Everything Shadows of Reach sets up for Halo Infinite

“We will gather our forces on this world and depart at once. There is a greater purpose that the Banished must attend to.”

It’s been some time since now since Troy Denning’s latest Halo novel, Shadows of Reach, dropped out of slipspace (in fact, they’ve already announced the next one!)

From the state of the galaxy, to the Master Chief’s character arc, Banished politics, and beyond – let’s explore everything Blue Team’s return to Reach sets up for Halo Infinite…

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Halo fiction for Women’s History Month

It’s Women’s History Month, a time to raise awareness of women’s history, and to listen to and uplift their voices.

From Lorraine McLees to Kiki Wolfkill and Bonnie Ross, to everyone between and beyond, women have been foundational to Halo’s success since its inception.

There are light years left to travel, but Halo has generally been one of the more progressive creative platforms for stories about diverse and complex women – increasingly often told by women as well.

I’ve put together a selection of great Halo stories which are either about or told by women that you should absolutely put on your reading list…

Read More Halo fiction for Women’s History Month

What Halo: The Television Series will be about (and why it’ll be great)

“The story is about [Spartans] reclaiming what makes them human…”

Halo: The Television Series is finally on the horizon.

A recent article from Deadline confirmed that the show (produced by Showtime) will premiere on Paramount+ in Q1 2022.

While details are scarce, there’s enough information for us to start forming a solid idea of what the story will actually be about – and I think it’ll be great.

Read More What Halo: The Television Series will be about (and why it’ll be great)

HALO: POINT OF LIGHT – An interview with Kelly Gay

Halo: Point of Light by Kelly Gay releases March 2nd 2021, continuing the story of Rion Forge, 343 Guilty Spark (now just ‘Spark’), and the Ace of Spades crew.

But before it sits comfortably in your hands (and lives rent-free in your minds), Kelly sat down with me to talk about this momentous new release.

Grab a mug and pull up a chair, Spartans!

Read More HALO: POINT OF LIGHT – An interview with Kelly Gay

Halo: Point of Light – Review (NON-SPOILER)

“Find what’s missing. Fix the path. Right what my kind has turned wrong.”

Halo: Point of Light by Kelly Gay releases March 2nd 2021, continuing the story of Rion Forge, 343 Guilty Spark (now just ‘Spark’), and the Ace of Spades crew.

343 Industries kindly provided me an early copy of the book and I’m very excited to share my (non-spoilery) review and impressions of the biggest, most universe-shattering Halo story told since Silentium.

Read More Halo: Point of Light – Review (NON-SPOILER)

Everything that happened to 343 Guilty Spark AFTER Halo 3

A PRIMER FOR HALO: POINT OF LIGHT

“My galaxy is dead. I am machine. I am Chakas. I am human. I am 343 Guilty Spark.”

Halo: Point of Light, the next book by Kelly Gay, is releasing March 2nd 2021 and will continue the story of our favourite lightbulb – 343 Guilty Spark.

Except he’s no longer a lightbulb, he’s a completely new person now. The story of what’s happened to Spark after the events of Halo 3 is something that has unfolded over the last decade.

Maybe you don’t have the time to read all that fiction but you’re interested in this new book, or you just want to know what’s become of this character you maintain a love-hate relationship with. Who is Chakas? Sergeant Forge had a daughter?

Let’s crack open the ONI archives and bring you up to speed…

Read More Everything that happened to 343 Guilty Spark AFTER Halo 3

What the Librarian did to the Master Chief in Halo 4 (and what it might mean for Halo Infinite)

“Reclaimer, the genesong I placed within you contains many gifts…”

At the mid-point of Halo 4, the Master Chief comes face-to-face with the data ghost of the Librarian.

She says that she seeded many hidden “gifts” within humanity, and that the Didact can only be defeated by unlocking this dormant potential in the Master Chief, granting him ‘immunity’ to the Composer.

But, in both Halo 4 and Halo 5, we see hints of other “gifts” awakening, which may also come into play in Halo Infinite…

Read More What the Librarian did to the Master Chief in Halo 4 (and what it might mean for Halo Infinite)

Just another article about why Haruspis loves Halo 4’s story…

“Do you believe the Master Chief succeeded because he was, at his core, broken?”

I’ve written… a fair amount about Halo 4 over the years.

I forged my place in the community as a loud voice of positivity for this game after its release. I have penned tens of thousands of words about its storytelling, its characterisation, its themes.

The year is 2021, and I’m still not done. I still have more to say about it because its themes are so rich. Theme is the ‘soul’ of a work, the connective tissue between everything, and at the end it’s the main thing I want to talk about – putting the pieces together, exploring what it all meant.

So let’s dive once more into the depths of Halo 4.

Read More Just another article about why Haruspis loves Halo 4’s story…

117 things I love about 343’s Halo

Somehow, 2020 is almost over. I could’ve sworn it was July just last week, but here we are…

It’s been a long and difficult year, one that has kept us all at arms length and also brought us closer together in unconventional ways. To close out 2020, I thought it would be nice to go out on a positive note as we look to the release of Halo Infinite next year.

So, here are 117 things I love about 343 Industries’s past decade with Halo.

Read More 117 things I love about 343’s Halo

Halo 2’s original ending revealed – how Bungie was going to finish the fight

The development woes of Halo 2 have been well documented over the years, Bungie has been very transparent about how much they had to cut from the final game. One of those things was the ending, intended to close out the series as a whole, which was replaced by that infamous cliffhanger.

We’ve never truly known what the original ending to Halo 2 was meant to be. Until now.

Let’s dive in and see how Bungie originally imagined this story’s conclusion, and how it stacks up to what we got in the end…

Read More Halo 2’s original ending revealed – how Bungie was going to finish the fight