Examining Halo: Reach's Breathtaking Twist

[@BenPlaysGames]

✅ Subscribe: kzbin.info 🖱 Support the channel: www.patreon.com/ben_plays_games Poor old Jorge.

[@aegis6485]

It's almost heartbreaking in a way. All that effort, all that sacrifice made into nothing as soon as the rest of the fleet arrives. What should've felt like a victory was the beginning of the end.

[@KiomonDuck]

It's an "Aw damn, here we go again" moment

[@BenPlaysGames]

It's the perfect halfway crescendo and Bungie follows through on it beautifully - the colour pallete begins to shift, the narrative takes a far more sombre tone and there are no real victories won from Exodus onwards.

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

​@@BenPlaysGames damn, Bungie had so many subtle storytelling elements that could change the atmosphere and mood. Never realized the color palette changed consciously, but I knew the game felt more somber.

[@ishikaorimura6803]

That's the covenant in a nutshell just like Harvest

[@sundowner6081]

To be fair, the CSO Class Supercarrier would have caused Reach to fall much faster.

[@xaviermontoya3105]

I always liked how they make no attempt to hide just how outgunned humanity's ships were, just how small they were compared to the covenant ships and how technologically inferior. Its for this reason I liked the inclusion of the Savannah's destruction just to further the dispair and hopelessness to the defenders of Reach and show them that the small victories they win will just be overshadowed by bigger defeats in space and on the ground. Regrets premature invasion of Earth with only a small fleet compared to the one that glassed Reach still managed destroy several orbital defensive installations and give their defense fleet a run for it's money, Humanity in Halo is the perfect underdog story imo.

[@BenPlaysGames]

It's that switch from Reach being green and blue when viewed from above to orange shortly after as you attack the Corvette. Combined with the Covenant armada appearing, it gives you a real feeling of everything being utterly futile. Humanity screwed both above and below.

[@teamdoghouse7920]

The Covenant had the upper hand with the destructive power of their technology. But they lacked creativity when employing it. If the Sangheili had never been castrated by the Prophets, and left to grow unhindered, Humanity would NEVER have made it as long as they did. Let alone have a chance of winning.

[@parkerpope1163]

ODST and reach absolutely... halo 1-3... the covenant are the underdogs compared to master chief

[@DEEZ_N4T]

Not to mention you also see one of Savanna’s wings hit the top part of the Corvette further solidifing that you cannot go back to the Sabers and the only way out is jumping off

[@teamdoghouse7920]

@@DEEZ_N4T nice attention to detail and observation!

[@TheFacelessStoryMaker]

I remember playing this day 1 after picking it up from Gamestop from pre-ordering it and the end cutscene really got to 15 year old me. Seeing the slipspace drive succeed I was a mix of happy and sad. Yes the goal was achieved but we lost Jorge. A true phyrric victory. But then the audio of Dot repeating "Slipspace rupture detected" and other people talking as well as the music. It turned to pure sadness. Jorge. The most human of Noble Team and arguably the most human of the Spartan-IIs. Died for nothing....

[@BenPlaysGames]

Jorge was such a good character. I'd love a spin off game covering Noble Team prior to Reach, them going out on various missions maybe less connected to a huge, overarching story. Would be a great way to build on a lot of the squad's characters and generate additional emotional resonance for Reach, as you could then replay it even more attached to everyone than you were previously.

[@Bastard_Man]

"He died thinking he just saved the planet. We should all be so lucky"

[@billybob-gb6ol]

S034 Samuel died in almost exactly the same way he was the first Spartan II killed by the covenant

[@thelvadam8474]

This mission is a masterpiece in every aspect, from the assault on the beach to the section with the sabre and the invasion of the covenant corvette.... A variety of crazy situations, not to mention the narrative, this level does a tremendous job of communicating you the sheer terror of the large-scale covenant invasion, the sight of all those corvettes popping out of slipspace ready to fully vitrify reach still today fills my heart with raw dread.... Not to mention Jorge's sacrifice, just tears and fear, no Halo has managed to capture the atmosphere of fear and brutality of reach, not yet at least.... Personally I hope in a spin off on the contact on harvest, it would be possible to go back to reach atmospheres, at least in part.

[@BenPlaysGames]

The scale is insane and it really adds to the weight of the narrative as a whole. Everything feels so big and important, and it is. And yeh, Jorge's death gets me every time, most upsetting death in the entire series for me.

[@thelvadam8474]

​​​​@@BenPlaysGames That's right spartan, to make Jorge's death even sadder than it is, is the fact that his sacrifice was, in the end, useless in saving the planet ... Like all humanity's efforts on reach, ultimately it doesn't matters how much you fight, reach will still fall, jorge died believing he averted a large scale covenant attack, but in the end we all know how this will play out....this (and other elements) give halo reach a super dark tone, filled with existential terror and a sense of constant oppression, I love how this game captures the brutality of human-covenant war to perfection. Btw, great analysis Spartan, keep up the good work 💪

[@TheLastArbiter]

@@thelvadam8474 then why did you give the order, Thel? Reach was your responsibility. You said so during your trial. But seriously I agree completely, the tone here is incredible. They capture the complex problem and despair very well. All well said with Kat’s memorable quote: “I know we’re losing… I want to know if we’ve lost.”

