Why Are Old Halo Games So Creepy? - Halo Retrospective

Happy Halloween! Old video games have a creepy and sometimes terrifying aura to them. Sometimes I'm left wondering why these older games spooked us as kids, and why normal empty spaces were unnerving and scary. While Halo 2 and Halo 3 loosely reflect this eerie atmosphere, Halo Combat Evolved is completely engulfed within it. Empty multiplayer maps, alongside a horrifying halfway twist in the campaign define Halo and give is a horrifying tone.
Special thanks to the Patrons and Channel Members:
Mr American
ChickenHawk
abyssquick
Darron
Lanfeng
►Join channel, get perks: / @nikos.
►Support the channel on Patreon for perks: / nikos_youtube
►Discord: / discord
►Twitter: / nikos_yt_
►Kick: kick.com/nikostv
►Twitch: / nikostv
Halo Custom Edition Maps:
'Yoyorast Island' by Yoyorast
'Chamber' by QuiteGamer
'Hugeass' by Tiamat
'Coldsnap' by Tiamat
'Autumnslay' by Akm Assassin
Find them through these links:
hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid...
hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?PG=...
#halo #haloinfnite

[@a_dangerous_man5341]

As a kid I always thought the reason there were no animals is because all the noise the fighting made scared them off

[@Norelphy]

That actually makes a lot of sense, how come I never thought of that?

[@eclipseRz]

Same

[@stormhought]

That's honestly pretty valid

[@headwreak1768]

i too would run in fear if i saw armored super-soldiers riding on on a warthog with C-4 attached to it.

[@elijahchristopher3755]

Same

[@RageRaccoon]

man i'll never forget how caught off guard i was as a kid when the alien game turned into a zombie horror game.

[@DaKdawg]

It was the ulitmate twist.

[@stitch9677]

Man i miss that shit

[@T101Crazy]

Always made sure my dad was with me for those levels...

[@wtflol1503]

For real. Nothing prepared me to go from an unstoppable machine slaughtering helpless grunts to running and screaming from everything and not wanting to walk around corners

[@TypWriter]

Yep.

[@fnord4960]

The first encounter with The Flood will always stay with me. The build up to the horrifying reveal will never be outdone. It’s just that great and terrifying.

[@That501st_guy]

It some reason and I have no I deal but it just reminds me of the Vietnam war just because of the flight to the flood contaminate base(343 guilty spark) with the music and them chatting and joking about freedom and stupid things still I think it was base on alien

[@fnord4960]

@@That501st_guy You hit the nail on the head with that analysis. The inspiration from Aliens is most apparent. Also, so with The Vietnam War as well.

[@Vapourwear]

“Reveal” is a verb. The noun you’re looking for is “revelation.” Don’t debase English.

[@fnord4960]

@@Vapourwear Cool.

[@jesseorozco]

@@Vapourwearnerd

[@JasonOfArgo]

Any of the levels where Cortana wasn't in your head were really creepy to me, I looked forward to her commentary keeping me going. Without her it really drives home that you're all alone and surrounded by deadly creatures and vast alien spaces. While she was there, I never felt so lonely and enjoyed screwing around even empty places, because at least "someone else" was with me.

[@RyanSprkl]

There was always a relief when the Chief finally put Cortana back in his head & her comforting presence returned.

[@Schnort]

I never felt this because there are no captions in the game (to my knowledge). In fact, I don't know half the plot still lmao

[@killobot2388]

corbtana

[@PopCultureCatechism]

Yes! Also this was really the first FPS that wasn’t mostly hallways or caves. There were some Doom levels that were a little more open but Halo CE felt HUUUGE!!!!!

[@stefanbirlog4622]

​@@Schnortthere are subtitles actually

[@sofaking1627]

I always imagine purgatory to be similar to wandering an early 2000's multiplayer map alone.

[@marcosarreguin2310]

Even just the thought of that being a possibility is anxiety provoking lol

[@sofaking1627]

Agreed@@marcosarreguin2310

[@dprgrmmd]

Very astutely said

[@sofaking1627]

Thank you@@dprgrmmd

[@ethankerr05]

"a lil detour on the way to paradise"

[@bigl2328]

I didn’t feel alone in Halo 2 when I was a kid compared to CE. To this day CE still has that lonely feeling to it that I can’t describe

[@outrun7455]

It’s why I love it, CE has such a somber feel to it, like you’re stuck in some twilight state. Few games have ever made me feel like that.

[@purplesamurai5205]

Very Metroid like

[@PandamoniuGaming]

I remember as a kid, the level where you first encounter the flood made me feel genuinely scared and alone, it was easily the scariest level as a kid

[@alvardiez838]

Same here. CE gives me something the other games don’t, it’s almost disturbing. Only time I feel something similar is when playing as Arbiter in Halo 2, when that eeire music comes on as you gotta swim through those dark corridors full of Flood 😬

[@ReveredDead]

Bro this right here. Halo Infinite had that lonely feeling as CE did. I didn't like it but it was pretty good. I can see that 343 was trying to go back to it's roots literally. Like Halo 1 roots. I wish there were more people around, like UNSC base camps (not the little outposts). Also where the fuck is Laskey? And the whole UNSC in that game. Either way I know what you mean. Halo 2 made the universe so much bigger while Halo CE was just one man and his AI construct taking on an overwhelming enemy force.

[@JohnFWitt]

The bird and insect sounds on certain levels, combined with the fact that you don’t ever really see any birds or insects, almost makes you feel like the forerunners were piping the sound in through speakers

[@markl5998]

Hey ya like disneyland!

[@BrianCroweAcolyte]

17:45 I actually really liked the Library when I was a kid. I remember finding the marine corpse with a rocket launcher and thinking "damn, this marine was a bad ass to make it this deep". I remember reading the Halo book later and it gave that marine his own little section where he was the first human 343 ran into so 343 tried to get him to retrieve the index first. Master Chief in the book was flabbergasted that a marine made it that deep with no augmentations or armor because he himself was feeling pushed to the limit. Also I remember 343 saying something along the lines of "you only have a class 2 combat suit, it is recommended you upgrade to at least class 12 to fight the flood" and being like "wat" lol

[@alphabloodhawk]

Not to get preachy or piss people off, but I find it interesting how some unnamed, dead Marine is way more interesting and badass than most of the characters in Halo 5.

