Halo Reach. Bungie’s final game in the series, and they did everything to ensure they went out with a satisfying end, and farewell, to their beloved franchise. A prequel to the entire series, showing the battle of Reach, the events leading to the first Halo game, you were put on an epic alien invasion disaster ride, the campaign delivering bombastic and tearful moments. Not my favorite game in the franchise, but one I certainly still enjoy very much, and it’s got some very impressive levels. So here’s my ranking of Halo Reach’s levels.
Honourable Mention: Lone Wolf
A great finale and unique FPS mission, as it’s an epilogue. You’re going to lose, and die. All you can do is fight until you can’t, take as many Covenant with you. Simple, but perfectly executed, encapsulating Humanity and Spartans. You’re a lone wolf now, the last one left on a destroyed planet. Seeing your visor crack and parts of your HUD disappear as you take more damage, it’s edge of your seat action as you’re nearing end of life, with more Covenant surrounding you. The atmosphere and tone only increase my emotions with this. What an ending; Remember Reach.
9. The Package
A decent level that sees you trek through the destroyed ONI: Sword Base, when you previously defended it at the beginning of the game. Now you see how much damage the Covenant have inflicted on the world. As Bungie was going for a setting driven campaign, seeing the scale of destruction on display here is very well done. The UNSC is losing, Reach is about to fall. But you’ve got a mission to do, and it involves a brief scorpion tank sequence (the only time in the game unfortunately). But it was still enjoyable, especially destroying two AA turrets.
Then going through the quiet, destroyed base, was very eerie. The second part, when you realize the true purpose of your mission, unfortunately isn’t as enjoyable for me. Defending against different waves of Covenant takes a while, and it can feel repetitive and boring. Especially if you just stay at the entrance. So unfortunately, as Noble Team stays, only you can actually take the offensive. Either on foot, or a captured banshee. This part just doesn’t do it for me, and while the cutscene with Dr. Halsey is nice, helping to give you clarity of our end goal of the campaign, I just don’t care to go back as much to replay this level.
8. Winter Contingency
Probably Bungie’s weakest opening level, but still good overall. I enjoy the set-up, as Noble Team goes to investigate a downed relay station, and thinking it’s rebels, you’re surprised to see Covenant. Seeing lots of blood, burned vehicles, bullet holes, and frightened farmers, the tension ramps up. Seeing dead tortured troopers, a brief red on your motion sensor, almost has a horror vibe.
Then all hell breaks loose as you fight Covenant, and the wide open farm valleys and human structures provide some nice engaging gameplay. Using Jorge and his heavy turret with a civilian vehicle as a makeshift warthog, I enjoyed having some openness in where you go. And Noble Team’s interaction leans heavily into that military sci-fi angle the game goes for, more than any other in the series. When you locate surviving troopers, it’s a quick defence section, then linking up with the rest of Noble, holding out long enough to gain access to the relay station, it’s good. The final section has you sniffing out the final Covenant hiding inside.
While the level technically is good overall, it doesn’t feel as much of a standout as the rest of the game. It’s solid enough, but not enough to always want to replay. But it’s main purpose is to show off Nobel Team, the setting, and story. Gameplay is a bit more secondary.
7. New Alexandria
You get to fly a falcon around the destroyed city, which is awesome. You’re not forced to go to objectives, you can take your time. You can shoot down all the shade turrets, banshees, and phantoms you want. Seeing the Covenant ships in the background, the burning fires, skyscrapers collapsing, and finally Covenant ships glassing the area! Your screen actually goes dark if you look at it. The vistas are the best here! Leans into that alien invasion/destruction theme and tone perfectly.
Needing to shut down the three jammers is pretty good. Each jammer has a different encounter; jet pack Elites, brutes, another just has four hunters! Then another you just fight drones (sadly, one of the few times you do in the game).
In between these objectives you get random side ones, and they change each time! Escort Buck from ODST, rescue trapped marines, take out a Covenant stronghold. All this allows the level to truly shine. The last section is very strong, taking out the AA shade turrets to evacuate pelicans, and the ending is quite sad. At this point, you’re fighting a losing battle, but refuse to give up.
Wy it’s low is because of the potential. Give the player even more freedom, and a variety of main and side objectives and encounters. Bungie was supposedly going to have you drive a Scarab here! Imagine that. Actually have Nobel Team here, it sucks that two levels back-to-back you don’t get to fight with them, that’s my biggest pet peeve. Put them in the main and side missions, give it more of a team effort.
But still, I absolutely love this level, and can just spend an hour flying around the city. Having this level low and still praising it highly, shows how strong Reach’s levels are.
6. Nightfall
A throw back sniper/stealth level reminiscent of Truth and Reconciliation. And it’s done very well. It actually commits to it the entire level.
Just you and Jun reconning Covenant controlled areas to see their strength. The first section is lots of fun, with a variety of Covie’s to take out, and it’s possible to either evade them entirely, or silently assassinate them. It’s a challenge, but so rewarding if accomplished. Leaning into that strategy of engagement element Halo is known for.
