HALO REACH: Bungie's Perfect Goodbye

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

There’s a lot of things I didn’t really cover in this video because there’s just so much that needed to be experienced when the game was alive. I mainly played the multiplayer as a kid and didn’t care about the story nearly to the same extent I do now but I’ll try my best to express my love for every aspect of this game. Infection was the shit with all of the cool places people found. Swat was slightly worse than infection. The Customization was the best it’s ever been. The firefight was really great. The maps were ripped straight from the campaign or forge but they were awesome. The Forge modes were AMAZING and my dumb ass could never make one half as good but thats ok, also im probably stupid so tell me if im wrong but I remember an old youtuber called H20 Camper I think his name was who covered a lot of the forge modes so tell me if you remember him too. I don’t know. there’s just a lot of small things that I remember here and there since it was just a long time ago and this is one of the games that if you say something to your friends they’ll probably join you in your nostalgia filled excitement about the memories you’ve made together or share. The summer in my small home town playing with my cousin as the cicadas chirped, with the singular orange street light being the only source of telling the time as we played well into the night. The memories Flood back as I think about that summer and its subsequent school year, the endless fun you could have on whatever game mode you wanted and seeing that one try hard who had Inheritor. I get that the story ret-conned the book (like you nerds read… just a joke please don’t hurt me), people didn’t like the introduction of sprint, people hated armor lock and bloom can suck my left nut but this game has so much more good than bad. I know we always say to each other to remember reach, but its really hard to forget. What a special game this was. VIDEO CORRECTIONS: The long night of solace is 28km not 28,000(95000ft), some of the soldiers aren't marines, and the voice at the end is halsey not cortana. so my bad on these lol but we all make mistakes, thanks for the love everyone!

[@sandramarkus1054]

Table table look at you know what just just just Ella just just like just like

[@ThatTallBrendan]

Let me just say.. _Thumbnail?_ That's all time for Halo, you f•cking nailed it.

[@SteampunkFiend]

Your video belongs to reach. The script, the editing, all offered up to the ether. Everything except your love. You gave that to Halo, and with it we carry on.

[@blackarmoredfox]

Absoultely jaw dropping in your story telling, please keep doing video essays, you're incredible at them.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

thank you for the kind words man means a lot!

[@theantianimeassociation7574]

Not only is this game incredible in its own right, but it also makes the Chief trilogy even better. Even more emotional, meaningful, and impactful to the individual behind the screen. Bungies era of Halo was something I don’t think we’ll experience in a video game story series in a long time.

[@UnwantedCommentary]

This shit is gonna make me cry. Look what 343 stole from us

[@imperatorsnipes7751]

idk how I found this. Hardly any views, I've never watched this channel before, and I did not search for any halo video essays. I will admit I am not disappointed though, this is genuinely high quality work. Keep it up, you will find success in due time. I am adding your ODST video to my watch later as that is all all time fav FPS campaign.

[@BOLO0178]

The best halo reach thumbnail I’ve seen

[@AgtShadowWalker]

That moment immediately after Jorge's sacrifice will always stick with me. As you're still reeling from what just happened, your AI Dot informs you of a Slipspace rupture. Well duh, we just detonated a Slipspace bomb. Then she informs you of another. And another. And another. And another. My favorite part about that is she never states "multiple ruptures detected." She just keeps repeating her previous statement, as if she wasn't programmed to handle so many ships, since (iirc) the UNSC hadn't encountered a Covenant fleet large enough to warrant it.

[@BxRob927]

I will never forget the Teaser from E3 ‘09. And how I was just utterly blown away

[@txxgs]

didnt realize how lucky i was to find this video until i finished it and saw the view count. the work u put into this shines so bright and ur storytelling brought me to tears just how the game did the first time i played it as a kid. this video was beautiful man and i cant believe that i got to see it. i cant wait to see what u make after this, but as of now, im a huge fan. never lose ur drive to make works of art such as this.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

thank you so much, means a lot man you have no idea!

