Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order – What to play first?

It’s never a bad time to play the Halo games. With the rumours of a brand new Halo game being developed, players might want to jump on the Halo bandwagon and embark on a special journey to become a Spartan. 

New players might want to catch up on the epic saga featuring the iconic Master Chief and the war against an alien supergroup known as the Covenant. 

If you’re new to the Halo series, you might get intimidated by the number of games that the series contains. But don’t worry, this guide will help you to decide in which order to play the games in. It’s gonna be an unforgettable ride. 

1. The Chronological Order to Play the Halo Games

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition

If you want to experience the Halo story from Master Chief’s earliest adventures to his latest outing, which is Halo Infinite, then you need to play the Halo games in its chronological order. 

Don’t get intimidated by the number of games the Halo series has. It is actually quite simple once you figure out the order to play these games in. And lucky for you, we are her to sort that out for you so you don’t have to go through the trouble of finding it out yourself. 

For playing the Halo games in its chronological order, you need to follow the list below:

  • Halo Wars (2531)
  • Halo Reach (2552)
  • Halo: Combat Evolved (2552)
  • Halo 2 (2552)
  • Halo 3 (2552)
  • Halo 3: ODST (2552)
  • Halo Spartan Assault (2554)
  • Halo 4 (2557)
  • Halo 5: Guardians (2558)
  • Halo Wars 2 (2559)
  • Halo Infinite (2560)

2. The Release Order to Play the Halo Games

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo 3: ODST

If you want to play the Halo games in its release order, then we’ve got that covered too. It is worth noting that nHalo: Combat Evolved is the first game in the series but was re-released in 2011.

For playing the Halo games in its release order, you need to follow the list below:

  • Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
  • Halo 2 (2004)
  • Halo 3 (2007)
  • Halo Wars (2009)
  • Halo 3: ODST (2009)
  • Halo: Reach (2010)
  • Halo 4 (2012)
  • Halo: Spartan Assault (2013)
  • Halo: Spartan Strike (2015)
  • Halo 5: Guardians (2015)
  • Halo Wars 2 (2017)
  • Halo Infinite (2021)

3. Which Halo should you play first? 

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo: Combat Evolved

If you want to completely understand what Halo is about and its lore from the beginning, then it’s best to start with Halo: Combat Evolved. It is an excellent game to start the series with since the story starts there and gets more complicated as it goes on. 

Halo games are designed in such a way that you can start anywhere and you can probably still understand what’s going on in the game. Of course, you won’t understand everything if you don’t play the previous games. If you are looking to jump into the action without having much care for the story, then Halo 3 would be the place to start. 

4. Which is the hardest Halo game? 

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo 2

There isn’t a specific Halo game which is hard to beat per se, as you can change the difficulty in all of the Halo games. But if we’re talking about the hardest Halo game to beat on the hardest difficulty, which is Legendary, then the title absolutely goes to Halo 2.

Halo 2 on Legendary is an absolute nightmare to beat. With the Elite’s fast-reacharging shields, rapid-fire pinpoint Plasma Rifles, the grenade-dodging AI and accuracy of enemy snipers made it absolutely hell for players to beat. 

5. Which Halo game is the least popular? 

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo 5: Guardians

To call any Halo game not popular would be wrong. Halo is one of the most iconic gaming franchises of all time but when it comes to Halo 5: Guardians, players might disagree with those who like the game. Majority of the Halo fans were disappointed with the game’s campaign although they throught the multiplayer was alright. 

The main reason which made players hate Halo 5: Guardians is that the game threw out all the plot points that were brought up in Halo 4 and Spartan Ops. The game additionally contains a secondary playable character known as Locke and he receives majority of the screentime instead of Master Chief, the iconic protagonist of Halo. 

6. Should you play all the Halo games before playing Halo: Infinite? 

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite, despite being the latest Halo game in the series, is a good place to start, according to 343. However, if you want to know all the characters and their lore along with the story completely, then you need to play the older Halo games. You can alternatively watch a summary of all the previous Halo games lest you want to play the games. 

If you don’t want to play the previous Halo games, I suggest you at least play the original Halo to get an idea of who Master Chief is and get a little background on the Halo rings. Whatever you do though, do not start any of the Halo titles on the hardest difficulty if you don’t have any experience with the series before. You’ll regret it later on.

7. What does The Master Chief Collection include? 

Easy Guide to Playing the Halo Games in Order - What to play first?
Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Halo: The Master Chief Collection provides players with the ultimate Halo experience. The bundle contains six legendary Halo games and takes you on an exciting journey through the incredible bravery of Noble Six in Halo: Reach and ending with the rise of a new enemy in Halo 4.

The six games which are included in The Master Chief Collection are:

  • Halo: Reach
  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
  • Halo 2: Anniversary
  • Halo 3
  • Halo 3: ODST Campaign
  • Halo 4

The collection additionally includes multiplayer modes for each of the six Halo games. With more than 120 multiplayer maps and countless ways to play with community-created Forge content, the Collection has the most diverse and expansive Halo multiplayer experience to date.

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8. About Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite is an upcoming first-person shooter game developed by 343 Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios.

It is the sixth entry in the series and serves as a re-imagining of the franchise, with new features, mechanics and gameplay elements. As for the story, it is going to be a direct continuation of Master Chief’s story from Halo 5: Guardians, in his “greatest adventure yet to save humanity!”

The game was originally cited to be released alongside the upcoming Xbox Series consoles but has since been delayed to 2021.

Vansh Gulati

Vansh Gulati

Meet our very own Hinata Shoyo! - There is no anime or manga that he’s not aware of. Also the go-to guy for all things Epic at EML. He’s on a journey to discover life one bottle of sake at a time!
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