# Halo

24 Hacker News commenters recommended Halo and 18 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Shooter series whose early games, multiplayer and atmosphere people still praise, though critics fault the later games and the live-action show.

## Why people recommend it

- Early games were great (2 comments): "Halo was an untouchable juggernaut of a series for the first 3 titles." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46196858)) "The first few Halo games were great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47643457))
- Strong multiplayer and local play (4 comments): "They had Halo and local multiplayer up to 8 players across 2 connected consoles requiring no internet." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47429074)) "was in the end much better there than on Xbox due to expanded online multiplayer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45917068)) "I spent many, many hours playing that demo with friends." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49098320))
- Memorable landscapes and atmosphere (2 comments): "I was literally mesmerized when I came out of a tunnel onto the Halo and saw the sky and the landmass" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46576993)) "I had the same feeling when I exited starship in Unreal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46598200))

## What people warn about

- Declined after Bungie handed to 343 (4 comments): "they have also trashed the reputation of the Halo franchise since stripping it from Bungie" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49850649)) "343 kept being given chances to go again, and again, when it clearly just wasn't working" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804144)) "There hasn't been a proper official Halo game since Reach" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804130))
- Show's first season too weak (2 comments): "I think the first season turned too many people away, and by the time the show got better, it was already too late." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50228123)) "Halo got better in season 2 but the awful first season killed it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50228442))
- Stale gameplay and remakes (2 comments): "halo and GTA have relied on the same gameplay for over 20 years by now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036240)) "remakes of what your daddy played which was already a mediocre remake" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47222231))
- Recent releases seen as wasted (2 comments): "Same with Halo, what a freaking waste of an IP." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47095410)) "keeping 5/Guardians on Xbox only was stupid" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804918))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Pokémon video games](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pokemon.md): 23 recommend
- [The Legend of Zelda](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda.md): 18 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Halo", https://hackerapproved.com/p/halo/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).