[@BrianCroweAcolyte]

@@alphabloodhawk Yup, and they make you play over half the game as them lol

[@alphabloodhawk]

@@BrianCroweAcolyte I actually think Locke conceptually was a pretty strong character. Act Man described it pretty well, a rogue, smarmy assassin type Spartan who doesn't give a shit about honor or military code. That's a really cool concept, and he had a really nice armor design on top of it. The problem was the execution is so fucking badly done, he feels like a cardboard Cutout. It's a shame 343 had so many cool concepts for characters but they fucked up the execution all the time.

[@BrianCroweAcolyte]

@@alphabloodhawk I just saw him as a generic boring "by the books" soldier guy lol. What really rubbed me the wrong way is when he went toe to toe with Master Chief despite being a much more inferior Spartan IV. It's like the losers at 343i don't even know Halo lore.

[@alphabloodhawk]

@@BrianCroweAcolyte He's supposed to be the exact opposite of the "by the books" soldier. Just goes to show how badly 343 is at characterization

[@icarusgaming6269]

Blues and grays are the colors our eyes see when we switch to cones in low light situations and need to be alert for predators that are hard to see. It's the perfect choice of colors to set you on edge

[@Nikos.]

Interesting, didn't think of it like that

[@odinulveson9101]

Useful info to scoop up and absorb. Thanks!

[@bradleytrease2290]

In Reach the blue tone in the first half was ment to be calming and set a slower pace. As soon as you return to the surface it's red; which is the color of war and hell; or passion.

[@icarusgaming6269]

@@bradleytrease2290 It's actually a pretty gradual shift throughout the whole game as you slowly realize you're losing

[@PrimordialNightmare]

I had all the necessary information, but didn't think of this. cool! :o

[@PelemusMcSoy]

One thing that I always found creepy about Halo CE compared to 2 and 3 was the noise the Flood makes. In 2 and 3, they growl and howl, but in CE they also make this unnatural wheezing/chirping sound.

[@Mae_Dastardly]

Weird slurping and electronic blowowow noises

[@PelemusMcSoy]

@@Mae_Dastardly Yeah, that's a better description. But the fact it's hard to describe makes it even more unnerving.

[@nickm5419]

@@PelemusMcSoy go listen to the beginning of the Metroid Prime main menu and it sounds like Flood/Halo noises

[@tripmann268]

Haven't played CE in ages but I still know exactly what you mean There's a pretty cool lore explanation too, the flood in CE had only just woken up from 1000s of years of dormancy

[@blueshit199]

I recall thinking the infection forms sounded like they were trying to say something to you

[@Warrandpeace]

Weirdly as a kid i never once wondered why there were no animals. I literally just accepted everything as it was and it felt right lol

[@Anudorini-Talah]

SAME! Naturally thinking, Its a ring in space, how could there be ANYTHING ALIVE on it.

[@seva809]

Very recently I played Silent Cartographer together with my friend. With every Convenant soldier we dispatched, we felt that we were in a more dangerous place than at the beginning of the mission, precisely because of this unnerving feeling that on this already empty map, someone or rather something unnatural was watching us or maybe even hunt us. The fact that all the UNSC Marines who stayed on the beach mysteriously disappeared didn't help either. Even though it was the most visually pleasing location, we wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

[@jdm1671]

Bro i had the strangest thing happen to me while playing that level. I was in the control room that let you open the main door to the inside of that underground facility and right before i went into the cutscene a hunter hit me and the cutscene showed the door already opened then when then when the cutscene ended the hunter was gone and instead of being met with the audio of the pelican crash landing i was met by some radio frequency or something? Idk i knew i had never heard it before and i was so confused as to what was happening so once i left that area i went to see if the pelican crash landed outside and absolutely nothing was there and then i went to that underground area with the door that i opened and it was closed. Idk i broke the whole mission but that random radio frequency was lowkey creepy

[@theia1653]

After you activate the cartographer is where the horror really begins to set in as you find yourself alone in that dark room, overcome with a feeling of dread like something evil was just released (or about to) but you don't know what it is yet, maybe not even realized it at first. It's the taint of Halo. Then the music gets upbeat again as you leave with Covenant reinforcements having arrived.

[@jdm1671]

@@theia1653 yup i was just playing the master chief collection last night

[@harshal343]

All unsc marines on the beach are killed by the incoming covenant patrols whom we encounter when we get out of the structure after locating the map of halo

[@expwner1]

as a little kid the marine that lost his mind in halo ce scared the crap out of me

[@abemartinez9623]

Me too an I was screaming “ why he’s he attacking me I wanna help him!”

[@tubbyman771]

I feel strange cause even as a kid I just shot him without thinking twice 😅

[@abemartinez9623]

@@tubbyman771 lmao my cousin would too an yell at me if I didn’t do it !

[@Straighter_than_a_line]

i did that as well and i kept going around him to see if he stops@@abemartinez9623

[@thermalegoogle]

As a fully grown man, it still scares me.

[@tobygrantham7215]

That flood intro mission in CE terrified me as a 10 year old, the atmosphere, the noises, the realisation that you’re in the room where Keyes’ squad vanished. And just when you think you’ve escaped, the lift goes DOWN

[@fastmadcow]

When the lift went down I actually powered off my Xbox lol 😅

[@eldermoose7938]

@@fastmadcow Halo CE made me scared of elevators for a good 2 years

[@PistolSovereign]

As the lift goes down, you see the walls soaked in blood

[@connoisseuroftigolbitts]

Greatest horror scene in halo right there

[@dacollector8995]

That and the level Silent Library where all the flood is just chasing you.