Moving through the farmlands under cover of night, while a thunder storms rages in the background, very chilly, the atmosphere fitting perfectly here. Encountering Reach’s native species of Moa and Guta, the latter you get to see smash grunts, then have to take down, gives it more a sense of a human, but still foreign, world.
I loved the encounter of rescuing militiamen, and defending against a few waves of Covenant. Then encountering a stealth spire, killing sleeping grunts, holding out against hunters, it’s very replayable because the areas are completely open in how you engage. The tactical side is on full display.
The final section is an all-out fight, fairly tough, and while a bit more linear, you do have some verticality to use to your advantage. Overall, Nightfall is a fun level through and through, and because of its structure and level design with its encounters and areas, you can replay it several different ways.
5. ONI: Sword Base
A fun action packed level the entire time. You need to defend an ONI base from a Covenant assault. I love the opening, dropping into a courtyard to assist troops against Covenant ground forces. When you get outside the base, you get a target locator to call down a small orbital bombardment, and this is the highlight of the mission. I love seeing groups of Covenant, and vehicles, get completely demolished. You can lock on to a soldier of vehicle and as they move, the locator moves. So you do have some strategy involved. And the weapon reloads throughout the level, so you actually just keep using that, and only that. It’s great for starting off engagements, then picking off stragglers.
I love the two objectives given; power up an AA turret, and a relay station. And the choice of which to do first is up to you. You can travel in different directions, so this give that freedom and openness Halo is well known for. Harkens back to the first game.
The encounters are different, both at the objective locations, and in between them. But you’ve got a warthog to use, or even a ghost or revenant. Seeing air battles take place above the ice shelf and mountainous regions gives the level and conflict a scale that increase through the campaign.
Heading back to the base and dealing with Covenant inside isn’t as fun, until you get to the final section. Needing to make your up a few floors to then get on the level the Covenant have been entering ends the level on a high note. You have options on how to move up the floors, and when you get to the final section, you get a rocket launcher to blast banshees and a phantom out of the sky.
A really fun level I enjoy many times replaying.
4. Long Night of Solace
Talk about a level! Broken up into three very distinct parts, it starts you off with a beach landing similar to Silent Cartographer. You need to secure a launch facility from the Covenant to pilot the Saber jet. A good open action set piece, then the big one!
A space combat section! A first for Halo, and overall it’s executed well. You need to defend a station against space banshees, seraph fighters, and phantoms. But in stages, so it’s not too much at once. And each vehicle requires a different approach to fight, either with chain guns, rockets, or a combination. The controls of the saber are responsive and tight, and so, so much fun. It’s always replayable even if it’s simple. It’s that much fun, probably because it reminds me of Star Wars. Only downside is it’s a bit slow going in between the dog fights, and the unskippable cutscenes definitely don’t help replaying, but otherwise, it’s a blast. The next part is attacking and disabling a Covenant Corvette, offering a different space combat set piece.
When you land on the Covenant ship, I love the sound effect in space, and the low gravity, you can truly get the jump on your enemies. The landing bay section in particular is perfect for this gimmick. Once you get gravity back, you need to overtake the bridge, and this reminds me of Truth and Reconciliation. Again, the call backs are well done, because the design/objective isn’t copy and paste. Taking the bridge is a bit challenging, but it reminds you that you’re in hostile territory. Seeing your frigate get destroyed only adds to the tension and time running out to get the ship on a course to the Super Carrier to blow both up.
The final section is a defence section, and it’s spaced out well, especially with the variety of Covenant soldiers used in the waves. But the ending is what does it. Jorge sacrifices his life, and it’s all for naught, as a larger Covenant fleet arrives.
The tide is starting to turn, and this leans into the doomed planet angle Bungie went for. Sacrifice and loss are finally dealt with in this level. So from a storytelling perspective and gameplay side, both ae amazing.
3. Pillar of Autumn
The final level. Epic in every way; scope, scale, length, execution. Reach has fallen, Covenant are closing in, and time is running out to evacuate the planet and save as many people as possible.
Carter is injured flying a pelican, so it’s up to you and Emile to get tot eh Pillar of Autumn on foot. Seeing it in the distance, along with the destruction, is one of the best background vistas in the series. Destroyed UNSC ships, roaming Scarabs and tanks, a partially glassed mounting cut down the middle, dog fights in the sky above; it’s never been seen in previous games. This shows the strength of the UNSC before and after Reach.
The opening is awesome with jumping from the high cliff edge to assassinate an Elite, before making your way to a mongoose. Love how you encounter Scarabs and other soldiers, but you don’t have time, nor the manpower, to take them out. Just don’t get it hit, get away. The next encounter is a large pack of Brutes, and the different buildings help give you some tactical approach for engagement.