[@thelvadam8474]

@@TheLastArbiter During the siege of reach, my body and will belonged to the covenant… I served the prophets with sacred dedication, blind to the truth. My unstoppable fleet advanced in outer space burning everything that hindered us, and so, planet after planet, I obtained more and more glory, more and more respect from the prophets....I eradicated millions of lives in the name of a faith that did not belong to me and the weight of every life torments me every day of my existence.... I was young then, still unaware of the lie of the prophets, still unaware of their malice... Like all my people, I was deceived and... Nothing will ever forgive what happened to reach, what I did... I will carry this burden with me forever, but the war is over, the dust has settled, the prophets have been punished by my sacred blade, now is the time to rebuild and... To remember, remember reach and all the abominations perpetrated in this war, only then can we have hope for the future.

[@TheLastArbiter]

@@thelvadam8474 Such was already known. This was a test, to see if I was speaking to the real Arbiter. Now I have no doubt… Your story has been an inspiration to me since I first experienced it. It reminds me to never let my past define me, to recognize the “false prophets” in life who wish to deceive us for their own benefit, and to never lose hope. Therefore, I carry the mark too, as a reminder of these values you taught me. Lord Hood may not have been able to forgive you, but I can. (Real life, that was very well written bro, you should be an author)

[@AntnAndArr]

I like how every time you give context despite the fact the game is over 10 years old yet I still watch it because I enjoy it. 😅

[@BenPlaysGames]

Thanks man! I leave them in there for peolle who might not be familiar with the series but always mark them in the contents so they can be skipped easily enough.

[@dougsmith6262]

BPG could do a video on a game I've played 1000 times and I'd still watch it, and still find out something new.

[@AntnAndArr]

@@dougsmith6262 facts

[@blaketindle4703]

Really instills a feeling of hopelessness. You just spent so much effort and sacrifice to bring down one ship! Then almost immediately a whole damn fleet of them show up!!!

[@BenPlaysGames]

Jorge though he was going out with a bang, a bang which would save Reach. In the end, it was all for naught. So brutal.

[@chipgw]

Because it was what they used for the demo of the game, which was my very first experience of Halo, the first half of the mission is burned into my brain & never fails to hit me in the nostalgia I absolutely love the way the spaceflight cutscenes are shot always fixed to something as if you're viewing in-world footage.

[@BenPlaysGames]

The cinematography is great. As you say, they really nailed the space scene in particular.

[@nicos1097]

The camerawork for the destruction of the CSO Class carrier and the arrival of the fleet of particular justice was superb.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Completely agree.

[@David.Marquez]

The absolute trauma of playing this as a teen and experiencing that twist for the first time.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Same for me dude - I'd be happy never to hear the phrase 'slipspace rupture detected' ever again haha.

[@mannyperalta1064]

​​@@BenPlaysGames slipspace rupture detected

[@nybergsgarage]

@@mannyperalta1064 you're a stinker.

[@dirk903]

"The Gafton is dust!" I still remember my jaw on the floor The perspective in size between the two ships is shocking

[@winglessmecha]

Reach is a masterpiece...it was not well received when it first came out but it has stood the test time

[@BenPlaysGames]

I'm ashamed to say that I was one of those people who didn't rate it as highly when I first played. Although, in my defence, I was at university and more interested in partying, so only played it through once and wasn't paying full attention. Nowadays, having played it goodness knows how many times, I love it. Would be 2 or 3 on my ranking of best Halo games for sure.

[@cmilk2324]

I LOVE Reach! I was 11 when Halo CE came out, and since then it’s been my all-time favorite game & series. However, I was 20 when Reach came out and fell in love with its somber and serious tones. In my humble opinion, Reach is the BEST example of a military sci-fi shooter out of the series. Great video as always 👍

[@BenPlaysGames]

Thanks cmilk! I actually wasn't such a huge fan of Reach when I first played it, but nowadays it's my second or third favourite entry in the series (it and 3 swap places regularly).

[@samuelwoodouse4482]

I got an Xbox 360 just so I could play it

[@ninja1man4u]

The moment that the covenant broke through and killed the camera feed for the satellite in space is blood curdling. It is such a great piece of cinematography that shows how to build tension even when the player feels "like they've won"

[@BenPlaysGames]

It's such a good twist and I love the opening of Exodus which follows, with everything back at ground level being pretty nightmarish.

[@michaelguernsey1206]

God that ending twist sends shivers up my spine. “Gut punch” is literally the perfect term to describe it. Everything you’ve done has been for nothing. And I especially appreciate how they pulled the rug out from under you with the “character sacrifices himself to save the day” trope (not that it wouldn’t have still been good even without the twist) with making it in Vain. Something I’d like to add to the whole “the story is about Reach” discussion is that the music does an excellent job giving you an awe of the planet itself in the beginning half of the game. Then on the latter half, they use those same awe inspiring themes but in a completely different context with planet burning and dying around you. It really gets you attached to the planet and makes you really feel that this is Humanity’s greatest triumph, there greatest achievement, and now it’s being turned to dust. It gets you attached to the actual planet of Reach and what your fighting for, and you really feel like hope is fading as this beautiful planet goes under. Martin O’Donnell is a genius and writes the best video game music in the industry.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Halo Reach might be the best soundtrack in the series, there are so many good tunes. I'll always love Combat Evolved's most, because I'm a raging fanboy for that game, but Reach is awesome. In fact, every single Bungie Halo has an amazing score.