[@xanderdaniels8284]

I still come damn near crying every time I hear this games OST. such a fucking masterpiece and a huge part of my childhood

[@Sidewinder11771]

What’s cool is the Hungarian girl right before George calms her down says “behind you” in Hungarian right before the elites drop down and engage Noble Team

[@nicholasgarrett742]

I, for some reason, remember reach getting a lot of hate, but it has always been my favorite halo game.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

yeah it def did, from the introduction of armor abilities and new mechanics to the retconning of the book. But its still a great game.

[@Lin_Eileen]

It did get a lot of hate when it was new but over the years a lot of people have softened their criticism of it cause it did so many things right. It does have a lot of issues but most of them are just cause Bungie decided to get experimental with the MP & try a lot of new things. Not everything stuck or was a great idea for Halo... but I respect their efforts to make Reach feel like it wasn't just same old.

[@Danny344S]

Halo reach was the last real halo

[@YuYuYuna_]

@@ALXI_ESSAY Yeah personally I never understood the hate on armor abilities. Even Armor lock I didn't think was nearly as annoying or frustrating as people made it out to be. A byproduct of armor lock though was that it created a more "from range" gameplay experience where you didn't want to go in for melees as much as in Halo 3 because after enough times of walking up and going for a melee just to get armor lock'd was not fun. Also it made running people over in vehicles not as common. All in all I liked how Reach differentiated from Halo 3. I feel like if they just made Halo 3 part 2 it would have felt dull and not a great send off for them and the franchise. Out of all the Halo games I enjoyed Reach the most. I remember preordering ODST so I could get the invite to the beta and playing invasion for the first time was the coolest thing ever. Maybe a hot take but Invasion is arguably the best mode they ever added to a Halo game. The ability to effectively roleplay out an actual battle over facilities and research stations, etc. via combat in a multiplayer match is probably the most poetic and well made mode in any game ever. It's very difficult I feel to blend story elements into a multiplayer setting in a fluid and smooth way that doesn't make both aspects (story setting/lore and multiplayer gameplay experience) feel like they are separate things that just got glued and stapled together as an afterthought. To make it even more compelling of a mode you got to play as both sides on different maps.

[@kinghoodofmousekind2906]

I think I understand why it got it, but I still loved it. It is my fav Halo for many reasons, from its atmosphere to its desperate yet hopeful storyline.

[@CommanderShepard-wq3wo]

If there’s one thing I could change about Halo Reach, is that I would make all of Noble team’s MJOLNIR armor olive green. They still have their unique armors and all, just in olive green this time. To make them feel more unified team. Much like the IIs Instead of a bunch of Spartans thrown together at the last minute, appearance-wise …that and maaaaaaybe Noble 6 survives. Maybe

[@R1ck_Ryder]

If you have a PC get the Reach mythic overhaul mod and your dream will come true!

[@Goldenwing117]

If there’s any advice I can give you, it’s keep doing exactly what you’re doing. Don’t rush out content. Take your time, and tell your stories and reviews exactly like this. If that means one a month, so be it. This is one of if not THE best halo reach video I’ve ever seen. And I watch a lot of halo content. For example When you said “funny, so are we” with the door slam and the black screen PEAK editing and story telling. Keep pulling shit like that with quality, and you’ll do amazing. This was a fantastic watch and I’m proud to be one of your first few hundred subscribers. Do NOT lose faith with the numbers. You’re doing great.

[@siegebreakeriii]

Absolutely love essays like these that focus heavy on the atmosphere and subtle environmental storytelling in this game. As a mod creator for mcc, details like these are what i focus so much effort on in my mods, esp the one I made for this game. A lot of modders focus only on gameplay, which is understandable, but the details, ambience, environment, etc are all so crucial to why Reach WORKED. Reach is always reflected on as the most atmospheric halo game and thats so true.

[@alexanderherd2973]

To this day, the only thing that ever makes me tear up is this game. Reachs story just hits me right in the heart. The futility of the stuggle, the tragety of noble team. Its just..... perfect.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

AMEN!

