Original HALO Dev Says the Remake is "Like the Dance Remix of a Classic Song That Skips the intro and the Bridge and Just Thumps the Chorus Over and Over"
The Halo franchise has always carried a certain magic with that perfect blend of mystery, music, and action-packed mayhem that defined a generation of gamers. So when Halo: Campaign Evolved was announced during HCS 2025, fans were excited to see a modern take on one of gaming’s greatest campaigns.
The reveal showed off The Silent Cartographer, one of the best missions in Halo: Combat Evolved, with a full 13-minute walkthrough that gave us a glimpse of how far the remake has come.
But not everyone was impressed. Jaime Griesemer, one of the original designers behind Halo: CE, had some strong opinions about what he saw in the footage.
"You aren't supposed to be able to take the Warthog up to steamroll the Hunters," Griesemer tweeted. "I intentionally placed rocks in the way so you had to fight them on foot.
“When you can just smash the crates out of the way it wrecks the encounters. But the worst part? They put trees in the landing area of the WooHoo Jump. Lame."
In the demo, the player drives a Warthog straight into a pair of Hunters, turning what was once a tense encounter into a drive-by. For Griesemer, that small change breaks the carefully tuned rhythm of the mission he helped create more than two decades ago.
"It's like the dance remix of a classic song that skips the intro and the bridge and just thumps the chorus over and over.”
That comparison paints a clear picture that the remake might look gorgeous and sound great, but to Griesemer, it misses the subtle pacing and structure that made the original so memorable.
Not everyone from the old guard agrees, though. Marcus Lehto, Halo’s co-creator and longtime art director, had a much more optimistic view of the project.
"Good to see the new and familiar faces building the Halo team. The explorations look fantastic."
Halo: Campaign Evolved is being promoted as a “faithful remake” that’s actually built on top of some of the original game’s code. However, Halo Studios has also been transparent about updating certain levels to better fit modern gameplay, including adding four-player online co-op and tweaking missions like The Library to remove some of its 2001-era frustrations.
So while purists like Griesemer might not like the adjustments, others see it as a natural evolution, a remix meant to keep Halo alive for a new generation of Spartans. Whether it feels like a respectful remaster or a club remix that “skips the intro and bridge,” we’ll have to wait until Halo: Campaign Evolved drops sometime next year to find out.