Carter’s sacrifice to takedown a Scarab is always sad to watch, but you can’t mourn. You make your way through a cave system to take out Drones, before coming to a drydock section, and this is a great encounter. It’s huge, and with a high elevation to potentially traverse, you can pick off Covenant, turrets, and vehicles with a sniper rifle, spartan laser, or just charge up front/ You can play this encounter in many different ways, and most of the level, which is why it’s so high.
Fighting through the station’s structures, the Covenant keep closing in. There’s so many of them, and so few marines left to help. Then you get a hold of Captain Keyes, and you need to clear the LZ for him. Well the Covenant throw everything they got at you, and again, the different waves and where they appear keep the gameplay fresh. The open area gives you options in how and where to fight.
Once Emile goes down, it’s just you. You gotta get to the MAC gun, but a small group of Elite Zealots dare you to strike. A very tough section, but once you get to the gun, it’s the ultimate power fantasy. Destroying banshees and phantoms like they’re plastic toys, the music pulsating, Keyes telling you to fire on a Covenant cruiser that will destroy the Autumn, my heart was racing and hands sweating through this, and they still do every time I play this part.
You know you’re not going to make, so you need to instead make the ultimate sacrifice. Watching the ship fly away, the sombre, sorrowful atmosphere kicking in. While it’s nice to see Chief in his pod as an easter egg, this level hit me hard. The cutscene ends with the opening of Halo 1, perfectly wrapping up the series full circle.
This level pretty much has everything, with the exception of a full-fledged vehicle section with either a warthog or scorpion, but everything else is perfect. The perfect send off for Bungie and the series.
2. Exodus
The opening scene is amazing. Seeing the destroyed Covenant carrier on a mountain, then Noble 6 sees a city under siege, Covenant ships above, battles raging, destruction; the previous mission for naught.
Moving through the city, you finally encounter Brutes, and you need to save them from killing civilians. Your actions have consequences! While they aren’t as interesting to fight as in Halo 3, they’re presence is welcomed. The chatter with soldiers leans the best into the military angle.
This level is the best at encapsulating a Human world under alien invasion. The atmosphere perfect. Many civilians needing to be saved, and I love how they react to seeing a Spartan. Something even Halo 2 and 3 didn’t do for Earth. The set pieces vary, the level design is great, especially with verticality. You got snipers to deal with, Brute Chieftains, suicidal Grunts. You’re given a jet pack to traverse, and that changes the gameplay. Securing a landing zone was a very tough section, but your reward is not just evacuating civilians. You get to ride gunner in a hornet. And you see the battles rage around the city. Save marines from raging Brutes, destroy banshees. You see an evac ship get blasted and sink into the ocean. A doomed planet indeed.
The final section is loads of fun, needing to start up AA batteries to fire on a Corvette, to clear the skies for additional evac ships. And the area is very wide open, with tons of weapons at your disposal to use, especially a warthog. You got to take out wraiths, ghosts, troops. And you approach the scenario from multiple positions. Once you get the AA turrets online, you need to fire the, from the command post. And may Covenant troops do their best to prevent that!
The overall gameplay, encounters, urban warfare, and use of civilians and atmosphere make this a top tier Halo level. You feel like a super soldier in a larger picture, a hero on a doomed planet. Just wish you had Noble Team with you.
1. Tip of the Spear
What a level! The opening is amazing. A fleet of warthogs, hornets, and pelicans descend on the Covenant staging area. It’s all-out war! You start off with a grenade launcher and a rocket hog! Taking out an AA turret was an epic way to get going. Big areas to drive around, various Covenant and vehicles to deal with. The background battles in the distance, the vistas, I can just sit back and watch. Only thing disappointing with the level is to keep going with its epic scope and scale. Let me use a tank to join the main battle, take down a Scarab! Have other members of Noble team around, and a couple other different objectives. But otherwise, this level I love the most of Reach, and is definitely in my top ten of Halo levels.
The battles raging around lean into that sci-fi war element the absolute best of any level in the Halo series. Destroying the AA turret to allow longsword bombers take out Scarabs, a UNSC Frigate to help out, you’re just a small – but important part – of a larger picture. The next section is taking out an Elite zealot and securing a refinery. Seeing troopers and Covenant fight only increase the scale.
After, you've got to take out another AA turret, and again, the wide open areas of this level give you lots of leeway into the approaching the set pieces. Replay value is very high here. Once you secure an LZ, you get to use a rocket gun on the side of a Hornet. You can choose which side to use, changing the Covenant encounters while you’re in the air! While short, it’s an absolute blast to, well, blast Covenant troops and vehicles from the sky.
The final section inside the area of a Covenant spire is fantastic. Fighting your way through the desert area, using a jet pack to approach the encounters differently, then seeing the spire. You can highjack a banshee and take Covie’s out that way and fly up to the spire’s command control. Or stay on the ground and take a gravity lift. So many different ways for this set piece. And the ending cutscene was awesome.
Just an epic level the entire time that makes a nearly perfect use and execution of its design, set pieces, atmosphere, and gameplay. I could on forever with this level.
Well, there you have. My ranking of Halo Reach’s missions. How would you rank them? Comment below.
Comments