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 with Halo 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: Guardians missed the mark in all departments on launch. While critics weren't so harsh, the Halo community was let down severely, and a lot of that disappointment comes from Halo 5's lackluster campaign, which could have been much better if it had just stuck to the groundwork laid by Halo 4.
Thrown in at the deep end, 343 Industries' first solo-developed title was Halo 4, one of the most anticipated sequels of all time. Developing Halo 4 was a daunting task for the fresh-faced team, but while 343 didn't quite stick the landing, Halo 4 ended up being a pretty solid entry in the franchise, moving into the next generation in style. One of the biggest highlights of Halo 4 was the Master Chief-Cortana relationship, and the end of the game perfectly set up a new, interesting dynamic for the characters going forward -- a dynamic that Halo 5 would ultimately throw away.
Halo 5 Should Have Shown Master Chief Without Cortana
Halo 4 was 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 4 had 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 in Halo 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 of the Xbox's Halo franchise, 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 of Halo 4, and the scene is a real tear-jerker.
With Halo 5 on 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 in Halo 3, in which Cortana has been left behind on High Charity, the player is haunted by visions of her until they finally reunite. A mainline Halo game 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: Guardians dropped 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 control Spartan Locke for 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 of Halo 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. In Halo 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 of Halo 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 mainline Halo game that doesn't involve Cortana.
Halo 5: Guardians is available on PC and Xbox One.