[@shyrocket4889]

Limited options and assets etc, bring out more creativity of people. Thats why old games are legendary. Creativity flows through every level

[@FutureMatrioshkaBrain]

Survivorship bias

[@FutureMatrioshkaBrain]

Survivorship bias

[@FutureMatrioshkaBrain]

Survivorship bias

[@Alpha1200]

8:37 - The way I would describe it is: The Forerunner structures feel like tombs. Giant, monolithic tombs you walk through.

[@bathumb45]

I was 9 years old when Halo CE came out. Something that has always stuck with me was the eerie, cosmic-horror feeling of the main menu. The haunting men's choir singing the main theme without any backing music, combined with the giganticism of the Halo ring just floating in the vastness of empty space always used to give me the creeps.

[@lukepeverelle7707]

To add to this, the part of the menu music where it just goes into this quiet ambient sound, almost like rumbling underground, then the sounds of a wind from another world. It's downright eerie, whenever that started playing in the menu I would get in a hurry with whatever I was doing.

[@prestonjohnson1334]

OMG DUDE I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLT ONE TO THINK SOMETHING OFF ABT IT

[@TheConspiratorist]

Bruh, you shouldn’t have been playing an M rated game at 9. Your parents wildin. lol

[@krishnathakur4583]

Same

[@BobBob-qi1cb]

​@@TheConspiratoristwas playing it at 2 1/2 when It first came out lmaoo

[@gabrielrodriguez6936]

The interesting thing about halo 1 specifically is that it was the only one where you need to survive. In all the other ones, you have backup. In Halo 1, you ARE the backup. Literally the last hope. By the end you’re the only survivor so that should tell you something I think.

[@robertquinlan8063]

That’s a very good point. The first one is eerie and mysterious and the second is the kick some butt payback time and the 3rd is slightly both but more kick butt.

[@ColoradoStreaming]

Even how the game sets up that theme from the beginning when you crash land and are surrounded by dead bodies and only your armor let you survive.

[@olympian3]

@@robertquinlan8063the first one is about being a powerful badass but halfway through meeting something even worse than you

[@robertquinlan8063]

@@olympian3that’s also why I enjoyed the novels a lot too. You get to read how Chief feels during the situations we play through. And truly is just as terrified like the rest of them.

[@DixieSchizo]

​@ColoradoStreaming in the developers commentary they said the Marines were supposed to survive but they couldnt program them to exit their seats or something like that

[@HarleyQuinn-nl7zv]

God man, the Halo theme in the first two games, the cymbals, the chorus... truly the best soundtrack for any game, I am literally getting shivers down my spine right now, goosebumps just thinking about that perfect theme song.

[@dopiestthyme3365]

CE was and still is absolutely beautiful to me. The ring stretching across the sky box and the mysterious and ominous ruins left behind by the Forerunners...it's all so beautiful to me. Probably the first genuine art piece I ever experienced as a child. I love CE to death.

[@ITSSIRWAN86]

fr

[@jonathanwallace7662]

To me the CE has one extra level of liminality: the lack of barriers. It let you see the shortcuts the developers made, which made the world feel even weirder. For example, that blue hallway on the other side of the SC pit, it looks like it leads to another huge section of facility, but with grenades and a warthog launch, you get over there and its just a giant hallway that goes nowhere. This like that add to the backrooms feeling.

[@greatkhan7278]

I know what you mean. Almost like one of those surreal nightmarish dream sequences where you feel imprisoned, not with claustrophobia, but with kenophobia. Giant empty spaces that just when you feel you've gone far enough in one direction, you turn the corner and you're right back where you started. In some infinite hellscape where there is no end, and no beginning

[@shayk223]

Halo infinite has custom servers now with bloodgulch on them

[@OneDayAtATime365]

Finally someone whom uses a word and gives the definition. Sincerely thank you. 🙏🙏🙏

[@KarlKognition]

​@@OneDayAtATime365 who* uses (subject, not object). There are online dictionaries.

[@garethdwright91]

What's "SC"?

[@brandonschwertley2723]

One thing you missed on 343 Guilty Spark, you can actually backtrack to the original elevator that brought you down. However once you activate the lift the elevator explodes and becomes non functional, effectively trapping you inside and forcing the player to search for an alternate escape.

[@Nikos.]

I remember that detail, really cool stuff

[@pwarrington3306]

Wait, that was optional? I thought it was compulsory you go there, have the elevator break then find another exit That's kinda dope there's still things I didn't know however many years later

[@Nikos.]

It is optional, I missed it on this last playthru! @@pwarrington3306

[@BioGoji-zm5ph]

@@pwarrington3306 The first Halo was far less linear in its level design than the majority of its sequels.

[@abhisheks8017]

It goes down with a bang. As a kid, I was nah man, let me out of here.

[@cadis4257]

The environmental storytelling of 343 guilty spark was always so chilling to me. The build up with the downed pelican playing the repeat message of Keys being captured by some "new" covenant set the mood. Then seeing the covenant fleeing in fear from something and the brief fight at the entrance to the facility all just keep building up. The brief radar full of friendlies before suddenly vanishing and the crazed marine. Add in the music that sounds like scratching and it just keeps getting creepier. Then the crescendo with the video from the helmet and wella.

[@klennalbertb.delapena322]

Dont forget the shadows in the treelines

[@Scuba-Ry]

During my very first play through and feeling overwhelmingly terrified after finishing the Library, I'll never forget how relieved I felt when I saw the Covenant again in Two Betrayals even despite the fact they were shooting at me, they were the enemy that I knew. What also hammered the twist was the little booklet you got with the game describing covenant races, the weapons etc but there was absolutely zero mention or indication of the flood! I thought that was a very nice touch on Bungies part which added to the horror in game.

[@EverythingSportHQ]

This game really is a timeless classic, we're still learning from it today

[@R0GU351GN4L]

It's one of the true defining titles in gaming history.

[@brianrusso2719]

I'll never forget the day I scooped it for PC in early 2002. All I knew was what I learned from the box in the store and I was sold. Turned out to be one of the greatest video games ever made.

[@XDamainI]

And can we take a second to mention that it is the grandfather of the modern controller button map? That alone makes it the most important game of the first person shooters ever.