[@michaelguernsey1206]

@@BenPlaysGames literally every bunjie game’s soundtrack was a masterpiece in its own right and for different reasons. Every bunjie halo game was a master piece is it’s own right. When discussing bunjie halo games, you can never really disagree or think someone is objectively wrong for having a different favorite than you. They are all so equally good you just understand and it’s all just preference. Reach definitely had my favorite soundtrack.

[@noodles1595]

"Slipspace rupture detected..." Even still, that cutscene gets me right in the feels. The simplicity of using a camera on a satellite, focused on one point, and allowing the voice actors to set the scene. Possibly my alltime favourite cutscene

[@joebenson528]

what is "the feels"

[@xXGhostZeroXx1]

This is why Reach will always be one of my favorites. I remember preordering this game and staying home to play it on the day of release. What an absolute masterpiece of a game.

[@xShadow_God]

Bungie really nailed everything when it came to Reach. The aesthetic and feel of the UNSC, the dark and hopeless atmosphere of a covenant invasion, the heartbreak and anger for all the human lives taken. The Savanah, the Saber Pilots, Jorge, so many dead. And to top it off, their efforts ended up making no difference whatsoever. Literally died for nothing. Had Jorge decided to say F that and jump out with Six things could have been a lot different. That invasion fleet was going to show up, no matter what. The Savanah and the Saber pilots were probably doomed anyway, but they could have at least died defending evacuating ships instead of in an useless attack to take out one ship among what I guess to be hundreds.

[@maxbuchanan8869]

When I played through this on its release I was very young, probably 12 or so, and didn't really grasp what this missions signified but now that I'm older I am very fortunate that I can appreciate the care they put into this story and how horrible it would be to live through that story

[@BenPlaysGames]

They need to do more, similar Halo games about other Spartans, there's so much untapped potential.

[@maxbuchanan8869]

@Ben Plays Games my thoughts exactly! There are so many other stories in the halo universe to be told, I love the master chief as much as the next halo fan but 5 and a half games playing as a literal god among men gets kinda stale. As long as we don't have to play as spartan Locke either......

[@cloutogelevatedtv9000]

one thing I will note is that all members of Noble Team Deaths are hinted at throughout the playthrough: Jorge: he claims his grave will be on reach or will die on reach, he proceeds to dies off reach on a Covenant ship, he was also the teams heavy weapon and demolitions expert and died in an explosion Emilie: the teams CQC/CBQ expert especially with his knife, died in a CQC/CQB fight with an elite, he died via energy sword Carter: the captain of noble team died "going down with his ship" Kat: she was noble team's tech expert and brains of the team: she died due to modifications in her helmet being uncompatible iwth her shield tech and was shot in the head Jun: he was the team's sniper/stealth expert and he disappeared during the events of reach Noble 6: he was told by carter during the introduction cutscene that his lone wolf attitude wouldnt fly anymore as he was part of a team now, died fighting waves of elites as a lone soldier after all his team had already died

[@tychus1018]

Jun left to get Halsey to safety, in the end being the last survivir of noble team

[@CRL033]

That space battle section was awesome, I’m not sure how you feel that was a detractor. It also served as the test for space combat in Destiny, which somehow got cut in the final game. That’s part of the reason we had itemized ships in destiny - they were originally supposed to be your chosen combat craft. Maybe I’d personally just have too much fun with that haha

[@davidthorne5715]

I can’t believe that more than 10 years later, I’m still tearing up watching halo reach videos. I really have to replay this

[@BenPlaysGames]

Do it!

[@bjornthefellhanded5655]

6:59 I actually managed to hijack the Wraith and somehow got it up into that area.....it was quite fun farming Credits with the Wraith against the endless waves of Covenant, though eventually it would be destroyed because the dang Spirit Dropships would usually get a few Shots into it before I could destroy their little Ball Turrets. IIRC I could quite consistently get all the way to 16,000+ Credits with the Wraith just playing Wave Defense.

[@nihilist92]

I was playing this level yesterday actually. It’s a standout mission for me and you hit the nail on the head with every point in this vid. Those Seraphs are an absolute nightmare on legendary though to a point of unfairness where you end up having to spend the entire section hiding behind anchor 9.

[@BenPlaysGames]

I tried the space section on legendary a while ago as I'd heard so much about it being really tough. Never again, hated it.

[@nihilist92]

@@BenPlaysGames yeah it’s horrendous as the rest of the mission is really enjoyable on the higher difficulty. I pretty much play legendary as standard (without trying to sound like that guy!) as I like the challenge. But every time I get to that section it’s like ohhhh god I forgot about this!

[@StatisticColt]

I think halo reach does a good job showcasing what humanity is capable of within the Halo universe; an example being the Mac round through the covenant ship at the end of sword base and then showing how much more powerful the covenant are i.e the super carrier obliterating the frigate at the end of tip of the spear.

[@BenPlaysGames]

It's actually amazing they even managed to get Cortana off world considering the vast difference is strength between humanity and the Covenant.

[@erosama4887]

Bungie was on the top of their game in terms of cinematography during LNoS. From the first Sabre flight into space, the shot of Jorge flying overhead the destruction of Sword Base, Savannah and the squadron of Sabres and the ending cutscene. Every scene was beautifully, as well as hauntingly, shot.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Agreed. Say what you what about the gameplay side of the stuff in space, it's jaw dropping in terms of aesthetic and atmosphere. That shot right after you land on top of the Corvette and take control as the Savannah battles in the background is absolutely stunning.

