When it comes to the Halo series, its fame comes largely from its fantastic level design, with larger than life missions creating journeys that easily forge fans. From bombastic vehicle segments to breathtaking explorations of alien settings, Halo missions can be instantly memorable even without the FPS action. However, when you combine great gameplay with interesting level design, you get some of the best experiences in the genre.
Many fans regard the later Halo game levels as far worse than those that came before, and for good reason. Halo 4, Halo 5, and Halo: Infinite were far different experiences than the original trilogy and its spin-offs, creating far larger levels, but lacking the sharp direction of some missions the series had been known for. Now, those games still had well-made sections throughout their single-player campaigns, but many don’t consider them to reach the level of the original experiences.
There are many great missions in Halo: Reach, including “Long Night of Solace,” which takes players above planet to control a unique spaceship in series-first aerial dog-fighting combat. While this segment is innovative, the next mission, “Exodus,” delivers on every promise the spin-off made and then some. The whole point of Halo: Reach was your character in an unwinnable battle against The Covenant, in a tragic battle that sees the loss of the entire Noble Team of SPARTAN soldiers.
Exodus takes place right after the first major death on the team, which was first believed to be the ultimate sacrifice to end the Reach invasion. Yet, that only led to the arrival of the largest Covenant fleet humans had ever seen, showing just how outmatched Reach truly was. Exodus in pure boots-to-the-ground combat in a major metropolitan area, ditching the solitary alien architecture of earlier Halo games for you to witness the invasion’s horrors firsthand.
During this mission, you have to defend civilians from Brute soldiers, including terrifying captains carrying Gravity Hammers and other destructive weaponry. The savage assault the Brutes commit is fiercer than the tactical combat against Elites and their Grunt/Jackal squadrons, adding layers of ferocity to your own gameplay. After enduring a fall from space and seeing just how dire everything has become, the tone and atmosphere of Exodus is perhaps the mission that truly immerses you in Halo: Reach‘s premise.
There are few levels in Halo history as iconic as The Silent Cartographer, which elevates every aspect of the game you’d experienced up until that point. With humanity regrouped on the first Halo ring, this mission is an effort to gain a key to a map of the strange structure, uncovering secrets while fighting past many Covenant forces. The initial beach assault with Master Chief and Marine allies is pure Halo, culminating in a gaining a Warthog to travel a near tropical space.
Everything about this level is mastery in mission design, going from above ground conflicts against widespread armies to close quarters duels in narrow hallways. The way this level restricts your vehicle use makes it impossible to abuse any system, testing your combat skills as the scenery changes frequently. Unlike poor Halo missions from other games, nothing is repetitive here, even as you dive deeper into the facilities of the Forerunners as you try to discover how Halo functions. Perfect enemy placements, unique obstacles, and inventive level design just makes The Silent Cartographer a nostalgic adventure every time.
Much like The Silent Cartographer, “Regret” is a mission in Halo 2 that follows-up an introduction to another Halo ring, this time Installation 05, or “Delta” Halo. However, this level has a unique twist tied to taking down the Prophet of Regret, one of the highest authorities of The Covenant who attacked Earth at the beginning of the game. If that wasn’t enough motivation, this level features arguably the most stunning views of any Forerunner structure, unmatched by any game before or since.
The underwater facilities of Regret reached through complex gondola rides give you moments of respite in an otherwise dense FPS experience, trading action for awe. This mission can be polarizing, with some fans preferring the non-stop shooting of other levels. That being said, the visual improvements in the Anniversary edition of Halo 2 make this mission stand out more, with plenty of sandbox encounters that are unique and challenging once you get past the cool visuals.
This mission is also one of the only ones in the Halo franchise to have a proper “boss fight,” where players have to hijack the chair of the Prophet of Regret to assassinate him. The final section of Regret can be quite difficult on higher settings, with Honor Guard enemies capable of eliminating you in only a few shots. Unlike the Warden Eternal in Halo 5, you have to use far more wits and timing to take out Regret fast, creating a level of tension the series wouldn’t really attempt to re-create in future games.
“The Maw” is the final mission of Halo: Combat Evolved, and arguably its best due to the existence of the infamous Warthog segement at the end. Once you prime the Pillar of Autumn’s engines to explode and destroy the Halo ring, you have a limited time to escape the ship, driving a Warthog jeep through multiple long hallways filled with Flood and Covenant enemies. The high jumps, narrow tunnels, and many obstacles make this section exciting beyond words, no matter how many times you’ve played it before.
This mission would later inspire the final act of Halo 3 as well, whose Warthog run is similarly excellent. However, The Maw’s lead up to the Warthog run is also great, re-visiting areas from the first mission to show you how much has changed since the campaign began. With new knowledge, extra weapons, and new Flood and Sentinel foes to contend with, this mission is a test of everything you’ve learned.
Although some sections around the engines can be slightly repetitive, having to time grenade or rocket throws to start a meltdown is precise enough to engage players. Fleeing through the familiar facility and seeing the last of your allies shot down only adds to the tension here, creating a wonderful land stand. It’s hard to think how the Halo: Campaign Evolved remake will re-create The Maw, but its original version still stands as one of the series’ strongest levels.
When it comes to Halo levels, there are none better than “The Covenant” from Halo 3. The music opens this mission into something epic, where the combined forces of humanity and allied rogue Elites take on the Covenant’s final forces. This mission not only represents the end of the Covenant versus Human war, but the culmination of The Arbiter’s story against the Prophet of Truth. About to activate the Ark station to wipe out all life in the galaxy, even The Flood teams up with you in this mission to stop the final key from turning.
This mission takes you all over the place, from beachfront shores similar to The Silent Cartographer to Forerunner facilities powering shields to the Ark’s control room. This level sees you fight two massive Covenant Sky Stalker walking fortresses at once, with you having the option of piloting flying Hornet vehicles to do so. Rivaling the bridge battle with a Scorpion in Halo 2, this segment is insanely satisfying, as you use the Hornets to board the Covenant tanks from the sky to disable them permanently.
The last rush to stop Truth in this mission is equal parts challenging and exhilarating. The entire level is filled with The Covenant throwing everything they have left at you, pulling no punches in a war whose scale finally matches the story that has been told up to the end of the franchise’s original trilogy. In the end, “The Covenant” is a mission Halo fans could replay dozens of times, marking it as a pinnacle turning point for the larger series.
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