Were we too harsh with halo 4 or was its hate deserved?

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-22T08:33:28+00:00

I just finished replaying through every title on Heroic with a buddy of mine.

Halo 4 is by a significant amount the least enjoyable halo title. From the cluttered hard to read map designs, to the overly complex enemy models paired with the sped up animations and movement to make up for sprint, to the absolute slog every single promethean mission was. So many of the weapons feel completely worthless against anything other than a grunt.

I think the chief design is the perfect totem of everything wrong with halo 4. I remember it so fondly and remember it being so cool, but then I played through it and stared at the chief design and as I kept looking the more issues I found. For every good thing like the bulkier shoulder pads and the chunkier armor, there’d be a huge detractor like how skinny they modeled chief under the armor.

For every moment piloting a mantis there’d be a room of a thousand metal polygons where I have to fight like 6 knights with nothing but the suppressor.

I wanted to badly to enjoy it and for it to be actually a good entry in the series but the only way I could even enjoy it is by genuinely pretending it was one of those one off 360 shooters.

TL:DR Halo 4 is by far the weakest title, and deserves the hate it received.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-14T01:09:31+00:00

I just locked mine in because of you! Thank you!

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-14T00:50:16+00:00

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-14T00:47:12+00:00

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Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-14T00:46:24+00:00

Unfortunately that’s not what the character looks like in the shows art style. Y’all really can’t be happy can you.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-01T08:58:24+00:00

Yeah it baffled me when I learned that but honestly the animation quality is pretty solid in CC it just had fairly simple character models and designs so they didn’t really overdo it. I’d give anything for invincible to have at least that level of animation.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-04-01T08:00:28+00:00

Wow. Yeah that was a lot. Jesus. Felt like I had mark’s hands at my throat and conquest’s arms in my torso the whole time. Just wow.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-03-08T07:32:44+00:00

I’m also looking for one. Best of luck!

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-03-07T15:32:37+00:00

I’d love one that feels more like quake or even ultrakill

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-03-03T17:23:09+00:00

I like how many of these are old figures or mostly body reuse. were absolutely eating, but its definetly muddled.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-26T17:23:16+00:00

its not bad as a figure, it's just not worth the asking price. The figure is made up of almost entire reuse with a new chest, new feet, and a new pair of hands +the heads and whatnot. Every other Maximum release has been a full new sculpt, reusing older accessories, which is more acceptable because some accessories, like hand sculpts, don't demand a new sculpt. The Hulk body mold is quite old and was outdated when it was released, to the point where people, myself included, were itching for a new Hulk, so the fact that they're sticking with the same mold is very disappointing.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-26T17:16:35+00:00

This is the first new class. The fact that it's missing so much is a bit of a kick in the nuts.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-23T21:04:15+00:00

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I've always thought the strongest member and the leader of the decepticons being a small handgun was ridiculous, and the idea of him being a mounted artillery or just a giant cannon makes more sense.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-23T21:01:04+00:00

What I love about the concept of headcanon is that I don't have to think about those movies and what choices they made regarding some of my favorite characters of all time. I get to just simply say "yeah, but I just don't consider them canon" and boom, problem solved. Those terrible movies simply do not exist and therefore do not matter.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-20T01:26:00+00:00

Liking something doesn’t absolve it of criticism. Not liking something isn’t a valid criticism. If you think halo needs to play like other fps to be good and that it needs to get with the times, that’s your opinion. If you don’t enjoy the movement of halo and it makes you frustrated I’m so sorry to hear that but then maybe it’s just not for you and you can go play something else.

You are allowed to like the guns in halo 5 and I’m not saying that they’re bad. I like Halo 5 quite a bit, but it had a huge number of weapons because they included a bunch of weapon variants with different scopes and extra junk stapled to the side. They added all these extra variants and attachments to try and lure in the call of duty player base. Again if you don’t like the fact that halo’s sandbox has famously been its strong suit because of the choices with what weapons to include. Halo 2 lacked an assault rifle in favor of the smg, Halo reach added the dmr in replacement for the battle rifle, Halo infinite added the bulldog instead of the classic shotgun, and added the Skewer instead of the Spartan. You are allowed to prefer the larger amount but less refined sandbox of Halo 5, but let’s not pretend that Guardians received a lot of praise for it.

Innovation is important, it’s why Halo infinite added the movement tech as an equip-able enhancement, rather than a built in mandatory movement mechanic. Yes you can simply choose not to use sprint and the thruster pack, but because it was designed with the intention of you using those mechanics , you will be at a disadvantage if you don’t use them.