[@joshlisiecki8702]

Reach was my first halo. I was hooked after that, and played 1-3 as soon as I could of.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Good one to start with given it's the earliest in the timeline!

[@subarctic6]

The infinitely respawning Covenant troops (and UNSC troops) on the beach are not in the MCC version of the game for whatever reason, which is one of the reasons why I still prefer to play the original version of the game.

[@BenPlaysGames]

They must have taken them out then, because they definitely were in it a couple of years or so ago. The footage in this video of it happening is from the MCC. What an odd thing to change!

[@kingferaligatr7994]

The sky battle isn't working either. So it's all bugged: report it.

[@Spendingryan]

Yeah, it was the 7th of December update, the most recent one just before Christmas and it introduced several new bugs, this is one of them unfortunately.

[@SapphicJadestone]

7:05 If I had to guess it might be that on MCC they could have disabled the unlimited waves so people didn't just cheese the campaign challenges endlessly with the waves. Kind of sucks because that the siege of the facility being endless and the Covenant sending in overwhelming force really nicely foreshadows what happens to Reach as you put it; even if it wasn't intended.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Apparently it's a glitch caused by 343 messing something up during an update. Such an odd thing to happen!

[@エコー-n6g]

Long night of solice was my favorite mission with New Alexandria being a close 2nd. The mood, environment, the sacrifices, and story telling it felt so amazing to play this on long warm Christmas nights by the fire…

[@treavy1]

I’m surprised the scarab didn’t notice them and I’m surprised there was no scarab fights sense I really liked the scarab fights in halo 3 and odst and hope to see it again in the halo infinite campaign part 2

[@BenPlaysGames]

That tease during Pillar of Autumn where you drive past them and then watch Carter die taking one out, but never get to actually fight one yourself.

[@ErikLosLobos]

Really enjoyed thank you. I love the way you have such a mello and thoughtful look at these. I like the act man and such, but also like your own way of doing things. I enjoyed this while doing the boring job of cleaning a bathroom. Uou helped me through. Thank you

[@BenPlaysGames]

The bathroom cleaning comment is also the highest praise for me - I love listening to videogame podcasts/analysis while doing chores, travelling etc and there's so much to choose from, so hearing that someone uses my stuff similarly to how I use others' is amazing to me. Cheers Paul mate!

[@iaincrawford8004]

It wasn't until I watched your videos that I really had a desire to play Reach and ODST. I'm really looking forward to playing them

[@DeeonleeCobb373]

7:04 Yes I recently played LNoS and always experience the endless waves of Covys dropping. But it didn't happen to me this time. It was bizarre and thought the game got bugged.

[@Spendingryan]

Yeah, new bug, also anti air guns and the seraphs (saucer ships with tails) are missing too.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Yeh it's definitely bugged out at the moment.

[@nathandomke2721]

Long Night of Solace is a roller coaster of emotions and just epic on every level. RIP Jorge.

[@badforyourhealth2971]

I really appreciate the shoutout to the OST @ 14:18. Halo Reach had a killer OST, and Remember Reach promotional video did as well.

[@c.w.simpsonproductions1230]

I can’t help but wonder how many of those ships would have been destroyed if that fleet had shown up a few minutes earlier and gotten caught in the blast.

[@BenPlaysGames]

It's hard to tell with the scale. At least a few I'd guess?

[@coinflipwolfe3734]

It was always my assumption that Thel Vadam was stockpiling resources and ships to make it a clean, overwhelming invasion of Reach, a clearly prominent human planet, but when LNoS was destroyed, they just went in and moved. Not as cleanly as they would’ve wanted for such a huge human settlement, hence why they were able to evacuate out of New Alexandrea and why the Pillar of Autumn escaped. The LNoS was supposed to be the holding wall, and FoPJ was readying themselves to destroy all the reinforcements as well as take the planet in a clean sweep.

[@janetd5317]

Interesting video...first time I played this section it took me forever ! I kept dying , especially in the space battle..After many tries finally got the hang of it...Thanks..

[@Hydraxonthetracker]

Really great piece of detail that’s often overlooked: when you enter the comm center on the ship there are dead covenant everywhere. They are all elite minors and majors and regular grunts. The only Covenant Forces alive in the comm room and hangar are the spec ops grunts and elite rangers, a.k.a. the only ones with pressurized suits and helmets. Every other enemy with an open helmet died when the area was depressurized, and you can tell it was exposed to the vacuum of space bc of the muted sound, lower gravity, and sound of gas hissing when the hangar finally pressurizes. Just an amazing level of detail by Bungie.

[@Aardvark3154]

Halo Reach's campaign is one of my all-time favourites - but I think if the original halo trilogy didn't exist, reach's campaign would not have the impact it has. Reach really showed how much luck played a part in the Chief's story when you think about the lack of in Noble team's. The refreshingly unfortunate Noble team really lets us know that you can be as skillful as the Chief, but sometime's it's just not enough. I don't usually comment but I read the novel when I was in Primary school here (age 10) and was crazy stoked when Reach was announced. I have so many good memories playing the campaign and multiplayer on my trusty xbox 360 (that still works) and I thought it was crazy that they made the game after the book. Fast forward to 2019, the MCC was released on Steam and it's been great to relive those memories. I'm working full-time now and this video gave me some crazy sad nostalgia. If you made it to the end of my comment, have a nice day.

