Low points in franchises are nothing new in the gaming industry, but every now and then, a game comes out and manages to disappoint a fan-base so much that the franchise has to take a lengthy hiatus. That was exactly the case withHalo 5: Guardians. Featuring the most mundane and confused story of the franchise, using some pretty misleading marketing, and experimenting with mechanics that just didn’t fit the series,Halo 5: Guardiansmissed the mark in all departments on launch. While critics weren’t so harsh, theHalocommunity was let down severely, and a lot of that disappointment comes fromHalo 5’s lackluster campaign, which could have been much better if it had just stuck to the groundwork laid byHalo 4.
Thrown in at the deep end, 343 Industries' first solo-developed title wasHalo 4, one of the most anticipated sequels of all time. DevelopingHalo 4was a daunting task for the fresh-faced team, but while 343 didn’t quite stick the landing,Halo 4ended up being a pretty solid entry in the franchise, moving into the next generation in style. One of the biggest highlights ofHalo 4was theMaster Chief-Cortana relationship, and the end of the game perfectly set up a new, interesting dynamic for the characters going forward – a dynamic thatHalo 5would ultimately throw away.
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Halo 5 Should Have Shown Master Chief Without Cortana
Halo 4was by no means a perfect game. Between some lackluster new enemy designs, same-y environments, and level design that didn’t quite live up to its predecessor’s,Halo 4had some glaring issues under 343 Industries, but there was a solid game at the heart of it, and one unanimous point of praise was the title’s willingness to finally put the Master Chief and Cortana’s relationship at the very center of the plot.
Suffering from Rampancy, Cortana is doomed from the get-go inHalo 4, and much of the plot is spent tying to find her a cure before her inevitable death. Having been on this journey from the very beginning, Cortana is an integral part ofthe Xbox’sHalofranchise, and losing her would affect the player just as it would the Chief in-game. Despite their best efforts, the Master Chief and the player have to say goodbye to Cortana at the end ofHalo 4, and the scene is a real tear-jerker.
WithHalo 5on the horizon, fans wondered how 343 Industries would approach the loss of Cortana. The player had never really been away from their AI companion. Even inHalo 3, in which Cortana has been left behind on High Charity, the player is haunted by visions of her until they finally reunite. A mainlineHalogame without Cortana had never been seen before, and fans were cautiously eager to see how this major change would affect the Master Chief.
Unfortunately,Halo 5: Guardiansdropped the ball on this plot thread. Rather than give players any real time to see how Cortana’s loss affected the Chief, players are forced to controlSpartan Lockefor the majority of the campaign, and the few missions that do put players in Master Chief’s boots never really take advantage of this major plot thread. Then, at the end ofHalo 5’s campaign, Cortana reappears as a villain in a plot twist that’s widely considered to be one of the worst missteps in the franchise. InHalo Infinite, the Cortana villain plot is dropped entirely, with the Master Chief finding a replacement AI that looks and sounds like her. At the end ofHalo Infinite’s campaign, this new AI says that she’s chosen a new name, hinting that she’ll take on the mantle of Cortana, making it extremely likely that players will never get to experience a mainlineHalogame that doesn’t involve Cortana.
Halo 5: Guardiansis available on PC and Xbox One.
