinations of Dr Halsey, or even the Halo rings that gave the series its name. All of these different elements can be interesting in the right form, but fundamentally it's the wonder, fun, and heroism behind the games that have made those different elements iconic. 343 needs to stop focusing on appeasing fans and hoping that throwing in iconic settings and characters will make them happy. The franchise's obsession with legacy is destroying its reputation, and its only hope to really satisfy gamers is to look to giving new experiences - not to endlessly wring out nostalgia, but to push forwards with refreshing ideas such as the ones that got us this far.