[@lonanderson5740]

This is extremely high quality work props to you man you deserve way more subscribers

[@MitzvotTV]

Keep doing what you do man *chef’s kiss*

[@TheHalokid24]

Gotta go to bed for work. I can tell you’re a 2000’s baby and you also grew up in the golden age of gaming. Gonna pause the video and listen to it in the morning

[@marcusszavaleta]

I came across this by accident. So glad i did. Thank you for this content. You will get the credit you deserve :)

[@friendedtreefilms]

I had to sub on my Xbox and phone. Dude this is such ana amazingly well put together video. From the thumbnail to the very end. Wow. You encapsulated what I felt as a kid with my little brother playing split screen until our eyes hurt. Thank you, this is better than any other video essay I've seen on Reach.

[@mexsicko9497]

This made me download reach for a play through. One of my favorite games of all time

[@badjuh1788]

Haven’t played reach in years but everything you said is so well done! Gonna have to replay it one of these days

[@MisterGoose]

I gotta know where you learned to edit. This has such good production value, either you’re really experienced or you’re extremely passionate about what you’re making. I hope it’s both. Can’t wait to see what else you make.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

I've only made a little over ten videos and i study film a lot and yes i'm very passionate about. thank you so much for the kind words, means a lot. much love

[@Milio2497]

You will be a major gaming tuber keep up the great work ❤️

[@madness0169]

On MCC, I actually set my *Halo: Reach* character as a lore-based Noble Six (S-312). Even in multiplayer, I wear his armor. Noble Six, other than Master Chief and Spartan Locke is one of my favorite Spartans. He's also classified as hyper-lethal, just like the Chief as well. The campaign of *Halo: Reach* was absolutely phenomenal. ❤👍🏻

[@illuminated2494]

I’m glad to see people never forgot reach!

[@3ichris]

Absolutely perfect. Bravo sir 🫡

[@UnwantedCommentary]

I just finished this. Thank you for making this. I had never thought so deeply about the story of this game. I always liked it, but your narration gave it a much deeper meaning. Sending this to all my halo friends

[@Icarusthelegend]

This is such a good video and it feels right to watch this while playing reach

[@blakebarner]

Reach and ODST are my absolute favorite Halo games. But Reach takes the top spot.

[@anthonychase6906]

I will now recite this video verbatim every night before bed

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

😂 thank you!

[@justintheegrey]

This right here, is cinema. New sub. (Slight cringe on the “June” typo but your video tremendously squashed that tiny typo).

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

HAHA my b 😅

[@Luna11280]

I miss staying up late with cousins and my brother playing reach’s campaign. When we were bored we’d hop in forge and firefight

[@Coyoda_YT]

#1 Reach's Retrospective

[@e.mzee4]

beautiful video

[@mrratchet]

343 subscribers? Your video editing, script and story telling is incredible. This was a pleasant surprise. Great job!

[@Danny344S]

Reach had a realistic and militaristic art style that fits halo perfectly

[@KirstenBayes]

Great video. Remembering my boys from the multiplayer: loved game night, and the brave knights who made it such fun.

[@prud_ker4248]

another youtuber uploading why Reach is a masterpiece. Life keeps getting better :)

[@ReaverSenpai]

37:37 its not much, but the relief of hearing "you saved a lot of lives today" in the face of all the set backs can not be overstated. your presentation of the story unfolding is amazing. thank you for showing all the details.

[@iforgotmyname1885]

21:11 THE PLOT ARMOR IS SO THICK 56:53 fitting now that it's full circle

[@NorthernRockwell]

This video was beautiful

[@devanpiwonski5987]

Beautiful, thank you for this video

[@Jagecage]

This was fantastically done, I really enjoyed this

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

I'm glad!

[@UniDeathRaven]

Halo Reach is absolutely BEST Halo game ever made. I am not saying others were bad, no, they all were great, but REACH... its perfect. The world in it is perfect all due to texture, art, atmosphere choice. Basically REACH is perfect because of art.

[@maleradler0164]

This video needs more likes and views its a great video to a great game

[@eefer5416]

The message from bungie during the openly cutscene recreation from halo 1 always gets me. Thanking the community and even the grounded bungie humor they add in it with world domination. "As we continue marching forward toward our ultimate goal of world domination, Bungie remains inspired and fueled by you our passionate fan community. So play, forge, film. We'll see you star side. ❤ Bungie."

[@blakegibson9045]

Phenomenal video, I'm amazed you only have like four hundred subs

[@K3nseiii]

Awesome vid dude! Idk how you don't have more subs this was great

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

thanks for the kind words, glad you liked it!