[@reffa2858]

Playing reach for the first time was awesome. So awesome that I didnt realize that the Spartans were losing. That is until noble 6's last stand. But then I thought of Halsey's words. "Do you have it?.....Say the words please." Getting Cortana on the Frigate, and the master chief easter egg. I began to realize that the story is about hope, and passing on that hope, even in the face of defear. And that is more important that winning any battle.

[@generose9083]

MCC has the beach segment messed up atm. The seraphs, spirits and pelicans and the troops coming out of the two of the latter no longer work. They need to fix it.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Few people have said this, seems to be super broken! I tried so many times to get everything to work properly and had absolutely no joy.

[@Subjecttochannel]

It's so obviously what they were going for but I always love the scene that ends tip of the spear. The line "MAC rounds? In atmosphere?!" makes it sound like it's one of if not the strongest things humanity had, I even thought that was a fancy way of saying nuke at first. But then to hardly get a second beyond the "Have a nice day" before the ship is turned to dust and the ENTIRE sky becomes a fraction of a covenant ship's hull. That for me was when the hopelessness they wove into this game took root and never budged from

[@PokemonProfessorNebula]

For every step forward the Noble Team took, the Covenant shoved them tens to hundreds of steps back. Jorge Sacrificed his life on one Super Carrier for hundreds of them to appear moments later. A Sacrifice in vain. Kat was severely unlucky when Glassing started and disabled her Armor. One shot to the head was all that was needed. Carter gave his life for his team to go onward to save the people of Reach. He gave his life with acceptance of his fate. He knew what he was getting into. Emile gave himself up as a means of defending the Pillar of Autumn and Six. Succeeding in his mission, he went down fighting, despite having a gaping wound he never stopped swinging, getting the last strike in his battle and winning. Six gave everything he/she had. They didnt go out with a bang, but a Slipspace Malfunction in better terms to the damage they did to the covenant. They went out killing nearly every covenant that came to their position, making sure to fill the graveyard known now as Reach with bodies of the enemy.

[@durandol]

And then all those sacrifices lead to the Cortana being saved.. only to die, turn evil, die again, and be ultimately a bigger threat to the galaxy than the Covenant. Yaaaaaaay...

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

I knew this was probably my favorite Halo game overall, but replaying the campaign solidified it for life. Unless they remake Halo 3 or Bungie takes over again and can top it, it will remain as the high water mark within the series for me.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Man I'd love a three anniversary, although honestly it and Reach still look pretty great. I've been playing them both at 4K/120 on the Series X and it's been a real treat.

[@jacobstack7849]

Brilliant video. You articulated every emotion that occurs during that missions perfectly. Great work

[@the_oc_maniac8972]

I'm still waiting for an "Examining Floodgate" video, but aside from that, I still love these other videos.

[@PandaJerk007]

I love what you say about flying the Sabre in Halo Reach! It really was a step toward detaching set pieces from traditional gameplay, instead of integrating the two. I never liked flying the Broadsword in Halo 4, or the Mantis moments in H4/5 because they felt too linear and too different from traditional gameplay. I like how flying the Sabre in Reach wasn't fully linear, but I still couldn't understand why I didn't like it that much. I also never liked the on-rails shooting segments throughout Reach, or the MAC cannon segment at the end of the game. But now I understand, it's because instead of feeling like an expansion in the Halo formula, those things felt like different okay-ish games bolted onto the Halo formula. But the Scarabs in Halo 3, and the Elephants on Sandtrap, those were some of my favorite moments in gaming ever, and those felt like expansions in the Halo formula!

[@BenPlaysGames]

Exactly - new additions to Halo are always welcome but equally they always need to be added while asking the question: "How can this work within the sandbox?" It's why I like Reclaimer in 4, even if a lot of people don't. The Mammoth adds an interesting new twist to the series, and it does it in a way where it makes the existing sandbox a more interesting experience.

[@CD-Gaming]

I did this level LASO as part of the Weekly Challenge way back when and actually love the space bit, it's a refreshing change of pace and adds something new, stopping it from becoming samey and boring, mixes things up a wee bit, which is good! But that last conversation with Jorge... oh, man, it hits home, the one SPARTAN-II on the team... then when the covie fleet starts piling in, that's when it hits home... we've lost... it's not "if" or "when"... we've lost... Reach is lost... the R&D centre on Earth's doorstep, a planet we've actually found in real life... lost... Humanity's worst defeat is set in stone, the rest, a mere formality...

[@StinkzMehaff]

Terrific video. Agreed, this mission is the most significant in the story and quite possibly the first 6 games (MCC). But I do absolutely LOATHE the space section. How can a Saber be so weak? How can the shields be so fragile? How can your guns be hardly better than a Halo 1 magnum at taking down a Ghost? I absolutely hate this part of the level. And the interior section on earth is not too much fun, but I suppose it is important for setting up the story as a challenge. But once you're aboard the corvette, that's really when the fun begins. Tremendous video.

[@The7DirtyWords]

Love the content, watch and rewatch all the time whilst playing.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Thanks Selrahc, appreciate the support dude!

[@The7DirtyWords]

@Ben Plays Games "its a shame they don't appreciate art as I do"- Grand Admiral Thrawn

[@agnosisparadigm4212]

"Slip space rupture detected" Haunting

[@BenPlaysGames]

No hope for Reach after those words...

