10 best games like Halo: Campaign Evolved

The 2000s FPS never died, it's just missing in action

The original Halo has been around for a long time now, and has inspired a lot of great games. With Halo: Campaign Evolved now available on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, a lot of us are enjoying that classic experience for the first time in a long while (or ever). But the adventure can only last so long. Then we’re left to look for what we might turn to next that scratches the same itch. With that in mind, here are 10 games to play if you liked Halo: Campaign Evolved and want to keep the good times rolling.

1 Halo Infinite (November 2021)

Available on: PC, Xbox Series X

When Halo originally launched, players couldn’t sprint through the massive corridors like they can now. By today’s standards, the maps weren’t even all that large, which meant that sort of mobility didn’t feel necessary. But Halo Infinite changed the rules by introducing open-world environments, and it brought along a powerful grappleshot to boot. The game also boasts classic versus modes that Halo: Campaign Evolved does not, making it one of the best ways to enjoy a current Halo experience alone or with friends. For real fans of the series, Halo Infinite is the next logical stop, and now packed with content it lacked upon first arriving a half-decade ago (a new update came just this year, even).

2 Titanfall 2 (October 2016)

Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One

Respawn Entertainment created Titanfall as a way to celebrate the team’s freedom from its own success with Call of Duty. The new series brought to life a futuristic world full of mechs and bullets, one that built on everything that had come before it. Titanfall 2 ramped things up, introducing a story campaign its immediate predecessor had done without. The plot introduced Jack Cooper and his Titan, then threw them at a slew of interesting levels featuring not just wall running, but power slides that kept the action fluid and frantic, inside the mechs and out. We’re still enjoying the benefits of that series, as Apex Legends is set within the same universe.

3 Crysis Remastered (September 2020)

Available on: PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One

With a gorgeous tropical setting that spawned a meme (“can your computer run Crysis?”), the original game served as a visual showpiece for years. Helpfully, Crysis also featured some compelling design to go with all that beauty. Players move through expansive environments in a nanosuit that gives them nearly unchecked freedom. They can turn invisible, sprint to close substantial distances, punch through pesky walls, and even absorb enemy shots without meeting an untimely end. Crysis Remastered, the most recent update developed in collaboration with Saber Interactive, initially suffered from frustrating omissions, like the Ascension level and classic suit controls. However, time has been kind to the game. It now delivers what it should have at launch.

4 Star Wars Republic Commando (February 2005)

Available on: PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox

As long as you don’t mind an unresolved cliffhanger, Star Wars Republic Commando is an excellent use of your time, especially if you have a thing for the galaxies far, far away. Set in the Clone Wars period of Star Wars canon, the game lets players control Delta Squad members, a group of clone commandos who lack Jedi superpowers but make up for that with grit, determination, and blasters. Activities include clearing rooms of enemy units, hacking terminals, and establishing sniper nests. It’s a change from the norm, but one that felt fresh then and still does. Happily, it has since been cleaned up for PS4 and Switch, allowing the current generation to enjoy tactical shooting action with a sci-fi edge.

5 Wolfenstein: The New Order (May 2014)

Available on: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

If the Nazi regime won World War II, the world as we know it today would not exist. Wolfenstein: The New Order explores what it might look like instead, and here’s a spoiler: it still involves lots of guns. The game presents B.J. Blazkowicz, a warrior tired of the world around him who proceeds to dual-wield his way to a brighter future. The overall loop includes some moments that slow down the pacing or focus on stealth, but a lot of the campaign consists of progress that comes very noisily. Players move quickly around the detailed environments, collecting armor and looking for the weapons that will carry them to victory against the well-armed hordes. It’s not a Halo clone or anything, but it’s quality work that scratches a similar itch.

6 BioShock Infinite (March 2013)

Available on: Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360

The BioShock trilogy is generally excellent, but players will naturally find different moments they personally like best. Although some people consider BioShock Infinite a low point, the game did get some important things right. For starters, it unfolds in a city in the sky, which feels reminiscent of many Forerunner structures in the Halo universe. There’s also a companion in both games, along with a two-weapon inventory system that should feel familiar to those of us who have spent a lot of time filling Master Chief’s boots. Areas sometimes are overly linear, especially compared to previous games in the series that had us wandering the twisting corridors of Rapture, and there’s less variety in objectives. But it’s a fun adventure in a spectacular new location, with a lot to offer Halo fans.

7 Black Mesa: Definitive Edition (March 2020)

Available on: PC

Half-Life is still considered one of the greatest sci-fi shooters ever made, thanks to its immersive storytelling and gameplay that finds interesting ways to incorporate physics. Most of those elements will appeal to players fresh off a jaunt in the Halo universe. Black Mesa, a fan-built mod that grew into a proper remake, might just be the best way to play. Valve, the developers of the original Half-Life, approved a commercial release way back in 2012. The game entered Early Access on Steam in May 2015 before finally launching in March 2020. Then it saw an updated “definitive” edition that improved things even further a few months later. That’s a lot of energy spent improving a game that was already good enough to earn all sorts of accolades.

8 Singularity (June 2010)

Available on: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Although it was the victim of troubled development and near cancellation, Singularity eventually released to solid reviews. Players who give it a shot will advance through its environments using less conventional means, which sometimes include manipulating the flow of time while interacting with objects and enemies. There’s also an interesting story at the heart of the affair which, despite lacking the heft of Halo’s plot, provides justification for continued shooting and puzzle solving. The developers at Raven Software earned quite a reputation over the years, and games like Singularity make it easy to see why.

9 Destiny 2 (September 2017)

Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Bungie built the early Halo games, and then it left Microsoft to seek other adventures. Soon, it met up with Activision; Destiny was the result. But although the first game was good, it didn’t have the staying power of its successor, Destiny 2. With a strong focus on live-service play, the sequel hung around for years while providing expansive stages loaded with armor and weapons, enemy mobs and perks. Bungie launched the Monument of Triumph update on June 9 of this year, finally putting an end to new updates, but the game and its content will likely remain online for a long time to come, allowing new audiences to finally step into that world and learn what they’ve been missing.

10 TimeShift (October 2007)

Available on: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

TimeShift is mostly forgotten today, but it provided a solid experience that you can blow through over a fun-filled weekend. The factor that stands out most is the Beta suit, which enables the player to slow, stop, or even reverse time. As you might imagine, such empowering skills impact the flow of the game and help it break out of the genre mold. And by 2007 standards, there were a lot of spectacular sights to see, even if their effect has since diminished. Not everything lands quite right, though. The plot comes across as a less ambitious take on the themes Half-Life 2 explored. Some sequences feel like padding that doesn’t improve the story or its pacing. But TimeShift was only the studio’s second game, and it did enough things right to impress some important people. Saber Interactive has since worked on a number of ambitious projects, including Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in 2011.