[@thomasbeall9069]

I don’t even like FPS and this one won me over. I can beat it on Legendary. That speakers in volumes to me. Never beat any other FPS in my life and can rock this one on the hardest level.

[@playboy198900]

if they really learned than why dont we have games better than halo CE?

[@mushroomfish300]

In the beginning section of 343 guilty spark, you can see friendlies on your motion tracker outside the map and can even glimpse them. They walk to the edge, and then walk away, but they don’t look quite right. This is masterful storytelling by bungie.

[@Nikos.]

They’re in the trees!!!

[@coconutwonder]

I remember that you can actually stay in the pelican at the beginning of the level if you throw a grenade as you're landing and ride it to the edge or the map. There's a random friendly that just stands there and stares at you (and I think he's the marine whose helmet cam recorded the whole scene with the flood). So freaking creepy.

[@conswan57]

@@coconutwonderI remember I found that shit one day when I was a kid and it creeped me out so bad lmaoo the voice acting for him is top tier

[@cogtroper]

I first played 343 guilty spark when I was 10 and my brother 8. When we finished the level, we both said “let’s take a break” and we ended up not touching the game again for months

[@durandol]

The old Halo CE multiplayer maps gave me the same feeling as the ones in Mechassault 1&2. It's one thing to have a map that is empty, but it's very different to have a map that FEELS empty. Not one where it feels like everyone has just gone out for coffee and is going to be back in an hour, but one where no one's coming back, and likely hasn't been here for years.

[@dogevanzandt2889]

Derelict The empty hallways, howling of the wind and the ambient sounds that almost sound like some giant creature breathing anytime you're inside in Assault on the Control Room will always stand out to me. No other video game has ever had the feel this game has. I am honestly so glad I've had it in my life for the last 20+ years.

[@ReklessTW]

The terminal in CE showing Keyes’ infection terrified me when I was younger, I couldn't play CEA for a couple months after it because of how scared I was

[@tyrusgailey3131]

That section is actually from the book the flood and reading it as a kid freaked me out. Really cool scene

[@marcosarreguin2310]

That was back in 2011, how old are you?

[@ReklessTW]

@@marcosarreguin2310 16

[@alexandreparent82]

​@@ReklessTWthis remaster was trash

[@peanutgallery4]

​@@alexandreparent82for the most part yes, but the terminals were great editions

[@CupertinoRick]

The point you made that playing halo as a kid on a multiplayer map with no other player (since our pc didn't have an internet connection) made it unnerving and uncanny to play is so relatable. It is after all an empty map but there was that irrational fear of someone luring somewhere. I thought it was only me (for lack of content like this back then). One particular multiplayer map that was creepy but in a somewhat different way from the other maps was Gephyrophobia because it had the added uncanniness of the height (and the smog doesn't let you see how deep it actually is) and the music. The most comforting was death island because it was mostly open space.

[@martinquetzal5346]

The Library has always been my favorite level, since the first time I played this game. It's a testament of your abilities and quick reactions. Unlike the first levels, there is not much of an strategy apart from "shoot everything that moves", it's just your shotgun, another weapon for popping infection forms, and you, going through similar-looking, labyrinthine corridors looking for the Index. And in Legendary, this is a delicacy to play. Also, the music/ambiance is the best in the game.

[@beelzeboo]

Perfectly described. I wholeheartedly agree, it’s an absolute treat of a level.

[@kyleknight9686]

Something I just realized- the marine that says "Keyes has been captured" knew enough about the op/had some audio or video confirmation that he wasn't KIA, at least not yet. And seeing as he was captured once already, it stands to reason that they didn't anticipate the Covies granting him life this time around. "It's not Covenant." This guy likely heard some of the last confirmed words of dying marines being mutilated, and had to have had someone say "Keyes is captured," as opposed to killed. Why else would he say capture and not KIA? Chilling. Someone told him that a far worse fate was occuring.

[@DaMaster012]

It gets even more chilling when you consider the environmental storytelling of the downed Pelican itself. The pelican is obviously too damaged to fly, otherwise they would have tried to leave, even if they didn't have flight training (especially considering what they were being attacked by). The repeated message is clearly a distress call, with the glow sticks meant to (hopefully) draw the attention of allies. There are piles of ammo organized sloppily, indicating someone was hastily taking inventory. The Pelican then is somewhat fortified, yet aside from the distress call, there are zero signs of any of the Marines who might have been calling for help from there. It's as if they just... walked away... Like how when walking through the valleys of the swamp, a friendly yellow IFF dot shows up on your motion tracker, where a hobbled figure stands on the hill, obscured by fog, only for it to just... _walk away..._

[@user-ns4zm8qe9p]

Nothing like halo will ever happen again

[@seva809]

What if there was Marine who locked himself in that Pelican calling for help from there?

[@theia1653]

@DaMaster012 V933's crew was able to get away. It said they're dug in at a large structure. They took refuge inside the containment facility after crashing, being ambushed by Flood. When Chief was escaping, the several straggler Marines in the lower levels you came upon and the ones by the entrance when you exit were from V933. Notice how dire that the pilot tried to contact the Pillar of Autumn, not Alpha Base, even though the Autumn was abandoned and secured by Covenant forces.

[@derpturtlegamur]

I remember sometimes when i was younger just walking around valhalla in halo 3 and messing around. I tried doing it again and realized just how creepy it is being all alone in the middle of nowhere.

[@whitty0033]

Did the exact same. It’s eerie. Feels like there’s always someone just outside of your fov

[@D.Ambrose]

When I was a kid, I was very easily spooked. I think part of it was the very real fear that came with my specific childhood, part of it was being an only child, and I think part of me knew that it was the “good times” and I should try to live in the moment. Going back and replaying, I’m starting to realize maybe it was just Halo is absolutely terrifying

[@NemesisOgreKing]

It's especially jarring when you've played a lot of multiplayer and come back to remanence.@@whitty0033

[@periwinkle2486]

i would do the same but with sandtrap instead. the elephants are just too much fun hahaha

[@odinulveson9101]

Theres nothing to be afraid of... yet everything 😨

[@RohitsFormandFitness]

I swear I used to be so scared when I reached the menu with all the creepy choir music. Even the first Pillar of Autumn was soo scary because of he urgency and the dread of being attacked by these alien creatures with dreadful sounds! Took me a while to actually get past this level

[@RyanSprkl]

I was 6/7 when this game released and I adored it. However, I would always get to the mission where the Flood are introduced and I'd back out and start the game again and repeat this cycle. That mission utterly terrified me. Seeing the Covenant flee from an unknown enemy in such terror, the static radio in the crashed Pelican, the deranged marine, it was all too much. Of course I did eventually play through it (I think a year or so later I got an older cousin to play it split screen with me as I couldn't face it alone) but I'll never forget the emotions evoked from Halo: CE, a true masterpiece not only in video games but as a piece of art.