[@vaniellys]

I wish Halo Reach had scarab fights. I wonder why they didn't put at least one.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Especially with that big tease in Pillar of Autumn where you have to drive under them but never get to fight any.

[@purpleisthesneakiest]

The space dogfighting in Halo Reach will always be seared into my brain. When my friend was playing it for the first time a year or two ago, he told me "Hey check this out," and then did one of the combat maneuvers. Y'know, as a joke. Except he pirouetted, flipped, turned around, and then IMMEDIATELY crashed into a piece of debris the size of a supermarket and exploded.

[@pchurch692]

Great video! Love this level. Thanks for the content.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Always a pleasure pchurch my man!

[@ihateracin]

That endless drop ship loop of covenant troops at the beach was one of my favorites! I’m sad to see it’s been disabled, watching the endless stream of soldiers and covies duke it out on the beach was pretty neat. I think the end effect of the base being overrun right after or as you launch would have been a great touch to show how desperate NOBLE was to get going but that wasn’t the intended effect I guess. I once spent three straight hours observing the army troopers defend the base from the covies just for background noise and something to play while I did my math homework as a teenager 😊

[@HelpIdkAGoodUser301]

When I play halo with my friends who are new to halo when they come to my house, I always put a video you made corresponding to the mission for the recap lol

[@BenPlaysGames]

That's awesome - glad to be of service dude!

[@homefront1999]

I love the scene of the Long Night of Solace being destroyed. But I always wondered why we never saw any weapons being made with slipspace engines in mind. Sure they might cost a lot. But if anyone knows militaries, then they know that cost isn't really an issue. If one of these can destroy a Super-Carrier. Then I feel any military would be willing to use them. I do wish we could've had something like clearing out an entire Covenant ship and taking control of it under the UNSC. I feel Reach would've fit this. Since you are facing a considerably more powerful alien force. So it'd make sense on taking control of enemy ships. I love to imagine some big campaign, slowly taking over a Covenant Super-Carrier. Like imagine 3 or so missions centered around the invasion party. First mission is destroying outside defenses and finding an entry point, second mission is clearing through the hordes of enemies, and the final mission is finally clearing out the command room and turning the ship against other covenant forces.

[@BenPlaysGames]

That an awesome idea and something I'd love to see. You get a few levels where you explore ships and space stations in 4 and 5 (Blue Team and the like) and they were quite atmospheric.

[@DMGSL]

I always love the space section of Long Night of Solace, mainly because I would’ve loved to play that PvP dogfighting game-mode they had planned using those mechanics and vehicles (It was shown during E3).

[@Versakken]

who knew that operation uppercut to fend off the covenant, would turn into a huge gut punch to reach

[@BenPlaysGames]

Someone caught the boxing metaphor. Thank you! Uppercut by the UNSC followed by a gut punch from the COvenant.

[@draconicdolor5523]

Anytime I hear that music from the beach I think of the badass zealot segment of winter contingency

[@LostShipMate]

As someone who read the book(the fall of reach) long before Halo Reach released, I always wondered why the characters thought the could save Reach. Once the Covenant know about a planet, its doomed. Thats why the Cole Protocol exists(they mention it in the games), it basically dictates that all data needs to be deleted relating to human planets. I always found Halo Reach to be a confusing mess due to all the lore inconsistencies.

[@BenPlaysGames]

That's a fair comment, I've heard that from a few people. I'll have to try and read the book at some point, to experience the issues for myself.

[@jamesgames3969]

Dude I was playing this mission about a month ago, I was confused why the unlimited drop ships wasn’t coming, I liked to stay there w the marines and fight

[@Spendingryan]

I noticed too, its a new bug that came from the previous update, and it's not just the dropships, you are also missing Seraph fighters, and those loud anti air guns too, anything that respawns is removed.

[@BenPlaysGames]

So weird for it to suddenly be not working properly. Would love to know how that happened.

[@nsxzr1]

I'd like to point out something Ben missed. The sabre launch sequence, in my opinion, was meant to resemble the space shuttle. It's the only vehicle in the games that launch vertically. And the boosters falling off and the orange fuel tank tells me that it's more than a passing resemblance. It even reaches orbit on it's back like the shuttle does. Reach came out at the same time as the shuttle's retirement, so the effect this had on the American audience was one of both nostalgia and technological badassery. That quiet moment before the shooting starts resonated with me.

[@HybridsEgo]

7:33 that's a bug with the newer builds of MCC, for some reason the infinitely spawning vehicles such as the seraphs, pelicans, and spirts don't spawn anymore. It was very much intended as it is present on Legacy Xbox 360 version.

[@burge117]

I already feel sad about Jorge's death and I've only just started the video 😢😢😢

[@flowerpower003]

Yeah, I don’t like this level either but that’s because it’s where the difficulty of the game seriously spikes on Legendary difficulty.

[@BenPlaysGames]

That "Reach has been good to me" line always gets me for some reason...

[@burge117]

​​​@@BenPlaysGames Same, Ben! As always. Another banging video 😊 Also, yeah the first section of Sabre combat is a bit meh...but I do like the part where you attack the corvette. So spot on assessment.

[@burge117]

​@@flowerpower003 I think it has something to do with some coding issues on the MCC. I don't recall it being that tough on the OG.

