Halo fans argue Halo 4 isn't as bad as we remember, actually

The Halo franchise has certainly had its ups and downs. In the Xbox 360 era, Halo was a titan of the gaming world but lately, and I hate to say this, it’s become somewhat of a laughing stock. Halo: Infinite has proved to be an absolute nightmare for 343 Industries. In fact, they recently cancelled the split-screen co-op mode they’d been promising fans for the best part of a year.

I have to mention the Halo TV series. As much as I’d like to forget Master Cheeks and that bizarre sex scene, I cannot. This month marks the 10th anniversary of Halo 4 and upon release, Halo 4 generated a very similar response to the two aforementioned projects. Essentially, fans weren’t thrilled with it but upon further reflection, Halo 4 isn’t as bad as we originally thought.

Take a look at some of our favourite Halo: Infinite wins and fails.

Maybe it’s just sweet nostalgia talking, but Halo 4 is actually a pretty decent game. Let’s rewind for a second though and recap exactly why people didn’t like it. Halo 4 saw 343 Industries take over the franchise and one of their first moves was to overhaul the art style. There was something about the updated glossy look that just felt a little less genuine than what came before.

On top of that, Didact wasn’t exactly the strongest villain and the multiplayer component seemed to borrow a little too heavily from the Call of Duty formula. The thing is, maybe we just weren’t ready for change? Halo 4 did kickstart a brand new trilogy so change was to be expected. Many of us just weren’t ready to part with the Halo that we loved. I always resented Chief’s storyline. I thought the ‘chosen one’ aspect of it took away all of the agency of the character but now, I’m pretty fond.

Fans are sharing how their opinion on the game has changed over the years. Anon42016 wrote, “It’s hard to deny that Halo 4 is Steve Downes and Jen Taylor’s best performance,” while Fickle-Blacksmith-89 added that they “really like the story” in retrospect. They wrote, “The contrast of human being machine and machine being human is very good.” Clyder-MacTavish summed up how many players feel, writing that it’s probably “the best story 343 Industries has managed to produce.” Happy birthday Halo 4. Sorry we were so harsh on you.