Halo
The most recommended of 3 video game series
Shooter series whose early games, multiplayer and atmosphere people still praise, though critics fault the later games and the live-action show.
Shooter series whose early games, multiplayer and atmosphere people still praise, though critics fault the later games and the live-action show.
42 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 24
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 57%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 24 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Early games were great
“Halo was an untouchable juggernaut of a series for the first 3 titles.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Microsoft has a problem: lack of demand for its AI products” “The first few Halo games were great.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “How many products does Microsoft have named 'Copilot'? I mapped every one” Strong multiplayer and local play
“They had Halo and local multiplayer up to 8 players across 2 connected consoles requiring no internet.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Meta will shut down VR Horizon Worlds access June 15” “was in the end much better there than on Xbox due to expanded online multiplayer”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “I spent many, many hours playing that demo with friends.”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “Half-Life ported to Mac OS 9” - Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Resetting Xbox”
Memorable landscapes and atmosphere
“I was literally mesmerized when I came out of a tunnel onto the Halo and saw the sky and the landmass”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “Max Payne – two decades later – Graphics Critique” “I had the same feeling when I exited starship in Unreal”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Max Payne – two decades later – Graphics Critique”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Declined after Bungie handed to 343
“they have also trashed the reputation of the Halo franchise since stripping it from Bungie”
Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft abandons personal AI chatbot race with Copilot reboot” “343 kept being given chances to go again, and again, when it clearly just wasn't working”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Xbox continues its “reset” with dramatic restructuring” “There hasn't been a proper official Halo game since Reach”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Xbox continues its “reset” with dramatic restructuring” - Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Resetting Xbox”
Show's first season too weak
“I think the first season turned too many people away, and by the time the show got better, it was already too late.”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “Xbox Turns Down Netflix $500M Offer” “Halo got better in season 2 but the awful first season killed it”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “Xbox Turns Down Netflix $500M Offer” Stale gameplay and remakes
“halo and GTA have relied on the same gameplay for over 20 years by now”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “Vibe coded browser ports of Halo, The Simpsons: Hit And Run, GTA work well” “remakes of what your daddy played which was already a mediocre remake”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” Recent releases seen as wasted
“Same with Halo, what a freaking waste of an IP.”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Phil Spencer is exiting Microsoft as AI executive takes over Xbox” “keeping 5/Guardians on Xbox only was stupid”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Xbox continues its “reset” with dramatic restructuring”
Other video game series people recommend
The two most recommended other video game series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HaloThis page | 24 | 18 | 57% | 10 | — | — |
| Pokémon video games | 23 | 12 | 66% | 10 | — | — |
| The Legend of Zelda | 18 | 5 | 78% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
37 of the 44 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Halo has done the heavy lifting already”
“Halo got better in season 2 but the awful first season killed it”
“a story telling abomination completely unfaithful to the source material”
“I think the first season turned too many people away, and by the time the show got better, it was already too late.”
“The live-action Halo series was so good.”
“Works out of the box with Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode”
“I think if you want to be the CEO of Xbox that you must demonstrate some kind of ranked ladder experience in halo or COD.”
“halo and GTA have relied on the same gameplay for over 20 years by now”
“those I revisit and watch when and if I've got time”
“they have also trashed the reputation of the Halo franchise since stripping it from Bungie”
“there are some good parts of Haloes 4 and 5”
“all of these games have a giant asterisk next to their quality”
“keeping 5/Guardians on Xbox only was stupid”
“now it's sitting in the corner eating glue”
“343 kept being given chances to go again, and again, when it clearly just wasn't working”
“There hasn't been a proper official Halo game since Reach”
“Halo is an irrelevant also-ran”
“they sure know how to ruin games that used to be fun”
“fast paced violent games took over to the detriment of other genres”
“I spent many, many hours playing that demo with friends.”
“Gears of War, Halo and others used to be a good way to to spend time with your children.”
“They even ran Halo to the ground ffs”
“good at Live Games such as Halo”
“if his friends play Halo, CS2, Ark, War Thunder, Arma, Hell let Loose, Splitgate, TF2, DOTA, Overwatch, or The Finals, he'll be fine”
“HALO recursively decomposes the trace data into smaller investigations, analyzes those sub-pieces, and then synthesizes those up”
“The first few Halo games were great.”
“They had Halo and local multiplayer up to 8 players across 2 connected consoles requiring no internet.”
“it wasn't quite what I was after”
“remakes of what your daddy played which was already a mediocre remake”
“Same with Halo, what a freaking waste of an IP.”
“You can have a good game and a shit story”
“I had the same feeling when I exited starship in Unreal”
“I was literally mesmerized when I came out of a tunnel onto the Halo and saw the sky and the landmass”
“Halo is a limping franchise”
“Halo was an untouchable juggernaut of a series for the first 3 titles.”
“was in the end much better there than on Xbox due to expanded online multiplayer”
“They fumbled Halo completely”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.