While sharing his thoughts on the recent Halo Campaign Evolved remake, series co-creator Marcus Lehto has stated that the game’s lack of split-screen multiplayer for PvP is the result of “lack of oversight and poor planning”. The modernized version of the classic Halo: Combat Evolved came out around two weeks ago, and has received somewhat mixed responses from both critics and players alike, with many citing it’s lack of PvP mechanics (compared to the original) as a huge reason for the game’s less-than-enthusiastic reception.
The Halo co-creator wrote on Twitter/X that “Split-screen MP in Campaign Evolved should have been included. There’s little excuse aside from lack of oversight and poor planning that led to this misstep. So sad this wasn’t included.”
He also criticized the art direction of the Forerunner Tech in Halo Campaign Evolved, saying that the remake has depicted the ancient technology in ways that does not really match the lore of the series, at least visually.
“While Forerunner tech was metal (not stone) it was also ancient, vast, alive, and a tomb to the horrors that lurked within. It had seen hundreds of millennia of conflict. Yet the game shows it as shiny metal that looks like it was built a few years ago.”
In a further post, he also described the Ring from the main menu of Campaign Evolved as “the most offensive thing we see every time we boot up the game.”
“It should feel massive, dark, mysterious, sinister, but also full of wonder. This new ring looks like a shiny new toy – out of scale, no mystery, damn ugly.”
But despite all of that, Lehto was overall impressed with the remake: “Been slowly playing through Campaign Evolved on Heroic (the difficulty we designed the game for 25 years ago). Overall, I really love the upgrades – movement, cinematics, visuals – damn, the lighting is brilliant. Do I have gripes? A few, but they are taking a back seat to the fun.”
According to Rhys Elliot of Alinea Analytics, Halo Campaign Evolved has sold 1.2 million units across all platforms so far, resulting in an estimated revenue of $67 million in total.
