Not Even A Remake Can Safe Halo: Campaign Evolved's Worst Level

Halo: Campaign Evolved Is Great, But The Library Still Sucks Published Jul 23, 2026, 2:01 PM EDT Jade King is Lead Features Editor at The Gamer and University of Sussex journalism graduate with 10+ years covering the video game industry. She has been seen in outlets such as Trusted Reviews, Kotaku UK, VICE, and more over the years covering everything from the latest releases to major events to in-depth interviews. She loves nothing more than speaking with devs, creatives, voice actors, and so many others about the passion behind their craft and bringing that into the hearts of readers everywhere. There is a lot of running and gunning in Halo: Campaign Evolved. Despite being an amazing remake of a shooter classic, its moment-to-moment gameplay is untouched. Master Chief can sprint now and use things like overshields and camouflage with the press of the shoulder buttons, but otherwise it’s still all about blasting thousands of aliens in the face and saving humanity by any means necessary. You’ll explore claustrophobic corridors littered with ancient architecture and drive warthogs around familiar yet sprawling locales in search of marines to save and enemies to slay. I’m still impressed by how vast Campaign Evolved feels considering the original game released over 25 years ago and by how few modern shooters can measure up to its majesty. It’s a stone-cold classic for a reason, even when the pace slows down in service of the narrative. Which is precisely what happens when Master Chief and Cortana meet 343 Guilty Spark for the first time and learn about the Flood outbreak spreading throughout the sacred ring. They need to be stopped, even if that means activating the installation to fulfil its desired purpose. Unfortunately for our hero, he doesn’t know this will wipe out every single bit of sentient life in the galaxy to starve the Flood into extinction. This is where The Library comes in. How Has The Library Changed In Halo: Campaign Evolved? Ahead of launch, Halo Studios confirmed that alongside adding a selection of new prequel missions to the remake, it would also be making some design changes to The Library as it reworked entire sections, added new combat encounters, and introduced fresh dialogue for 343 Guilty Spark so you aren’t simply roaming around in awkward silence. It’s definitely way better than it used to be in the remake, with Chief now following his robotic companion as he attempts to get an elevator working and retrieve the Index that awaits further down in the old Forerunner facility. You’ll follow him to a locked door, watch as he vanishes for a second, and fight off whatever enemies crawl out of the woodwork. Rinse and repeat, similar to quests in Destiny when your Guardian spends forever hacking a terminal. I equipped the most effective weapon for taking out endless hordes of Flood — in this case, a shotgun with a seemingly endless supply of ammo — and kept on blasting until I was allowed to progress. You’re not going to get lost in The Library anymore because it’s now presented as a much smaller space with just a single path forward, but this vastness then gives way to predictability. The fear of losing yourself in a location that is slowly but surely being taken by an alien infection is also lost. A shame because the remake does an incredible job lending the Flood a more visceral aesthetic than ever before. The SMG or assault rifle is also great for taking out the smaller Flood enemies or honing in on weak points that will come flying off the disgusting beasts with ease. The Library Has Changed, But Is It Fun To Play? Those familiar with Halo 3 will remember returning to the Pillar of Autumn and being taken aback by the grotesque pustules, rot, and slime that the Flood exude long after taking over something. A man-made creation becomes one of flesh and bone, which is exactly what the Flood does to the ring in Campaign Evolved. Before, it was simply a bunch of blood splatters, but here entire parts of the level are consumed by decaying flesh that impacts how you get around, block doorways, and simply feels terrifying. This is the best thing The Library has going for it because, from a gameplay perspective, it still isn’t especially fun to play. Campaign Remix and playing around with Skulls can thankfully make less enjoyable parts of the campaign easier to swallow. That is, if you’ve managed to hunt down all of the skulls in the first place, since they are incredibly well hidden. Halo is wonderful to play when you are hurled into varied environments with a bunch of cool weapons, vehicles, and possibilities. The Library, for justified narrative incentive, strips most of that away to make you feel unsafe and alone. It’s effective at expressing horror, but going up against The Flood never measures up to Brutes or Elites, and being overwhelmed even once by them is frustrating because you have to go through glacial sections of the level once again. Fun new dialogue and gorgeously refreshed cutscenes aside, The Library remains a weak point in Campaign Evolved that I roll my eyes at whenever replaying the story mode. But I can’t blame Halo Studios for trying, since it otherwise does an excellent job bringing several worthwhile quality-of-life improvements to Combat Evolved that now seem like a natural part of the experience. I couldn’t imagine it without sprinting now, while extra bits of narrative go further than I ever could have imagined. Unfortunately, I believe The Library is fundamentally flawed, and could have benefited from either a complete redesign or a fresh level altogether. It’s spooky, but those scares can only go so far until the tedium sets in. Genre(s) FPS, Science Fiction, Shooter, Multiplayer