Summary
- Halo games reference books to deepen lore, with early games by Bungie less reliant on novels like "Contact Harvest" and "Fall of Reach."
- 343 Industries-era games heavily draw on novels for narratives, with "Halo 4" and "Halo 5" requiring fans to read related books for comprehension.
- Halo 7 could enhance storytelling by referencing book events, characters, and factions while possibly incorporating an in-game codex for clarity.
For nearly 25 years, Xbox’s Halo franchise has remained a celebrated staple in the video game medium thanks to its iconic protagonists, enthralling universe, and addictive gameplay. Over the course of 16 games, Bungie and 343 Industries have expanded the Halo franchise into an intellectual property like no other in the video game industry. However, nothing has built up Halo’s universe more than the 37 novels and 12 comic books published for the franchise. While Halo Infinite and several prior games have referenced or followed up on events from the books, Halo Studios could still strive to draw more from the books in Halo 7 and beyond to further connect the universe and craft rich narratives.
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The History of Halo Book References in Halo Games
When Bungie oversaw the development of the Halo games and, in turn, the Halo universe, the developer was largely dismissive of Microsoft’s publishing of Halo books, seeing them as mere side content or stories disconnected from their games. Due to this mindset, Bungie-era Halo games seldom acknowledged events or characters from Halo books, though members of Bungie did occasionally assist with or even write Halo books and comics themselves, such as 2007’s Halo: Contact Harvest by Joseph Staten. Contact Harvest was an especially important story for the Halo universe as it explained in depth the origins of the Human-Covenant War and the past of several popular game characters, such as Sergeant Avery Johnson, Tartarus, and the Prophets Truth, Mercy, and Regret.
The events of Harvest’s battles against the Covenant and Covenant lore established in Contact Harvest would go on to be heavily referenced in 2008’s Halo Wars, with the RTS itself receiving a prequel comic in the form of Halo Wars: Genesis. One of the most heavily referenced Halo novels is the first one ever published: 2001’s Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund. The Fall of Reach depicted the origins of Master Chief and the rest of the Spartan-2s, whose events would be touched upon briefly in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach but referenced more directly in Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Infinite. The Fall of Reach’s sequel novel, 2003’s Halo: The Flood, had several of its events adapted and referenced in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo: Fireteam Raven.
Book References in 343 Industries-era Halo Games
Following Bungie’s departure from Xbox and the Halo franchise, Microsoft, Xbox, and the newly formed 343 Industries sought to better unite all of Halo’s canon media going forward. Due to this objective, most 343 Industries-era Halo games reference or at times rely on Halo novels and comics to shape their narratives. This can be seen in Halo 4 with its numerous references to Greg Bear’s Forerunner Saga trilogy of novels and Halo 5: Guardians with its over-reliance on fans reading Halo: New Blood, Halo: Escalation, Halo: Hunters in the Dark, and Halo: Last Light to truly comprehend its characters and events. Book references were lessened a bit in Halo Wars 2, though it still referred to events from Hunters in the Dark and Halo: Tales from Slipspace occasionally.
Eric Nylund’s 2001 novel Halo: The Fall of Reach was actually the first Halo product ever released, with the novel being published only 17 days before Halo: Combat Evolved debuted on the original Xbox.
How Book References Could Work in Halo 7
While Halo 7 shouldn’t rely on novels to explain the background of certain characters or events as seen in Guardians, the next entry in Master Chief’s story could still build on events from the books to create intriguing story developments. Halo Infinite’s campaign efficiently referenced events from The Fall of Reach, Halo: Shadows of Reach, and Halo: Bad Blood multiple times via visions of Cortana's memories and residual data depicting events such as Master Chief’s childhood Spartan-2 training, his first meeting with the A.I., and the destruction of Laconia Station. These references never felt out of place or required further reading outside the game for players to understand.
However, if Halo 7 continues referencing multiple books, Halo Studios should strive to make a type of in-game codex explaining the background of some events, factions, and characters. This could clear up any confusion fans may encounter in the game and help most players to understand the status of the Halo universe for those who don’t read every novel. For example, if the Banished War Chief Severan appears in Halo 7, some characters could refer to his brutal achievements, while the rest of his background from Halo: Empty Throne could be lightly detailed in a codex akin to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Cultural Discovery Codex. Alternatively, these explanations of book characters and events could appear as terminals recounting biographies and incidents similar to those found in Halo 2 Anniversary.
Potential Book References in Halo 7
There’s a plethora of Halo novels Halo 7 could reference with either name-drops, recreations of book events, or appearances from book-exclusive characters. Given that Halo 7 will likely take place immediately or shortly after Halo Infinite, it could refer to books that take place near the events of Infinite, such as Empty Throne, Shadows of Reach, Halo: The Rubicon Protocol, and Halo: Outcasts. Master Chief could begin reuniting the crew of the UNSC Infinity and eventually run into the Spartan-4s Tomas Horvath and Nina Kovan to begin staging a successful opposition to the Banished. Meanwhile, Severan could arrive on Zeta Halo to be a secondary antagonist alongside Atriox with Swords of Sanghelios forces, possibly sent by Arbiter, following Severan to aid UNSC remnants.
Halo Infinite
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- December 8, 2021
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 343 Industries
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
- Slipspace
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.
With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you can relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.
Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.
Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
