Halo 1 Remake is Fixing the Original's Worst Mission

Halo: Campaign Evolved has confirmed that it is making significant changes to The Library mission in the upcoming remake. The Library is often touted as the worst mission in the original game, and Halo: Campaign Evolved is taking the opportunity to right these wrongs 25 years later.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, The Library pits players against waves of the Flood in corridors that look nearly identical to each other. It’s not all that interesting, is one of most difficult Halo levels as a result and frankly, it gets old after a while. Despite most of the game being excellent, The Library stands out, and Halo Studios now has the perfect chance to redeem its faults.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is Fixing The Library, 25 Years Later

The latest Xbox Wire is focused on addressing player questions about Halo: Campaign Evolved, and one hot topic was how levels from the original Halo: CE would be changed in the remake. While Halo Studios “has taken great care to not modernize for the sake of modernization,” it is using The Library as “a perfect example to demonstrate how the team is thoughtfully enhancing existing spaces in an authentic way.” Its controversial status in the Halo series makes it “a key example of where it felt right to make tweaks to several areas to create a new experience that balances nostalgia with the expectations of today’s gamers.”

Max Szlagor, Creative Director at Halo Studios, said, “We learned from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary that there was still an appetite for things like better wayfinding, navigation, and diversity in enemy encounters. In The Library specifically, which features several Flood encounters, we wanted to reevaluate the pacing and enhance the environmental storytelling. We’ve added new lines to Guilty Spark, which guide players through the level, and there’s new dialogue that gives more insight into the narrative as it plays out.” In the wake of Halo: Campaign Evolved‘s announcement, it was clear that questions like this would be asked, and it’s good to see the developer clear things up immediately. It all sounds like a big step forward, assuming it evolves these levels in a positive way.

It’s not the only way that Halo: Campaign Evolved is slightly straying from the original. It was also confirmed that the Halo 1 Remake will include a sprint toggle, a feature that has always been controversial among series fans. Still, it’s a remake of what will soon be a 25-year-old game, so it’s unsurprising to see that some elements have to be altered to suit the modern gamer.