The Halo series is nothing short of video game royalty, with the sci-fi franchise considered to be one of the most influential first-person shooters of all-time, which single-handedly saved the launch of Microsoft’s original Xbox console and pioneered an online game matchmaking formula that is still in use today. Two decades after these accomplishments, it has made its super-soldier poster boy – Master Chief – one of the undying faces of gaming, but what Halo game deserves to be crowned as the best?

The series has undergone several changes throughout its lifespan, and there are even more to come as Halo Studios pioneers a new way forward for the series to be enjoyed by more players than ever before. Offering a total of 13 mainline Halo releases, not counting re-releases like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, each game has left its own mark on the franchise, for better or for worse.

13

Halo: Spartan Assault (2013)

Spartan Assault was the franchise’s first mobile-compatible game, which went down as nothing more than Halo‘s debut on smartphones and tablets. Its top-down and twin-stick design was a major departure from any other release in the series, but it didn’t leverage these new controls to add anything to Halo as a whole.

While the new perspective for the game was fun from the get-go, most missions were short-lived and repetitive compared to the game’s predecessors. Its story served to fill the gaps between Halo 3 and Halo 4, but it failed to make any revelations that would make it a must-play.

12

Halo: Spartan Strike (2015)

Spartan Strike was 343 Industries’ second attempt at making the Halo series popular on mobile platforms. The release included some significant improvements to Spartan Assault, like a larger arsenal of weapons and more vehicles, to diversify the gameplay.

Its story jumped around between events in Halo 2 and Halo 4, but it didn’t offer much in the way of crucial lore. Spartan Strike remains the best mobile iteration of Halo, but it pales in comparison to major releases even with its improvements to its predecessor’s formula.

11

Halo Wars 2 (2017)

Halo Wars 2 was a collaboration between 343 Industries and real-time strategy developer Creative Assembly. The release was the second attempt to make Halo into an RTS monolith, one which never came to fruition, likely because of how cumbersome it is to play the genre with console controls.

It was released eight years after the original Halo Wars but offered little in the way of major gameplay improvements to elevate the RTS experience on the Xbox. The title included some eye-popping cutscenes but didn’t contribute to the main Halo arc in any meaningful way.

10

Halo 5: Guardians (2015)

Halo 5 was a majorly awaited addition to Halo‘s main storyline, but it turned out to be the most disappointing chapter. While 343 Industries maintained high standards for its multiplayer, striking visuals, and satisfying gunplay, the campaign was subjected to many controversies.

The biggest points of contention were a result of major changes made to Cortana’s character, and those who were exasperated by the game being from Spartan Locke’s perspective more than Master Chief’s. Halo 5: Guardians also ditched the series’ long-standing split-screen mode, which made it a shaky entry to the main arc.

9

Halo Wars (2009)

Halo Wars was 343 Industries and Creative Assembly’s first attempt at making the franchise into what it was originally envisioned to be, a real-time strategy game. The primary objective of this title was to formulate how to map complex RTS controls onto consoles.

This ambitious goal resulted in a bare-bones game compared to heavy-hitting RTS franchises like Blizzard’s Starcraft, and a plot that fumbled where previous Halo titles shined. Halo Wars was a monumental undertaking for its devs right from the start, and while the end result was solid, it never quite reached the heights of other series installments.

8

Halo: Campaign Evolved (2026)

Having the monumental task of remaking one of the most iconic video games of all time, Halo: Campaign Evolved did an excellent job at bringing the classic experience into the modern age. Going far beyond the simple remasters of the past, Halo: Campaign Evolved offered a remake built from the ground up to deliver the experience to a new generation of players, while finally making the series accessible on PlayStation for the first time.

Although Campaign Evolved does an excellent job recreating the atmosphere of the original game and even enhancing several areas of the experience, a few details from the original still got lost in the process. Even with some awkward dialogue, overly tuned visuals or design choices, and a lack of PvP multiplayer, however, Campaign Evolved still feels like a blast to play and provides an excellent starting place for new fans of the series.

7

Halo 3: ODST (2009)

Halo 3: ODST made a risky shift in narrative direction to expand on the game’s universe that ended up paying off. It was the first Halo title that didn’t star Master Chief, and instead put gamers in the boots of a novice soldier who needed to scour the shadowy city New Mombasa for their missing teammates.

While ODST‘s gameplay held up compared to previous installments, it lacked any major upgrades from Halo 3 that made the experience stand out. What really pushed the spin-off beyond our expectations was the fantastic atmosphere offered from start to finish, which culminates in some of the most memorable scenes, music, and gameplay sequences in the series as a result.

6

Halo Infinite (2021)

Having the difficult job of following up Halo: 5 Guardians 6 years after it released to a mixed reception from fans, Halo Infinite experimented with some incredibly ambitious gameplay concepts that we can’t wait to see explored in future entries. With an open-world design and sandbox-style combat experience that uses new toys like a grappling hook to their fullest effect, Halo Infinite‘s gameplay and multiplayer focus have some of the most depth in the series by far.

Unfortunately, however, Halo Infinite‘s story never quite hit the mark compared to previous entries, with the Banished not having the same intrigue as the Chief’s past enemies. To make matters worse, much of Halo Infinite‘s potential and planned post-launch DLC ended up being scrapped, leaving the fantastic gameplay introduced without the proper follow-up the series’ return to form deserved to finish off the experience.

5

Halo 4 (2012)

Halo 4 was when the original developers at Bungie handed the reins of the franchise over to 343 Industries. Not only did it look stunning on the Xbox 360, but it made significant developments in the relationships between Master Chief and Cortana that more clearly defined their relationship compared to preceding releases.

This was 343 Industries’ trial by fire, and it didn’t disappoint, offering some incredible combat mechanics and a fantastic multiplayer mode that is still some of the best the series has offered since the early days of the sci-fi shooter, while also introducing some of the series’ most unique enemies with the infamously controversial Prometheans.

4

Halo: Reach (2010)

Halo: Reach was proof that Bungie had perfected the art of crafting sci-fi FPS titles, and it was a precursor to the developer’s eventual release of the Destiny series. While its gameplay saw several notable improvements from its predecessors, the emotionally heartbreaking story and pivotal sacrifices of its cast are where it truly shone, making for an absolutely unforgettable story experience.

Acting as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved that didn’t feature Master Chief, Halo: Reach introduced fans to various new Spartan classes and memorable characters. It was the first Halo game that included armor loadouts with specialized abilities, which took the single-player and multiplayer experience to entirely new levels on top of its unique vehicle variety.