Halo 5 simply crossed its tenth anniversary, and to rejoice, a pair of former Halo designers are speaking about why the sequence’ earlier cinematics are so a lot better.
Launched in 2015, historical past hasn’t been particularly form to Halo 5, and its flashy, cinematic, finally controversial opening scene is both seen as a standout in an in any other case lackluster single-player marketing campaign, or a glitzy prophecy of what would comply with. Both method, authentic Halo: Fight Developed designer Jaime Griesemer and Halo 3 marketing campaign designer Niles Sankey have ideas on the way it compares to older Halo cinematics.
For me, this was the second when Halo went from being a Battle Story with futuristic parts to a Sci-fi Superhero Story.It’s an unimaginable shot. The digital camera flies round and thru objects, time quickens and slows down at random, the digital camera anticipates occasions which might be scripted… https://t.co/ErIQVH17OgNovember 5, 2025
Echoing this sentiment in a special framing, Sankey argued that video cinematics should not outdo the precise gameplay, sharing this perception from his time at Bungie.
“Just a few of us at Bungie had an unstated rule about Halo cinematics: By no means make the participant within the cinematic really feel extra ‘badass’ than the precise recreation,” mentioned Sankey. “We do not need gamers pondering ‘I want that is how the sport truly felt’. Cinematics ought to serve the gameplay, not compete w it.”
Just a few of us at Bungie had an unstated rule about Halo cinematics:By no means make the participant within the cinematic really feel extra “badass” than the precise recreation.We do not need gamers pondering “I want that is how the sport truly felt”. Cinematics ought to serve the gameplay, not compete w it. https://t.co/BtRhMUSpXuNovember 4, 2025
Certainly, probably the most enduring and chronic paint factors about Halo 5 is that the opening cinematic writes a examine that the following marketing campaign cannot money. And that seems to be exactly Sankey’s level.
“Are you able to level me to the gameplay clip the place gamers: Airdrop in, slide half method down a mountain, run by rocks, parkour a Wraith, soar right into a Phantom whereas parkouring a Jackal, after which karate roundhouse eject an Elite out the aspect? I might like to see that,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet.
I might like to see that too.