[@TrickyThe0ne]

It’s really wild this got recommended to me and posted right after me replaying Halo Reach and Halo 3 for the for the first time in years. Reach blew me away easily looks better than any game I’ve seen since blew my mind.

[@sensufr219]

I was one of the people that absolutely hated this game when it first released coming from playing Halo2 and Halo3 I didn’t like the art style I absolutely hated it but I recently played through it and loved it perfect story telling

[@B_heron]

Good presentation. 🤙

[@yeticrew69420]

Watching contemplating how serious and thoughtful this video is and then seeing the forklift skip brought the inner child me out for a good chuckle. So glad someone else shares the same deep appreciation for this game

[@TacoShuriken]

I share all of the same opinions and deference for this game as you do. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this, thank you

[@psychobilly42069]

Holy fuck you brought me back I forgot about the Bungie teaser docs for reach... That was the hypest shit ever.

[@gatsbysgarage8389]

Phenomenal video. I’ve always wondered if reach had an influence on rogue one

[@RAMZAVFX]

Glad you mentioned the forklift glitch 😂 Probably my most used exploit in the game lol

[@RelyXero]

498 subs doesnt make sense ° you snapped bro

[@UnwantedCommentary]

I will never not watch a Halo appreciation video. Old Halo

[@redcanoe2]

Great video! The Long Night of Solace is 28.9km in length, not 28,000km! That would be a super super carrier!

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

yeah hah, its 95,000ft and messed it up lol

[@NorthstarMain.mp4]

IMMACULATE VIDEO

[@amaruthagod9752]

One of the best reach videos

[@Vogular]

Now that’s how you get me to click with a thumbnail

[@Blackstar-yd3yf]

The gem in the mud. We will watch your career with great interest😂

[@hugoloyola9518]

Nice vid well made 🎉

[@jsiebrassemusic]

This video needs to be in front of anyone and everyone who is passionate about halo

[@JLM-y5g]

By the time of ODST and Reach, Bungie began to understand that "Just more Halo" wasn't going to cut it. Knowing this, they decided to diversify and innovate... and I'd say it paid off absurdly well. The Halo franchise would never reach the heights of Reach again. On the other side of the spectrum, Ubisoft is currently watching sentiment turn against them because they *refuse* to take risks and innovate, or they choose to innovate in strange ways. It makes their products smooth, boring. Rough edges are what makes art memorable and interesting, and Reach/Halo had tons of rough edges.

[@MamaFemtheComfy]

Just a small correction, it's Halsey who gives the final speech at the end of the game

[@Chewwy62]

Great video

[@mythicMusical]

Remember Reach, remember Harvest. ●\°/●

[@DeathMonkeyX]

Great Video But Only 55 Completions??

[@Buffalo_billi]

remeber reach

[@praefectuspraetorio117]

I can proudly say I’m your four-hundredth subscriber.

[@BattyShogun2023]

nice

[@destroyytomii]

TIGER ED HARDYS WHO IS THIS FLY GUY 🫡

[@TheRhino4545]

Fantastic video!! Appropriate the work BUT I shuddered every time you said “Marines” as they were just regular army troopers and not Marines. Regardless keep up the good work.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

holy crap i never knew there was a difference, thanks for letting me know!

[@kylethomson7583]

I was in such denial after Halo Reach that I made yt videos explaining how 6 survived. On another note, I had always thought that it was Halsey you did the ending monologue. After all theses years, it's been Cortana 🤦‍♂️

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

no your right it is, I thought it was cortana because shes such a bigger part of halo then halsey and they have the same voice actor and are technically the same person lol. thanks for the correction.

[@kylethomson7583]

@ALXI_ESSAY it's all good cause Cortnana could work too. But just wanted to add, loved the video so much I subscribed immediately. Here's to more🥂

[@miniaturejayhawk8702]

We actually do know how emile looks like. You can see his face on one of halseys computers. He is black.

[@yoturaliaz6205]

reach was wonky, offputting at worst but it made up for it with its fun gameplay and good storytellng

[@extremosaur]

The largest UNSC ship is not 5.6 thousand kilometers. I think you misread a decimal as a comma.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

Yeah I know hah, Stuff happens.

