I did enjoy the preview/announcement - it’s shiny. But the entire video showcased the future of Halo’s graphics, which have always been good. The biggest problem fans have had since 343 took over is how bad the story has been. Only one person mentioned the story in the video, and it was that same cheesy “…and the stories we want to tell…” line that every developer says about their new games.

I wish they had outright said that switching to UE5 would give them the resources to focus more on story, but instead they just talked about how Halo has “always been a graphical showcase.” Sure it’s always looked good for the time(s) it was released, but Bungie’s games were so so so much more than graphics. You can’t call it lightning in a bottle because every game was not just graphically impressive, but innovative in its story, scope, gunplay, multiplayer format, everything.

I understand Halo Studios (formerly 343i) want to innovate, but how many studios have attempted to overhaul their graphics as a selling point only to realize that gamers legitimately do not care about graphics if the story and gameplay are engaging? I admit the graphical showcase they put together is impressive and beautiful, but how many times are players going to be looking at the scratches on the hyper-realistic brushed steel of their Magnum?

I can understand graphics as a selling point for youngsters, but 343i put out miss after miss in an attempt to appeal to that age group before. For a studio that talks so much about how they want to emulate/recreate the true look and feel of Halo, they don’t seem to realize that most of their recent target demographic has no concept of what the “original feeling of Halo” even is. It blows my mind that they refuse to create a game that is marketed directly to adult fans of the series because I don’t know a single Halo fan that WOULDN’T kill for something that feels like the good ole days of Bungie’s Halo.

So they want to innovate graphically is essentially the main idea of the video. UE5 isn’t innovation, but it certainly is going to free up the budget of people that were working with the studio’s own engine. It just frustrates me that 343i has obtained this reputation for “missing the point” in their Halo installments regarding the story AND the multiplayer at this point, and yet they drop this huge announcement that’s 90% graphical showcase and 10% “we got a new logo.” Poll Halo players that gave 343i’s titles a chance on their biggest gripes with each installment and I bet graphical fidelity isn’t in the top 5, or possible even the top 10.

TL;DR - I hope the switch to UE5 allows them to focus on writing a good story and nailing the feel of the game, because graphics have never been the primary reason long time fans have cherished previous Halo installments.

Of course, there’s something to be said about the current state of gaming and if something like Bungie’s Halo installments would even work today, but that’s a whole different topic. Although I want to believe they would.