[@ES031]

Thank you for pointing out the liminal space aspect, that's part of why I love CE so much. Despite the graphics being outdated, something about that ring stretching up into space above the player's head is absolutely beautiful. Just walking around on any map set on the surface of the ring gives you a heavy dose of peaceful nostalgia and wonder.

[@Nikos.]

Absolutely beautiful game. I miss those empty spaces, that whole ring was alien and eerie

[@thegzak]

I remember fantasizing about what the rest of the halo surface world would be like to explore. Sometimes I’d try to level break to see if there was anything more to explore, but alas, ‘twas but a skybox.

[@KneppaH]

@@Nikos. That's why I prefer the original CE over the remake. In the remake the textures are way to busy and destroys the whole feeling and atmosphere of the environment.

[@j.bridges2921]

​​@@thegzakOf all the mistakes they made with Halo Infinite, this is what 343 really dropped the ball on. They could have made an ENTIRE Halo to explore.

[@xViperGTR]

Halo to us then was literally what kids nowadays fear in the Backrooms, the Liminal Spaces, the Monster that is beneath the map and the despair to escape and stop the madness

[@user-ns4zm8qe9p]

The motherfucking ghost of lockout

[@RobotronSage]

Pretty sure the whole liminal space / backroom meme was born by zoomers who never got to play these games online and have no idea what an empty lobby is. Like dude, every game has this. Boot open any battlefield or modern warfare title, multiplayer map, host game, it's always creepy until the other player joins.

[@2ichie]

Is “the monster underneath the map” just a metaphor or are you being literal that there actually was a monster underneath the map?? Because I don’t remember one

[@xViperGTR]

@@2ichietalking about the Flood in the Campaign

[@olympian3]

Walking alone around on the multiplayer maps was a liminal space

[@actualhyena]

Playerless multiplayer map: exists KZbin: Why is this CREEPY?

[@Stevofaves]

This is great! As an adult, I'm a big horror fan, and more and more I realize that a lot of the media I was drawn to as a child had spooky or scary elements to it. I don't tend to remember Halo as being creepy (aside from the Flood which is obviously just a horror level), but your description of its second half as survival horror is spot on

[@dhoster3673]

I remember very well wandering the spaces of many of the multiplayer maps, alone, and yet never actually feeling alone. They would always elicit that same eerie feeling you get when you can feel someone's eyes on you.

[@Nikos.]

It was creepy... thought I would run into something scary on those maps

[@intentionally_obscure]

Holy hell, somebody else gets it. The opening shot of Sidewinder with the characteristic ambience told me that you understood. Thanks for explaining why this game still has something the sequels never did.

[@frost7463]

That bone-chilling wind, wide open space, and view of the stars beyond is so many things. It’s haunting, it’s beautiful, it’s eerie, and it’s just the epitome of Halo CE’s atmosphere

[@maxchan179]

@@frost7463 why do all of you people talk the same? it's like there is some midwit-loser-geek hivemind controlling hundreds of thousands of you

[@greatkhan7278]

The closest ive come to a liminal space (i think?) is the feeling you get when you move house and everything has already been packed and youre doing the final clean and tidy. You look around and recognise all the same walls, and the window is still there, but the couch, the cabinets the bed the fridge, all your stuff - your mess - has disappeared. Familiar, but abnormal. Yesterday you made a cuppa & ate your toast at the table like you'd done for the last 10 years, tomorrow, you'll never set foot in it again. Like your heart is telling you its your home, but your brain is telling you its an empty house.

[@ericyoung3480]

Your video came across my thread. Glad it did. Always felt the same way about those empty rooms. The ambient noises are so well done. And I’m kinda glad I’m not the only one who still walks around from time to time in the multiplayer maps alone reminiscing about the past. Crazy it’s been over 20 years.

[@alaricvis09]

I really miss Blood Gulch. So many hours spent in constant struggles and now...nothing.

[@lostkaiser1995]

Play it on MCC I still find plenty of CE multiplayer games all the time

[@alaricvis09]

@@lostkaiser1995 Really? I believe I will see you very soon.

[@alexanderkriete9401]

@@alaricvis09sick!

[@headwreak1768]

"roses are red, violets are blue"

[@jeffh757]

There is something poignant, stirring, and even a bit eerie about revisiting old multiplayer maps from your youth, especially when alone. It's like being a ghost haunting a forgotten old battlefield.

[@rickd8174]

I was a young Marine when this game came out. It always felt accurate. The loneliness and duty of serving.

[@leviticuscornwall9631]

Sorry but I can’t help but imagine a pog wrote this 😂

[@rickd8174]

@@leviticuscornwall9631 0313

[@Sykora171]

@@leviticuscornwall9631 haha, I think of “fire watch” back in basic training where you’re the only one up in the middle of the night. Luckily that’s the “loneliest” (if you can call it that) I think I’ve felt during my time in the military lol

[@ublade82]

How'd you and Johnson actually get off the ring?

[@rickd8174]

@@ublade82 blood, guts and a little bit of danger

[@Jaysonbc1234]

I remember the shock of witnessing The Flood for the first time 😅 I honestly thought Halo was about shooting bright purple space drawfs … 😮

[@CammieRacing]

great video. really took me back to my teens. seeing the empty player maps was especially strange. in university we learned about liminal spaces (but not with that name) as we talked about the uncanny valley in animation. (The tutor might have referred to them as non-places like an empty airport/mall) I'm glad it's become such an aesthetic.