[@flowerpower003]

@@burge117 I may just not be the best at videogames, ha

[@MoveOnUpMusicEvan]

Honestly I love Reach so much, the perfect prequel before ce, that has amazing variety & poise

[@GepieNL]

8:50 I remember that depending on the difficulty, you see more or less sabres launching, also symbolic for how much of a 'fighting chance' humanity has.

[@Super50ldier]

You also fight the Elite General lorewise named Ardo 'Moretumee, the Fleetmaster of the Long Night of Solace CSO-Class Supercarrier. He's the boss fight of the mission and the secondary antagonist.

[@BenPlaysGames]

That's so cool, I had no idea. Off to the Wiki I go to read up!

[@Super50ldier]

@@BenPlaysGames Yeah and it stated that he was the Shipmaster of the Long Night of Solace I think.

[@dynestis2875]

​@@Super50ldierwhy the hell would the shipmaster of a CSO supercarrier be onboard a heavy corvette?

[@FirstLast-dp3jx]

Jorge and Emile are great examples of compassionate reasoning, and blind justice.

[@Temmie321]

I feel like I should play long night of solace again after watching this. It wasn’t really a mission I have any memories of, but maybe it deserves a second chance

[@BenPlaysGames]

Beginning and end, great. Middle, meh. Story, fabulous.

[@plzletmebefrank]

Video's good, your gameplay makes a voice in my head scream in pain though.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Haha I feel under too much pressure when recording footage for the videos for some reason. I'm an Onyx level Halo Infinite ranked player and top 500 in the world on Overwatch 2 on console, so I'm honestly not as bad as the footage makes me look!

[@ftyuv]

The only gripe I have with the writing of this level is the "they're everywhere" at the very end, when all the Covenant ships come in. That's a reference to Halo's origins in Marathon, where the BOBs (civilians) would yell that phrase as they're attacked. But they were also a bit of comic relief, and so the callback beings a color of "comic relief in-joke" to what should really be a somber moment.

[@ComradePhoenix]

I Didn't play any Halo games as a kid (unlike most of the other commenters, which doesn't surprise me). My family only got me nintendo games back in the day, and none of my friends had xboxes, either. So I don't have childhood nostalgia to go back on. But I fell in love with the series once MCC hit steam. And so now, "SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED" sends a chill down my spine. I don't think it ever won't. I honestly agree with everything you said. Except for the part about the Anchor 9 section. It gives the player a good chance to get a feel for the Sabre, and how to use it best during the corvette assault. And I think adding in counter-boarding encounters would've been a huge mistake, as it would've been an unjustified annoyance.

[@Upamanyu2000]

The most ironic part of the mission to me is Jorge looking at the ONI base get bombarded, thinking Halsey had died.

[@maplemayhem1988]

"Is this sanctioned Sir?" "What do you think" "Oh"

[@alkabek9581]

I always took the arrival of the Covenant fleet as Noble 6's lowest point. After Jorge throws him out to take care of what's left of the Covenant forces on the ground, he sees his friend successfully sacrifice himself to save the planet. As the loss in that victory sets in he sees the Covenant fleet arrive over his shoulder, realizing he failed his promise to Jorge before he even re-entered the atmosphere. But damn did Noble 6 fight even when there wasn't any ground worth fighting for.

[@HyraxusPrimus]

It now just hit me that Halo 4 basically reused this exact mission structure for its final mission (Midnight), to the point John was even going to do exactly what Jorge did. I wonder if they ever considered killing Chief in that game in addition to (or instead of) Cortana. Cortana surviving and having to work with a Spartan 4 for future games would've made yet another better story than 5 and 6. It's also hard to believe how long it's been. I remember when ODST was brand new and all we had of this game was Noble team's cover silhouette.

[@ThaRadioActiveDude]

so the part on the beach that usually gets flooded with endless hordes of covenant and marines just straight up doesn't work. over the past month i've played this mission several times, even in co-op. it never worked liked it did before. even the battle in the sky is just compleyely gone; the only vehicles that appear are two spirits dropping off troops and one seraph crashing into the launch facility. the rest of all the air traffic is completely gone. this video confirms to me that it has been taken out during the last MCC update. i don't know why this is taken out, but i've submitted a ticket on Halo Support. we'll see what it brings us.

[@Spendingryan]

Yeah, me too, this isn't the only bug that got through, it was specifically the 7th of December update that broke this along with halo 1 anniversary stuff, the more reports that highlight the problem the better as its something that you wouldn't probably have noticed unless it was pointed out.

[@Gho57X90]

6:35 Just wanted to mention, since I can't see any explicit mentioning of the fact; the beach encounter IS meant to have endless waves of enemies delivered via dropship to the beach, as shown in the video. Rather strange that it did not occur for Ben here, but it's definitely always been the case in the original Xbox 360 release of Halo: Reach, in my long-term experience, and to my knowledge should thusly be the same in the Master Chief Collection version of this game.

[@sosmooth13]

I know this may be irrelevant, but I got reach for my birthday and beat the whole thing in the same night having to go to school the next day barely having slept. Story was that good, and I was blown away by how good the graphics were too.

[@BenPlaysGames]

I used to be so bad for this, would go to midnight launches for games all the time and then stay up for who knows how long straight after. Finished Halo 3 that way.

[@Anonymouschild138]

1:38 "Time to bake that cake that we made last night!"

[@BenPlaysGames]

Still wish that line was included properly mate!