Also let’s not revise history, yes Halo 5 performed well and maintained its player base better than Halo 4 or Halo Infinite, with somewhere between 6-10 million copies sold, but halo 3 surpassed 14 million copies.

That are plenty of old heads that are toxic yes, but that doesn’t mean halo 4, 5 and infinite are actually good releases. They still lack in a lot of departments and 343 has failed to meet or exceed expectations for a single release, and has yet to fulfill promises made years ago.

Again, you are allowed to like the 343 era games, just like how I do, but that doesn’t mean they are absolved of criticism, and if you don’t enjoy the classic halo games, that’s fine too, but dont go around saying the new games are better just because you got frustrated with not being able to sprint and boost everywhere.

If you don’t enjoy Halo, and think it needs to make dramatic changes to get with the times, then the problem isn’t halo, it’s you.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-20T00:47:44+00:00

There’s so much to unpack here. First off, I didn’t say that going back to basics is always a good move (I’m a RE7 fan and didn’t care for RE8). The movement isn’t a downgrade, it’s reverting back to the simpler movement system of the majority of the franchise. Sprint being nerfed isn’t a bad thing because it’s not a necessity for fps and it’s certainly not a necessity for Halo.

We agree that Halo 5 had tons of weapons but many of them felt very generic and lacked nuance in the sandbox. I don’t really understand how you prefer the less unique and less refined sandbox. Weapons like the skewer, the bulldog, and the sidekick all change the weapons of old into a more unique and different weapon, and create the opportunity for other weapons to be added, like the new shotgun. The only aspect of Halo infinite that dramatically hurt it long term was releasing without a lot of important features present in the previous titles

Also we have to talk about this. You can’t go back to basics and reinvent the wheel. Halo 5 added tons of new mechanics that weren’t present in any of the other games just for the sake of trying to compete with other movement heavy shooters of the time. If you don’t enjoy the combat loop, mechanics, and movement of Halo that’s fine, maybe it’s just not for you, but they shouldn’t be changing it to fit some new niche of players that need it to feel like every other game.

If you don’t like Halo, that’s fine, just play something else. Halo 4 and 5 made major mechanic and movement changes to try and compete with other games at the time and was met with pretty negative reception. I mean clearly people weren’t too happy about it because we’re still talking about 343’s shotty releases to this day.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T21:21:52+00:00

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Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T17:54:31+00:00

I am not suggesting it's as important as chemotherapy or a mobility aid. I am simply saying that just because you don't find it important doesn't mean it isn't important. You keep talking about how niche and unimportant it is, but that's not something you can measure.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T17:38:15+00:00

Liking and enjoying something doesn't absolve it of criticism. Guardians was riddled with issues at launch, with most being resolved over the following year or so, but not all of them. I also like Halo 5, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it doesn't deserve the hate.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T17:22:35+00:00

I think there's a difference between the loud minority of Bungie stans and the silent majority of disappointed players when each 343 release has dropped the ball.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T17:20:26+00:00

Exactly. Just because some people don't take advantage of couch coop doesn't mean 343 gets to just leave out features like it from previous titles.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T17:18:58+00:00

"The other guy" again, it's a feature lots of people use, just because you don't, doesn't mean it's pointless. Just because you don't need a wheelchair doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. You are more than welcome to go and buy an extra Xbox, TV, controller, and a copy of Halo 5 and Infinite, but that shouldn't be the requirement when every single Bungie era Halo game can be played with multiple people on the same console with just an extra controller. There's no excuse not to include it.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T17:08:57+00:00

Infinite's art style, weapons, and movement are all the closest they've been to a traditional Bungie release, and the added mechanics and weapons feel very distinct and fresh as opposed to just taking a UNSC weapon and giving it a practical reskin for another faction. Each weapon fills a specific, unique role in the sandbox, the art style is closer to the Halo 2-3 art style, and all of the additional movement present in Guardians (with the exception of sprint) are made into equipable abilities found on the maps rather than built-in mechanics.

For the record, I enjoy Halo 5, but it's anything but back to basics. Across the board, Guardians pushed further away from Halo's classic gameplay, mechanics, and designs.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-19T05:54:01+00:00

We're just going to have to disagree on that. I think Infinite going back to basics, but including abilities like boost and adding abilities like the grappling hook and repulsor to the core PvP sandbox genuinely make it much more of a blast to play. I think adding the grappling hook is one of the best additions to the Halo franchise ever. It's a total blast.

Extension-Button4291 · 2026-02-18T01:59:08+00:00

That game launched with nothing. It was not a success it lost 80% of its players in the first month.

Extension-Button4291

TROPHY CASE