[@thurmanmerman6173]

Halo 1 was just such a perfect blend of elements. Sound effects and room ambience (especially 343 guilty spark) were practically music on their own in how tonal they were at times. Your "liminal space" claim is also pretty spot on. The look of the library has this feeling like you're wandering around in some abandoned hotel or hospital. And lots of machinery on the library sounds like either a vending machine or a distant vacuum down some creepy hotel hallway at night. It's all super familiar so the player has an impression to have some base emptional reaction, but things never indicate an obvious purpose, thus they still feel alien. I also love the creepy celestial sound of the light bridges and shade turrets. I never really felt the same sobering feeling from the rest of the games. They always seemed like the loud cartoonish ones while this one seemed like the strong silent type. I could go on and on about how all sound and visual elements seem to have some artistic intention behind them, but it's just too much typing. Haha

[@Nikos.]

I'm with you on this. I like Halo CE's sublime minimalist tone, although the other halos are a lot of fun, they don't quite match that creepy snowed-in energy

[@MetaVizions]

@@Nikos. Yes. CE captures that vibe of sacred enigma. Like you’re grave robbing Egyptian Mummy tombs at night… grandeur appeal masked over deadly secrets lurking in the shadows.

[@doglegs4524]

Epitaph is map that always stuck in my head just the fact that a forerunner structure so tall and significant is in the middle of a bright and barren desert it’s so mesmerizing to me

[@Nikos.]

That map is weird, and it hums the whole time like a cathedral

[@everythingsalright1121]

An epitaph is something youd find on a gravestone...so itd make sense

[@eyeballpapercut4400]

​@@everythingsalright1121 and it actually was the 'gravestone' of Mendicant Bias' final 'resting place'

[@JamesA4]

This was wonderfully well-written and had me hooked throughout. I thought I'd heard everything that could be said about this game, but your video helped to further explain why so many people have a connection with this game. The atmosphere just lingers on in your memory. Great job! 👍👍

[@quiche_winchester]

Bravo, sir. What a beautiful homage to an experience we all share, and lacked the words for at the time.

[@AGC479]

Watched my dad play halo ce when i was 8 and i just feel in love with the ambiance. The music and the way it would make me feel as he went through the game and there's no other game that can capture that feeling. What really sets this game apart from so many others is the music, Marty O'Donnell really made masterpieces with only 3 words as inspiration. "Ancient, Alien, Mysterious."

[@marcosarreguin2310]

Let's also not forget: back in 2001 when Halo first came out, we played it on those box TVs that had those grainy textures (definitely NOT HD); only adding to the fact that you as the player couldn't entirely make out exactly what you were walking through. This only heightened the mysterious feeling of the game, in general.

[@Strenuous1033]

there’s probably a reshade plugin for this

[@eyeballpapercut4400]

​@@Strenuous1033 I wish to experience CE and 2 through a CRT once again

[@IanThatMetalBassist]

I play CE regularly on a CRT and I have to say it enhances the atmosphere dramatically

[@marcosarreguin2310]

@@IanThatMetalBassist What's a CRT?

[@IanThatMetalBassist]

@@marcosarreguin2310 Cathode Ray Tube. The technical term for those old boxy TV's and monitors of the past

[@njnothere]

I recognized those halo custom edition maps. So many memories playing as a kid with my friend. Either on the ones filled with Ai or just wandering alone through maps. I loved that empty lonely uncanny and creepy feeling, and that it carried over to the modded maps back then was amazing

[@danabass1957]

I remember sleep overs with my friends and being glued to the screen as we played though this game fighting for our turn to play and my parents coming down the stairs to routinely remind us we need to sleep. The game was new and different then and the landscapes and creatures felt so different. Later life in my late 20s I replayed the game on legendary by myself and wind and sounds of the ring breathing and the noises and lack of life felt so hollow it made me feel hollow as I remembered those sleep overs with my friends people I lost contact with. The game just hits differently if you grew up wifh it and come back to experience later life. It does echo that march of time and how things change.

[@SkimoFiend]

Opening with sidewinder, such a fun map

[@Nikos.]

I love that map, used to wander around it with one friend and pretend to be shop owners at each base selling juice for some reason, surreal kid memories ig

[@SkimoFiend]

@Nikos. haha! I only had my sisters to play halo with, so it didn't happen often, I would just wander, have pretend firefights and drive around, good times, much love

[@liminalspaceyt]

This video finally put the finger on what I've been trying to articulate about this game for years. Master class, well done.

[@austincraig698]

This video brought back so many obscure memories as a kid growing up playing since the first halo game. It’s always been so hard to put it into words but this video did it for me! Thanks!

[@malicant123]

I love the atmosphere of late 90s, early 00s shooters. I can't articulate just what it is about them, but there is something to the liminal quality to them that always brings me back. One of my favourites is the rather obscure SiN from 1997.

[@JungleHunter13]

Alot of the feelings shared in this video are how i feel in Mario 64. It has such an odd almost creepy feeling to it at times.

[@Nikos.]

I missed out not playing that when I was younger

[@lanceleader163]

The dang merry-go-round in Boo’s Mansion! Super Mario 64 was definitely liminal and creepy! Also the fact that you’re moving in and out of paintings on the walls that are actual self-contained worlds. Creepy indeed.

[@JungleHunter13]

@@lanceleader163 yup plus some of the other worlds just feel really creepy. Amazing game and loved it as a kid. But when I went back and played it as an adult I just could not shake that creepy feeling going around that mansion.

[@morbidtotty8375]

Probably because now days we are used to vibrant worlds full of stuff to do and NPCs, while the older games are more empty. Less objects and buildings, less stuff to interact with, and a lot less friendly npcs to interact with

[@Equal88]

Haha yeah as a kid I remember entering and roaming that pretty empty castle with happy music still with the thought bowser his laugh when entering that he is watching me at all times did give a eery feeling to it .

[@cameronnorton5898]

Sadly, we may never get other games as good as Halo was.

