Reviews for the first episode are already in and many have described it as expensive, amazing scenery, but lacking substance. There seems to be a divide between fans of the game series who believe that a Halo series not steeped in lore and accurate game story, is a great thing - echoing the likes of Tomb Raider, and Arcane as great but rare examples as a good translation from game to TV. And then there are those that wanted the accuracy and specifics that they grew to love and honour from the game series. And then finally, there are the people who have never played or seen a Halo game, who can enjoy it for the futuristic, sci-fi epic it proclaims to be.
The release of the newest instalment of the Halo game series in December came with much excitement and anticipation, but only 3 short months later and the servers are dry. What was once a competitive gaming powerhouse, could now be compared to the short shelf life of a new Call of Duty campaign. Given the TV show was delayed for 2 years due to COVID, we could assume it was supposed to be a precusor of hype for the game released in December - perhaps they believed releasing it the other way around would draw attention to both platforms.
The TV series, as we've discussed, does not follow the games and offers an separate timeline which allows a degree of flexibility, and to be assumed, plot holes, to allow the show to dance around the Halo world a little more freely for entertainment purposes.
We are quickly introduced to the daughter of the General who presides over Madrigal, Kwan Ah - a land that is fighting hard for independence from the human based colonies across the universe. It isn't long before she finds herself interwoven into Master Chief's story. A step away from the games, the Spartans, are not regarded as the heroes and in fact, they are considered to be the enemy.
It's revealed that Master Chief has supressed memories, something that will cause problems for his superiors and they press for him and Kwan to return to base for debriefing - of course this goes horribly wrong and our introduction to the rest of the series begins with the duo heading off into space.
So did you tune in? And are you holding out hope for the rest of the series? The next episode for the US will be the 31st March 2022, exclusive to US, Australian and Canadian streaming service Paramount+. The UK release date is yet to be confirmed.