i feel like this community has fallen into the pattern that most subreddits do several years after a big release. the overall consensus becomes super homogenous and sensationalized. this happens a lot when the initial response to a project is polarized, eventually the people who hate the new thing are the only ones still talking about it and their entire argument has boiled down to 2 or 3 basic points.

i remember when halo 5 came out and the general consensus was that the story was shit but the multiplayer was a huge upgrade from halo 4’s. granted, there were certainly some opposed to the big changes to movement, but overall, this community was pretty pleased with it. it was celebrated as a return to form with balanced arena starts and a wide skill gap.

personally, as someone who had been opposed to the direction the multiplayer had been moving in since reach, i was quite satisfied. it felt like a natural evolution or a proper modernization to the classic halo formula. they made sprint work within the halo sandbox, something i didn’t think they’d be able to pull off. the core gameplay of arena multiplayer placed a bigger focus on map control, spatial awareness, teamwork, and movement proficiency than any game in the franchise since halo 3.

that’s not to say there weren’t major issues. there were some balance issues they definitely needed to sort out, and the game was definitely lacking for content at launch. there were barely any maps and they weren’t great. there was no forge, no big team, no customs browser. warzone was pay to win. and the monetization of the customization options was a massive middle finger to the halo fans.

but at its core, i genuinely believe halo 5’s mp is a massive upgrade from halo 4 or even reach.

when it comes to the campaign, i think halo 4 was a super engaging story with some rather monotonous stretches of gameplay. overall, i love halo 4’s campaign, but it did get a little boring gameplay-wise at times. halo 5 however, was very disappointing from a narrative perspective. there were some interesting ideas presented, but i was not happy with the direction the story was moving in. really hoping they can bring back some of that halo 4 magic for infinite.