[@Humble-iq5ue]

Agreed 🤝

[@smeissner328]

Something that I found really interesting is how much your introductory section reminded me of Borderlands. The Borderlands series has a similar tonal shift between the first and second game. While the gameplay in BL2 is significantly improved, the setting and tone of the first game were uniquely captivating to me. Come to think of it...the same is true of Mass Effect. It's fascinating to think that the ambiance, tone, and immersiveness of the first game in a series is a huge part of my love for all my favorites.

[@thesimulator7]

I love that you touched on the subject of liminal spaces in this video. They are the exact reason I love the game portal 2 so much along with this one. Those empty abandoned rooms inside the facility give a sense of nostalgia, but also give an eerie feeling and a sense of horror.

[@mathewhumvee]

Halo CE can be described in a few key ways. The ring is: Unimaginably old, unfathomably advanced, incredibly massive, but entirely empty of its own life. That what is so creepy about the original game. It’s a paradox of extremes that we as humans can understand.

[@greatkhan7278]

Yesss. While for the most part it was familiar... rocks, grass, trees, blue sky, even snow, something still felt wrong. Non-existent ambient life, foreboding alien megastructures that have no discernible purpose, towering scenery and wide open spaces juxtaposed with cramped corridors where kenophobia and claustrophobia converge, realising the beautiful vistas on the surface are only a facade to the ancient machine under your feet. And the fact that despite the ring being impossibly old, it's not in ruin, it's almost as if it were abandoned 1 year ago, much less 100,000 years ago. Much like the ring itself, that which was familiar to us was surface level. Somehow what the ring did was make the natural, feel unnatural.

[@ShatteredQvartz]

Something I learned while writing, playing and also doing my own Videogame Design Documents is that fear doesn't comes from grotesque or uncanny visuals, that's only really useful for jumpscares Fear in media comes from the same place it does from real life: "The Unknown" Halo CE's atmosphere is so unsettling because we don't know what's going on here, what's going to happen, or what's the nature of the place That's why liminal spaces are scary, vevause they are devoid of context or meaning That's the way to scare people and keep them scared, or at leats the way I have found in my studying

[@Nikos.]

Interesting, fear of the unknown and what a story doesn’t show or tell definitely is an overwhelming fear

[@ShatteredQvartz]

The human imagination is a powerful tool Both for good, for evil and spooking your audience

[@KneppaH]

Empty places also can make you feel exposed. Nowhere to hide.

[@Anudorini-Talah]

Its the unnatural in the natural. Example: A third arm or eye. Someone watching you for no reason. Or even spoiled food.

[@joeRY-wu3cy]

when you talked about going to the bottom of mid rises to hang out in the empty basements, it reminded me of the mail and laundry rooms in my old dorms when i was in college. the whole building would be bustling with other students and staff, but somehow the mail room was almost always empty and my footsteps echoed the same way you describe them doing so in certain environments in the campaign. good vid me likey

[@justinsimpson2335]

Really cool to learn about liminal space from this. I’ve had the same feeling about old games: where hardware limitations require spaces to be bleak. To see that it was also intentionally designed to trigger the off-putting feeling makes it even better. Thanks for the video

[@lanceleader163]

Also the fact that there is NO EXIT when looking around the ring. It adds to the liminal horror that you are trapped here with those things… And the heavy sigh of relief we all breathed once we found out there was a longsword fighter still docked.

[@DomesticDomoGaming]

As a kid heading the forerunner halls breathe freaked me out. I’d usually just play for the epic battles lol

[@wolowizard4441]

My mate introduced me to half life a few years back, and I absolutely enjoyed playing through them (episode 2 in particular) but it’s the art style that made me enjoy it. There’s something about those early/mid 2000’s games that get it. The landscape in half-life felt so derelict but at the same time super interesting just to walk around and explore and to see the parts of the map far away, the same with CE maps - they’re just fun to walk around by yourself, and it’s almost as if you can imagine being there yourself walking around them.

[@smol_the_b]

I just finished working on a halo video myself, but that is nothing compared to this. Your storyrelling and attention to details is amazingly well done

[@FaultyLogic-my1mo]

This is a perfect example of a liminal space feeling that some of the maps and levels have which always separated itself from all the others and the creepy ambiance

[@vaniellys]

I am SO HAPPY to see other people share this sentiment. Halo CE & 2 had something unique, eerie, strange, scary and fascinating. As I grow older, I am more and more nostalgic about it.

[@abyssquickk]

nikos always be poppin off and making good content

[@UrbanR0S3]

I never usually take in the atmosphere, but when i do, its usually not fear, im amazed, curious, i look and walk around, its kinda calming, nothing shooting you, not running from you, just you and the terrain, its just so nice sometimes, its usually the snow or more open yet enclosed areas in games that give me these feelings

[@Nikos.]

I love the snow ambience, takes me back to when I was a kid it's real nostalgic. Hard to believe immediately after the snow level the secrets of the ring get revealed

[@Volganor]

Thank you so, SO MUCH, for mentioning the Invisible Flood in the Armory. I kept looking for more people talking about it online but information is really scarce. It's, legit, the creepiest part of the entire series, in my opinion.

[@Nikos.]

I love that detail so much

[@greatkhan7278]

​@@Nikos.Where they only on Heroic or Legendary difficulty? Because I sort of forgot about them until you mentioned them in this video

[@eyeballpapercut4400]

​@@greatkhan7278 My first playthrough of CE in early 2000s was on Normal and the camo flood was there

[@Kivlor]

​@@greatkhan7278I think they're on every difficulty. If you run in, grab the launcher and run right back out you'll miss them, because the come into the armory from the door on the other side of it.

[@olympian3]

The most rare and terrifying enemy. Thankfully they only appear once

[@NorthstarSystem]

10/10 video. as a kid, I played reach, 3, then 1 in that order and ce always felt the most oddly comfy and also oddly creepy. a sort of "theres no fighting here, but that makes me feel very unsafe and vulnerable" feeling, that this video put into words perfectly. ce is my favourite nowadays, not just for its gameplay but because how empty and desolate it looks, while maintaining an almost faux nature look to it. like if you went into a greenhouse, and all the plants looked like they were made of plastic.

