Considering there’s a 10 minute exposition dump halfway through the campaign that I still have absolutely zero idea what in the hell it was on about, yet the scene was supposed to “answer” all of the games loose ends… yeah. My consensus was(is):

Needlessly convoluted and disjointed.

It’s too neck snappingly vast of a departure from the games prior. The returning characters don’t feel like their characters at all. They’ve completely changed personas, and have become so overly disconnected from their last appearance. The covenant (not) covenant was never really explained in the game and was completely brushed away with a singular line of dialogue was just truly bizarre, and it felt like something straight out of a poorly written fan fiction. You’re only killing elites & grunts again because theyre too valuable of an IP defining character. That’s the real answer why the covenant are back. They didn’t have time to flesh their proper in universe reasonings I suppose.

The love dynamic between chief & cortana has to be set up & have its climatic emotional moment deliver in a very short amount of time. There’s absolutely zero set up for the character dynamic as they only had around 8 or so missions to get the arcs completed. Chief & cortana as a result are already instantly vastly different characters with their whole new emotional challenges that don’t feel “earned” as a result.

The 3 main side characters just don’t have much going on or a personality at all. Lasky is a blank slate who does nothing more besides be the “good soldier man” Palmer is so brief in the game too, her inclusion seems to only be used proper for the Spartan ops. Del Rio is used only as an excuse to challenge to chiefs goal. He’s a catalyst to cause conflict in one particular moment. Evident by the literal fact the character just randomly disappears after serving his one purpose lol

Narrative aside, the game was doomed from the start. So in a more unbiased outlook, here’s why;

1)Halo 4 was being developed by a brand new studio, so already it had some uncertainty surrounding its launch.

2) Halo 4 was the direct sequel to an already established trilogy ender. One of which was highly critically acclaimed, and regarded as one of the greatest trilogies in gaming.

So immediately, before launch, Halo 4 had a massive risk to win over the fan base. How would this new studio win the trust as being a competent studio to handle the future of this beloved franchise?

Well.

By LITERALLY changing absolutely everything about Halo, that’s how.

…yeah. So I’m unsure who made the call, but it was essentially the smoking gun as the absolute singular catalyst to a lot of (sometimes unjustified) hate moving forward.

But what were these franchise defining characteristics that were changed, by a studio, who needed to win fan trust…

…The entire Halo art direction. Drastically changed.

The entire halo multiplayer suite was completely, and drastically altered to “move on” from its arena shooter routes.

Zero weapons on map, sprint by default, loadouts which enabled players to spawn with a vast amount of different weapons. One of which was a shotgun

Cod styled perks which gave the user an unseen advantage in the battlefield.

Zero ranked playlist, and zero comp. There was no competitive in this game! A halo game… with no competitive??

Kill streaks that dropped overshields & power weapons.

The entire OST was drastically different in terms of sound & genre from Halo’s established soundtrack.

Again, Halo’s art direction. But more so in particular the “staples of the franchise” being grunts, jackals, forerunner architecture etc being vastly different.

The point is. Halo 4 has a reputation like no other. Whether it’s narrative based, or simply just game play based. There’s more issues that go beyond what was changed, but the point is the game essentially shot itself in its foot. Because what good there is to find in Halo 4 is clouded by this stigma that I think still persists over certain fans of the series still to this day.

It was the game that changed halo forever. People argue it was Reach that killed halo, and while I definitely agree Reach wasn’t the pinnacle of the franchise in terms of popularity & stomping power. But 4 was the nail in the coffin for Halo’s irrelevance with rivalling the likes of current gaming juggernauts.

Halo 4’s population died so quickly after the fact, that at one point Reach had over taken it during its lifespan.. Fan trust and first impressions were shattered.

Nowadays we see a new generation to fans who started with Reach/4 who have a fondness for these later games, and that’s awesome to see. But it is such a clear division in the fanbase, there’s the Bungie fans & the 343 fans, and the two are constantly fighting each other in this sub Reddit. And really it’s all down to this one game. It set the catalyst of doomsday clock in Halo that has never really shut off since.

I don’t hate Halo 4. I really don’t. It’s a fun game. But after all they rambling I just want to drive the point back to what this comment was all about, and hopefully solidify the context needed for this statement:

Halo 4’s consensus is a heavily flawed & diverse game that started the long road for fans wishing halo would one day “be king again”