We all can agree that Halo is, quite possibly, the biggest name in the entirety of sci-fi gaming and is instantly recognizable to gamers. Whether you’re someone who grew up with the iconic Halo 3 LAN parties or started a bit late with 343’s entries, it can’t be denied that the franchise brings an incredible single-player experience.
Over the years, we’ve been blessed with a number of iconic Halo games. Sure, some of them might not have hit the mark, but they played a critical role in elevating the franchise. However, what’s truly disappointing is that Halo didn’t follow up on one of its most underrated games: Halo 3: ODST.
Halo 3: ODST deserves a full-blown sequel
Back in 2008, ex-Bungie community and PR director Brian Jarrard and writer Luke Smith sat down with Eurogamer and opened up about Halo 3: Retcon, which later came to be known as Halo 3: ODST. The Bungie employees talked about the studio’s approach to the project and how long it’s been under development.
While talking about the project, Jarrard opened up about the central figures of the game, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST). These elite soldiers in the Halo verse are somewhere between ordinary marines and legendary Spartans such as Master Chief. While they lack augmentations and advanced armor, they make up for their skills in combat.
The ODSTs are the guys who are in between the Master Chief level and the regular marine level. They don’t have the augmentation of a Spartan or the super-reflexes and armour.
The UNSC didn’t just rely on Spartans to fight against the Covenant; they also used ODSTs in crucial battles, who fought in the worst kind of conditions, with no backup. While the game gave us a look at a small-scale experience on Earth, the ODSTs were also deployed on Mars, defending humans from Covenant assaults.
It’s not just Mars; ODSTs were also present on Halo installations 04 and 05, where they had to witness the nightmare of the Flood. These soldiers also had to go through the fall of Reach and were part of the forces that made the last stand against the enemies.
Even though they aren’t super-soldiers, gamers found ODSTs an incredible addition to the lore, which allowed the game to be a success. Microsoft must consider a move like Call of Duty: Black Ops and give the underrated ODST title a full sequel.
We could see ODSTs fighting on other planets and installments. Whether it brings new characters or focuses on old ones, such as Buck, another ODST game could help the franchise regain its lost ground. Let’s hope the developers consider the potential of this sequel.
Is there any new Halo project in the works?
Throughout 2024, we constantly heard rumors suggesting that 343 Industries might be working on a Combat Evolved remake. These rumors were confirmed when the studio rebranded itself to Halo Studios and revealed that its next game will be completely built in Unreal Engine 5.
Since then, all the rumors have continued to grow, and there’s a chance that the remake could also be released on PlayStation 5 consoles right alongside Xbox. It’s supposed to begin a series of remakes of the beloved original trilogy.
However, Microsoft still hasn’t made any official announcements on what the next mainline game in the franchise could be or when it might be released. There’s a chance that Halo 7 could be in development as a sequel to Infinite.
With that said, do you think Halo 3: ODST deserves a sequel? Let us know in the comments below.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
