That original “Halo: Combat Evolved” was recently remade as “Halo: Campaign Evolved,” with the graphics updated for modern consoles while also bringing the franchise to PlayStation for the first time last month.
One thing that has become a surprisingly major point of contention about the remake has been, of all things, the game’s opening menu. That menu shows the Forerunner’s Halo ring itself moving in space.
Various fans debated the ring’s new look as soon as the game launched, taking issue with the proportions and scale, along with the overly exposed shiny metallic look, which seems at odds with what is essentially an ancient technology. The design looks substantially different not just from the 2001 ring but also from how the ring is depicted elsewhere in the remake itself.
Marcus Lehto is a veteran game developer, co-creator of the “Halo” franchise and former Creative Director at Bungie. He also worked as an art director on the original “Halo: Combat Evolved”. In a new posting on X, he’s slammed the look of the menu ring:
“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.
The main menu ring is 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. Also, for the lore, the ring in CE resides far out on the fringe of the Milky Way galaxy, which we see in the background.”
That said, Lehto’s argument is very specific to the menu, he adds that: “Covenant and Flood aesthetics felt wonderful throughout.” “Halo: Campaign Evolved” is now available on PS5, Xbox and PC.
