‘Halo: Reach’ Finds a Home on PC

After launching on the Xbox 360 nearly ten years ago in 2010, Halo: Reach was seen by many as the outcast of the family. It was Bungie’s last Halo game, it wasn’t a numbered title (becoming the first in the series unless you count the Halo 3: ODST DLC), and it featured brand-new mechanics like the infamous sprint, jet packing, and holograms. Still, in part due to an emotional prequel campaign that was the first to leave Master Chief behind, Halo: Reach became a cult classic. And perhaps that is underselling it, as even the smallest Halo game in 2010 was still larger than life. Since then, behind the mildly disappointing Halo 4 and polarizing Halo 5, the franchise has lost its title as one of the most influential in the industry. Yesterday, Halo: Reach became the third-largest launch on Steam in 2019. With additional numbers hidden behind the Xbox Game Pass, it seems clear that Reach is one of the biggest launches of the year. Subsequently, it now seems entirely possible to me that Halo just needed a new audience, and perhaps a new home. 

Reach is the first of several launches for Microsoft in the Halo: Master Chief Collection. After pouring thousands of hours into the Halo franchise over the course of my life, I have always ranked Reach near the bottom of my list. I didn’t love the power ups, most of the maps felt iterative (or were literally copycats of previous favorites), and the ranking system ditched the famous and competitive 1-50 in favor of a more laid-back system that favored play time over skill. Reach’s release on both Steam and the Microsoft Store is a proven success in part because it’s working to bring the core of Halo right to Reach. 

How Does it Compare to the Original Launch of MCC?

For starters, everything works really well. And if you were an early adopter of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on the Xbox One like I was, then you know that such things can’t be taken for granted. The UI is smooth, finding matches is consistent and there are rarely any problems with player imbalance, and there are tons of options for customization right off the bat. So far, the largest issue seems to be an inability to open up Reach on the Xbox Companion App, which would have been a bigger issue if the game weren’t also available on Steam and easily bootable via the Windows’ search bar. Beyond that, slightly larger-than-average load times in matchmaking have been the only noticeable flaw in game. And it’s worth remembering what a technical marvel the Master Chief Collection actually is, because it’s technically multiple games patched together to work simultaneously in one, overarching match-making system. Though Reach is the only available title on PC for now, there are more coming soon. 

So far, my favorite addition to Reach as a part of the Master Chief Collection is the addition of the 1-50 ranking system and the “hardcore” playlist that removes bloom, sprinting and radar. It most closely resembles the multiplayer in Halo 3, including top-tier movement that allows for jumping atop ledges, bouncing over the heads of enemies, and strafing out of fire lines. Though the maps in this playlist are mostly iterative, including a forge remake of the Halo 2 map “Sanctuary,” they are all really well structured for the game type. Even though some of the forge remakes don’t look great, the native Reach maps look amazing. 

How Does Halo Run on a PC?

With a resolution bump, plus some additional visual customization, like HDR and uncapped framerate, Reach fits right in as a modern title on PC. A lot of this is a credit to Bungie, who knew how to develop maps that not only play really well but look great, too. I spent most of my early time running Reach off of Steam on a PC rig that includes a 1080 Ti graphics card and 2700x processing unit, but also tested the game out on a 970/i7-4790k. With the former, I was able to play the game smoothly at 4K resolution and 60 frames. I also tested out my 1440p and 144hz monitor to see how I could run it with an uncapped framerate and G-Sync. The results were a super-smooth experience that was an extremely noticeable bump in quality from the Xbox 360 days. The 970 didn’t fare quite as well, as expected, but did hit 1080/60 just fine in my limited sit down with it. 

While many players will be sticking with the controller that Reach was built for, the PC version does offer up mouse and keyboard compatibility. My experience with this was mixed, especially because all of my muscle memory was ingrained to the controller. That being said, aiming felt particularly smooth (acceleration options can be turned on or off; I left them off) and sniping felt really good. There were noticeable benefits from playing mouse and keyboard, including quick turnarounds and whipping the aiming reticule across the map for a quick shot. Unfortunately, movement isn’t as smooth with a keyboard. Reach, and the rest of Halo, for that matter, relies a lot on being able to move in a variety of directions while doing things like crouching, aiming, punching and zooming. Having to lift one of my fingers off of the WASD keypad to facilitate an action just didn’t feel quite right. Over the course of five to six hours of play, I definitely preferred the experience with an Xbox One Elite Controller, but this will undoubtedly be different regarding each player. 

For now, it seems like Microsoft and 343 are taking their time with the rollout of the Master Chief Collection on PC. This is almost certainly the best way forward, especially as it will give each of the games in the collection a chance to shine. This release has reopened my eyes to what a treat Halo: Reach was and still is. With some added tools like the skill-based matchmaking system and the bumped resolution and framerate, Reach has become the best shooter I’ve played online all year. With Halo: Infinite just around the corner, it seems clear that Halo has found a new home on PC. Perhaps a resurgence for the franchise is on the horizon. 

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