Halo is one of the most iconic shooter series to appear in the past few console generations, one that delivers fast-paced action, excellent sci-fi drama, and addicting multiplayer gameplay. Sure, Call of Duty and Battlefield have their doggedly committed fans, and Doom may very well have reclaimed its first-person-shooter crown with 2016's release, but Halo has a special place in many hearts. Halo: Reach—a part of the Halo: Master Chief Collection compilation that bundles every mainline Halo release, sans Halo 5—represents the first time the shooter has appeared on PC. Although the base game is as thrilling as the Xbox 360 original, this Master Chief Collection port suffers from changes and hiccups. While none are catastrophic, they are quite numerous and do, when taken together, detract from the whole.
At the moment, only Halo: Reach is available in the $39.99 Master Chief Collection (Microsoft is releasing the titles piecemeal), though you can purchase the game on its own for $9.99 if you aren't interested in the rest of the series. That said, you still need to download the Master Chief Collection launcher even if you simply want Halo: Reach. The game is available from the Steam and Xbox stores.
The Start of an Epic
Chronologically, Reach is the earliest game within the Halo universe. You play as Six, a member of the Noble Team, which must fend off the alien Covenant that is invading and destroying humanity's Reach colony. Halo: Reach tells a story of heroism and sacrifice, and sets the stage for Halo: Combat Evolved's events.
Halo: Reach has the same snappy, cover-oriented shooter gameplay that makes Halo games so fun to play, with a few additional facets to keep things interesting. Armor Abilities, for example, grant you unique combat perks. One of them is Sprint, which lets you dash at higher speed for a few seconds. You can also find Active Camouflage to blend into your surroundings, a Drop Shield that generates a healing force field, a jet pack, and other cool features. You often find these hidden within levels, and you can swap them as needed.
Similar Products
Halo Wars 2 (for PC)
Halo 5: Forge (for PC)
Halo 5: Guardians (for Xbox One)
Doom (for PC)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood (for PC)
Halo: Reach also has a few dogfight set pieces that drop you into Star Fox-style shooting missions, and they're enjoyable diversions from the first-person shooting. Reach doesn't reinvent the Halo wheel, but the few tweaks it makes to the gameplay formula are enjoyable.
The multiplayer modes are some of the tightest I've played in quite a while; I had no issues playing with others. Reach's movement, aiming, and shooting feel amazingly accurate and responsive, and complement compliment Halo's addictive, energetic combat. What's more, because Halo: Reach is on PC, your online interactions are no longer limited by an Xbox Live Gold subscription. So, once you buy Halo: Reach, all you need is a working internet connection to play with up to 15 other people. Unfortunately, this remastered Halo: Reach is missing some of the maps found in the original title.
Rough Around The Edges
Halo: Reach, and the Master Chief Collection as a whole, has the makings of a must-own PC title, but it has its fair share of failings that sully the experience. The game has some irritating UI and menu problems that make navigation a chore. Plus, bugs and general oversights put a damper on the overall experience.
Things like a lack of key binding options for chat or voice, for example, don't bother me, but at the same time the lack of these options seems like a silly oversight. In addition, the game boots you from matchmaking if you're idle, so if you don't nudge your mouse during a particularly long multiplayer intermission you could easily find yourself knocked out the online queue.
The lack of subtitles during in-mission dialogue is irritating, too. All too often, I'd be distracted by gameplay and not pay attention to what an NPC said. As a result, I would miss a key objective along the way. Sure, the NPC would repeat critical information after a certain amount of time, but having subtitles would have alleviated a lot of confusion. Microsoft has made big strides in regards to accessibility-friendly gaming with its Xbox Adaptive Controller, so I'm surprised the company didn't add subtitles to Halo: Reach.
The list goes on, unfortunately. In-game audio is somewhat muted, with odd crackling and static at times. There is currently no local, split-screen gameplay, and it's unclear whether the PC version will get that feature at all. Halo: Forge, the free, multiplayer map editor, is not included with Reach, but will be added to the Master Chief Collection some months down the line. There is no way to vote on or veto map selection during multiplayer modes. You cannot enter a crouch state while moving if playing with keyboard and mouse.
These flaws can be overlooked on their own, but they are simply too numerous to ignore in the game in its current form. Developer 343 Industries is hard at work with fixes for many of these problems, and it is entirely possible that they may be addressed by the time this review is published, but they are worth noting at this time.
New Tech
Halo: Reach looks and runs extremely well. Thankfully, you don't need high-end PC hardware to venture onto the battlefield. The game demands at least an AMD Phenom II X4 960T or Intel i3550 central processing unit, an AMD HD 6850 or Nvidia Geforce GTS 450 graphics card, 8GB of RAM, 20GB of free disk space, and the now-dead Windows 7 operating system.
My gaming desktop that features an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 GPU and Intel i5 4690 CPU pushed polygons at a silky 60 frames per second, even with enhanced visual settings activated. Halo: Reach supports 4K graphics, ultrawide monitors, adaptive sync, and other contemporary features.
Halo: Reach supports crossplay between the game versions purchased in either the Xbox or Steam stores, but Xbox One crossplay isn't available. On the upside, achievements, mission progress, ranks, and career stats sync between Halo: Reach's Steam, Xbox store, and Xbox One releases. Some features, such as Mid-Mission Checkpoints, don't' sync across versions.
Halo's aesthetic blends vibrant colors and environments, chunky, pseudo-realistic military models, and unique alien architecture, creating a look that still impresses today. Halo: Reach is a great-looking game, and I have no doubt that the rest of the Master Chief Collection titles will look just as good, whenever 343 Industries gets around to releasing them.
Why You Should Game on a PC
An Incomplete Legend
It's hard not to sound harsh when judging Halo: Reach, as the game delivers fantastic action and serves as a fine first course for what is to come with the rest of the Master Chief Collection. However, there are more than enough nagging problems to raise a few eyebrows. If you don't mind waiting for content and polish to come, Halo: Reach is incredibly fun, but no one will blame you for holding off until the patches to roll out, either.
If you liked this review and would like to see more, please join the PCMag Steam Curator page. There you'll find reviews every Steam game we've reviewed, as well as in-depth previews of upcoming Steam titles.
A mainline Halo game has finally come to PC as part of a much larger compilation. If you desire high-octane Halo action on PC, Reach is as good a start as any, but heed this port's rough edges and missing features.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