[@chimochills]

Great video brother. I remember bringing this game home and just being blown away.

[@gasplyroots]

This is an awesome video! Been waiting for something like this. I keep telling my friends why Halo 1's atmosphere and environment storytelling was peak in the halo franchise. keep up the good work

[@SeniorCharry]

I truly felt like I was alone in Halo CE, and that was a bit spooky because the environment is a mystery.

[@dancooke8811]

Games that do this even better Arkham Games BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS Force Unleashed Games Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrade Final Fantasy 7 REUNION Ghost of Tsushima STAR WARS KOTOR 1 STAR WARS KOTOR 2 alot of people would say Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor but I think that they only succeeded because they ripped off The Original Trilogy mainly Episodes IV and V!

[@Sebastian-pm6hj]

As a kid it was kinda creepy playing Halo CE or what i call it Halo 1 and after when you complete the pillar of atumn(the first mission) it was creepy to me when the covenant drop ship creps by trying to search for you and the aliens are inspecting the pod with that violin music in the background.

[@MattSipka]

One small thing I find interesting in liminal space horror is how an empty place devoid of any people triggers something in the brain that makes us feel: “this is wrong” Being able to explore Halo’s multiplayer maps by yourself can really give you that sense of isolation. An uncanny feeling that this is a place where multiplayer matches are supposed to happen but without other players, it just feels so empty.

[@Chicotazo69]

that liminal spaces comparison is something I never thought of but its actually so insanely on point, great observation

[@vancodling4223]

In the cartographer security station, if you go out through one of the three doors behind the hologram, you find a a sigle bridge leading out to nowhere. At the end is a small platform, with two pillars, about the height of a person, connected by an equlally thick chest high wall in the center. It appears to be a barricade, suspended above a manufactured shaft so massive that the depths are invisible. This place captures the feeling for me. I always feel it when I'm there. For the first time in the game, the mysterious purpose of the edifice around you seems to be revealed by inference. It is such a purposeful use of the space, yet is almost an afterthought in its nature as a defensive position. The implications are massive: what civilization could be so advanced to build such a thing as the ring, only to build it with consideration to the needs of fighting an physical, defensive battle of survival? What could they have been expecting to fight? The room cant tell you, and the people who could died before the beginning of history. All it gives you is the cryptic whispers of the tunnel wind, and the humming of ancient machines.

[@Nikos.]

That place is incredibly liminal

[@theia1653]

An unsettling feature that hardly anyone noticed or knew the relationship of and only the Forerunner would know what it was for.

[@ViktoriousDead]

You captured the essence of CE so perfectly. Played it since the beginning when I was a kid and it was always so awesome, but kinda eerie, during silent sections.

[@Antidragon-nl7by]

I remember playing the game for the first time during a sleepover with a friend during middle school. If I could summarize the experience in one word... it would be _grand._ The vastness, the almost poetic melding of nature and technology, the omnipresent yet unexplained history of the place, and _especially_ the music all gave us something that we'd never seen before; a video game that was almost poetic in its narrative. I still feel a pang of nostalgia whenever I hear the iconic chant from the very start.

[@Doggieman1111]

Amazing retrospective, thank you for creating this

[@guydunn8259]

Spectacular video. I live for stuff like this. I sometimes lack the expressiveness to explain what made something so significant, often getting lost in my own memories and rambling about it. This is like one of those memories played like a hologram thank you!

[@Nikos.]

Thanks! It took me a minute to learn how to describe it, glad you enjoyed it!

[@BladeOpotato]

This was such a great subject for a video! Loved the creepy vibe Halo CE gives off, and you talked about it perfectly. In 343 Guilty Spark, you can get yourself glitched onto the hills, and the creepiness factor is entirely engulfed on those hills, so much so, you can find a lone marine standing in the middle of a field by himself. Creeped me out so much when I was a kid

[@droptop4307]

This was beautiful, need more content like this Fs! Do a video on half-life, retrospective focused on the level design and atmosphere

[@camschuster5947]

Man, such an awesome video, you are making want to a sick day from work to play CE start to finish.

[@wyattmartin9739]

I wish I was alive during the peak of these games but man I’ll tell you what there is literally no game in my opinion that can share the same atmospheric, lifeless, mysterious, ambient, want to know more kinda feeling that you get from Halo Combat Evolved. Not even Halo 2 or 3 can replicate it. The 3 original Halo games are my favorite video games ever and will continue to be for the rest of my life. Great video and keep up the good work.👍👌

[@loudneiv4653]

You should definitely try any of the old Tomb Raider games. Maps in those games embody the very concept of liminal spaces

[@maightoguy]

This ☝

[@mansharker8]

I agree that older 3D games had a bit of a creepy vibe to them, such as Mario 64 having every level being a platform in an endless void..... and so many games being based on going from only a central hub, it gave an unnerving air of claustrophobia to me.

[@Crabbadabba]

It’s the pre-uncanny valley area. It’s still quite uncanny and strange to the eye.

[@TheBoyEddie]

This was wildly well done, great work man

[@liontherion1755]

Man im with you on liminal spaces, Love how it makes you feel and also how aesthetic it looks like the 80s etc. Love the video!

[@ORLY911]

i also quite liked the abandoned areas on earth for the multiplayer maps in Halo 2/3. They felt lived in but quickly abandoned, while you can hear battle sounds far in the distance, making the player feel very far and away from things, isolated (mostly Halo 2 here).

[@soniaserval454]

Interestly enough, I think Halo Reach is also very good at this.

[@stylintylin77]

I'm so glad youtube recommended me your channel. I watch A LOT of youtube this video was breath of fresh air. Fantastic video.

[@AmarbirKaler]

11:46 I’m glad you had included this message “ drop ship victor 9er… we are under attack by some covenant???… captain Keyes a has been captured…” never something I would have noticed through my play through. This was a very well made video that makes me want to go back and listen and be cautious of whatever I hear regarding the halo lore. Very interesting catch keep up the good work!!