[@retr0pearce765]

George's demise is even worse when you realize the "Bomb" isn't actually a bomb, but it's just a Slipspace Engine going off, so in reality it sent the middle of the ship into hell, in reality, George either died fighting the Covies that were inside that part of the ship, died of starvation/thirst if he defeated them, and there's the 0.0000001% chance he's still alive somewhere.

[@thegravyboat420]

One thing about Jorge's death is that spartan IIs were strictly against taking off their helmets in combat zones as part of their indoctrination. Him taking off his helmet and him also being the only spartan II was somewhat impactful.

[@EthanRom]

I love Halo Reach, but my biggest gripe with the game is how much of it is spent alone as Noble 6, when the whole appeal was being together as a team. Also the lack of actual big war-like combat. Since it is a war story, but I guess that might be due to hardware limitation

[@ToxicTanks01]

You deserve way more subs, I watch all of your Halo vids and they never disappoint

[@BenPlaysGames]

Nice one Joey, appreciate the kind words!

[@MJS-lk2ej]

George's sacrifice and the mission is entirely undercut by the fact that the conclusion only happens because a special forces operative forgets a fundamental and basic rule of warfare: pack a second detonator, you don't want to have the explosive fail or malfunction and the mission fail because the most fragile and critical piece of equipment broke

[@itssssamuel]

great video. very nice ideas.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Cheers mate!

[@wweTNAfan1000]

The thing I absolutely love about this level is that the whole plan was a hail Mary on every front, using all the resources they had on reach. The secrecy of the saber facility being broken. Having to use a slip space engine for a frigate when it's literally the get out of jail card for them. Having 2 spartan teams in noble team and red team (even though you don't physically see them) involved with this ops with MULTIPLE deaths to the point where there was literally only 1 UNSC survivor only for it to fail. All of that effort, sacrifice, and death for A small chink in the armor of a monster that is the covenant. Absolutely helplessness is the only feeling you feel at the end. This is the moment where the UNSC lost, and it's so tragically beautiful

[@errokoth]

“This sanctioned, sir?” “Whadda you think?” “…oh.”

[@PelemusMcSoy]

Up until this point, the Halo games have shown you being triumphant, pushing back the Covenant (and to an extent the Flood) and leaving a major dent in them after every major battle. Even a handful of scattered ODSTs managed to achieve a major victory against them overnight. I wouldn't be surprised if fans asked, "Were the Covenant really that scary? How did we manage to lose to them for so long?" Reach was the first (and frankly only) game that showed how terrifying the Covenant was. Every victory feels short lived with some bigger platoon or faction just waiting around the corner. Here is where it finally clicks: You just destroyed a super carrier...and it was replaced in a matter of seconds with a massive fleet. Even your final victory, ensuring Cortana and The Pillar of Autumn's safety, feels short lived as you stay behind and are overwhelmed by an endless horde of Covenant troops (some think an Arbiter was deployed to kill you). Ultimately, Reach lost. The books (where I first encountered the terror of the Covenant, especially the descriptions of what their weapons due to flesh) further explore the glassing of numerous outer colonies. Knowing Reach shared the fate with so many unnamed planets and billions of humans cements the Covenant's ruthlessness and destruction, and makes me more sympathetic to those who are wary of a Human-Sangheili alliance as the latter were the primary tools of the former's destruction (especially given most humans don't have the context of how Truth manipulated everyone).

[@H4L0GUY117]

in halo 4 the mantis is also featured on the level "the composer" to me it feel more like a second tank type of section at least it's treated like a tank section similar to how they treated it in halo 5, i know that's not the point of why you brought it up, but since it wasn't a one off added in section i thought to make sure it's known

[@samkaffinsky]

Jorge deaths always touches me, he gives his life for his planet and it all for nothing, he destroys a small ship right before a massive fleet arrives

[@LANGIMATION]

6:25 I always bring the wraith back with me to the battlefield and camp the enemies spawning up till i get bored

[@svenn9308]

Reach easily one of my favourite campaigns within Halo

[@Spendingryan]

I have an explanation to why you are unable to see the ambient battle on the beach and ground. Its a shame, right now the start of this mission we are missing a huge chunk of the ambient battle, there were seraph fighters, they should strafe the facility and fire upon it, and the very loud anti air guns would shoot back. There would also be infinitely respawning dropships on both sides constantly dropping troops. I loved these parts of the level, but the latest update accidentally introduced a new bug and removed half of the battle, and at the doors its empty, if you compare your video here to the level right now you'll see the difference.

[@BenPlaysGames]

You're 100% right, something's gone very wrong following an update. Hopefully they fix it soon, as there's so much missing!

[@Spendingryan]

@@BenPlaysGames I saw one of the developers post a tweet recently saying work on the next title update is underway which is a good sign, plus there was theater mode support for halo 4 campaign/spartan ops announced a while back and they usually fix these things.

[@kaboon3489]

Halo Reach will always be my favorite campaign.

[@dal3diamond]

I love Halo so much, I will definitely be making my son play it

[@BenPlaysGames]

I don't have a kid yet (getting married in June, so I'd imagine I'm not too far off though) but will definitely be doing the same mate.

[@MBP1918]

One of the most memorable campaigns no doubt

[@tractor7937]

It’s so weird how all of these years later the weight of Reach’s story is sinking in.

[@starplatinum2743]

im certain that the spaceship part was partly some prototype test thing for flying ships in destiny but it got cut. thats what i like to think anyway