[@Chris-fv6yr]

back when bungie was ran by dudes who loved video games. shame what its become

[@syd4952]

Perfect is a strong word. I think it was in many ways worse than H3

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

got you to click though 😉

[@syd4952]

@@ALXI_ESSAY Nice view count, if click bait was the intention how that working for ya.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

@@syd4952 it's working out pretty well lol

[@DigitalDNA]

Wait, Long Night of Solace was 29,000km long? What the fuck? 😂 Bro, is that a script typo?

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

yeah hah, its 95,000 ft

[@hangingwithvoid360]

Pol-u-lating lol

[@theirvingfamily4857]

55 is rookie numbers for a game you love

[@MasterQ33f]

Relax

[@theirvingfamily4857]

@@MasterQ33f is it not ? For something you love plus I think I’m very relaxed thank you

[@MasterQ33f]

@@theirvingfamily4857 SIMMER DOWN

[@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly]

Reach truly was the last halo game, thank you for this beautiful send off. See you starside marine! 🫡

[@Kalaninuimehameha]

A nice walk back to reach. I pray to the gods for a real halo again one day.

[@Z3R0_2PR1N9]

I still believe Noble 6 survived and hid in some caves until he found a way off the planet and back to the UNSC to kick more ass that's my head cannon even if it's in opposition to any official lore. 😎

[@madness0169]

He couldn't have survived, he had a whole bunch of plasma blasts and an energy sword puncture his Mark V[B] armor. In my opinion, he clearly didn't survive.

[@Viperspider1]

Sorry, but I have to be honest. 4.5 minutes in and you lost me. Saying that you missed the core dialogue in the scene between Carter and 6 (boots we'd rather leave unfilled) after apparently playing the game a lot tells me everything I need to know about how this video is gonna play out. If you're gonna be pointing out stuff that you could only possibly miss if you were playing without sound and/or subtitles then I really don't think I'm gonna learn anything new by watching this. Also pointing it out kinda feels like you're insulting the intelligence of the viewer, by assuming that they too missed something incredibly obvious. I'm not trying to troll, or be a dick. But if you create an hour long video which is supposed to be insightful you can't expect someone to stick around if apparently what we're actually watching is simply an abridged audio description of the plot and gameplay. Please have more respect for your viewer's time.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

I pointed out something I never really paid attention to and didn't put a lot of significance in 1, 2 I haven't play this game in years, the last time i played this games story was when I was a lot younger (before of course the making of this video) 3 its important to the story, and i decided to point it out. thats hardly insulting the viewers intelligence. "Have more respect for the viewers time" its a free video to which you can click off at any time. And the video is meant to encapsulate the game in its entirety and why I love it and part of that is to go through its plot. you don't have to like it that's fine and thank you for the criticism, but don't attack my character (or lack there of according to you) because you didn't like a free video on youtube.

[@Viperspider1]

​@@ALXI_ESSAY You should learn to take criticism without feeling attacked, I never insulted your character. Listening to and acting on feedback will help you grow. Like I said, I'm not trying to be a dick. I want you to succeed but if I lied and pretended this was a perfect video you would learn nothing from the experience.

[@jackmcmorrow9397]

nothing says great goodbye like your worst game

[@TUGBOATMCMUFFIN]

halo reach was a mid game

[@eyesak4630]

Halo reach was the first halo game i got into, everyday after school, me and my friends would jump into a custom games lobby and invite everyone we possibly could and cycle through custom games for hours. Thank you Reach for all the fun, hours stayed up with full lobbies, and memories made along the way 🫡 remember Reach

[@KonzaCelt]

Mine too, excellent game all around.

[@ALXI_ESSAY]

Dude infection took the cake for me in multiplayer i was obsessed with it trying to get to all the places people used to parkour to get to so much fun.

[@ikpjosh4848]

1:00 there was halo 3 ODST released before this, and that was gritty

[@Connor8609]

Reach is a broken pos of a game 14 years after launch. Bungie was absolutely checked out on this one in favor of Destiny.

[@detectivedow7863]

39:54 Glad that other people did this.