Halo: Campaign Evolved is playable from today for anyone who bought the Premium or Collector’s Edition, while everyone else has to wait until July 28. More importantly, the review embargo has lifted, and critics seem to agree that Master Chief has handled his first landing on PlayStation rather well.

At the time of writing, the remake is sitting on an average score of 82 from 50 reviews on OpenCritic, with 88% of critics recommending it.

Campaign Evolved is a full Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign. Alongside the ten returning missions, Halo Studios has added a three-mission prequel called Operation: Meteorite, nine weapons from later games, improved vehicles, two-player split-screen and four-player online co-op. There is no competitive multiplayer, though, and that omission crops up in several reviews. It does feel weird to see a Halo game without multiplayer.

Andy Robinson of VGC was among the most enthusiastic, awarding it a perfect 5 out of 5. He praised its visuals and the way Halo Studios has introduced newer weapons and mechanics without losing the feel of Bungie’s original game.

“As an excuse for old fans to rediscover a classic, Halo: Campaign Evolved is irresistible,” Robinson wrote, adding that it feels even more essential for younger players experiencing the campaign for the first time.

The new Operation: Meteorite missions were the weak point for Robinson, who felt their story failed to land and ultimately described them as “bonus content that’s far from essential.” Still, the overall package was enough to remind him why he fell in love with Halo in the first place.

Over at PlayStation-focused outlet Push Square, Liam Croft gave Campaign Evolved a 9 out of 10. He was particularly positive about the new missions, arguing that they fit so neatly into the package that they feel like they were always part of the original game.

“Campaign Evolved presents an incredible package of old and new that’s never looked better,” Croft concluded. His only major complaint was the poor use of the PS5 DualSense controller’s features, which seems like a missed opportunity when this is Halo’s grand debut on Sony’s console.

Digital Foundry was similarly impressed, calling Campaign Evolved “an outstanding reimagining of a stone-cold classic.” Its analysis praised the huge audiovisual upgrade, smooth performance and the obvious care shown towards the source material.

Windows Central’s Brendan Lowry gave it 4 out of 5. He praised the new missions, overhauled presentation and tasteful gameplay changes, describing it as “an awesome way to enjoy the game that started it all.”

Lowry was less convinced by the value proposition. With no Firefight, competitive multiplayer or substantial customisation to complement the campaign, he felt the $50 package needed more. Performance could also be better, particularly on Xbox.

The most hesitant of the bigger outlets was Kotaku. Zack Zwiezen’s unscored review described it as “technically impressive and mostly fine,” but said he was struggling to recommend it.

Zwiezen still enjoyed the classic Halo combat, remixed soundtrack and visual overhaul, but felt sprinting was out of place, the new missions were underwhelming and the lack of competitive multiplayer left the package feeling small. That is not a brutally low score, obviously, but it represents the more sceptical end of the critical response without venturing into outlets that sound as though they review games from the back of a takeaway menu.

Steam users are having a rougher time than the critics. At the time of writing, Campaign Evolved has a Mixed rating on Steam, with just 59% of 490 Steam-purchaser reviews being positive. Recurring complaints include stuttering, uneven performance, crashes and freezes. Just another day for triple-A releases, then.

Halo Studios’ own early-access notes acknowledge a Steam launch issue that can cause sign-in failures, severe performance problems or a freeze requiring Task Manager. Hopefully the five-day early-access period becomes what it ought to be: a chance to get this stuff fixed before the wider audience arrives.

The general picture, then, is of a technically impressive and mostly faithful remake of a classic campaign. Critics remain divided on whether its modern additions meaningfully improve Halo or simply decorate a 25-year-old structure, while the lack of competitive multiplayer makes the overall package feel thin to some. Even so, an average of 82 suggests Halo Studios has successfully completed its first major mission under the new name — provided it can get the PC version tidied up.

This launch is also historic for another reason: Campaign Evolved is the first Halo game ever released on a PlayStation console. Just a few years ago, the sight of Master Chief earning a PlayStation Trophy would have sounded like the opening symptom of some sort of neurological emergency.

When Campaign Evolved was announced in October 2025, Halo community director Brian Jarrard went much further than confirming one PS5 release. “Halo is on PlayStation going forward, starting with Halo: Campaign Evolved,” he said, seemingly confirming that future games would also launch on Sony’s hardware.

That promise is far less certain now. Xbox has since changed leadership, reintroduced permanent console exclusives including Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution, and begun a brutal restructuring involving 3,200 job cuts and multiple studios leaving Microsoft.

Xbox has honoured games that were already announced for PlayStation, which is why Campaign Evolved is still arriving on PS5. However, its new leadership has made it clear that more exclusives are planned, and neither Xbox nor Halo Studios has publicly clarified whether that old promise still applies to every future Halo game.

For now, PlayStation owners finally get to meet the Master Chief, and the reviews suggest the wait was worthwhile. Whether he ever returns to the platform after leaving this particular ring is anybody’s guess.

The future of Halo is also in flux because a recent report claims Halo Studios have nothing in production right now.