Replaying Halo: The Master Chief Collection has become my annual tradition, and co-op makes the classics hit as hard as they did 15 years ago

Over the years, Halo has become a massive part of my life. Like many, I grew up with the franchise and have distinct memories of staying up later than I'd like to admit, playing multiplayer with my friends, or trying our best to beat any given level on Legendary with them. As I've gotten older and much of my life has changed, one thing has remained the same: staying up unreasonably late to play through the Halo campaign with my buddies. This is largely thanks to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, developed by Halo Studios.

Lots of people have yearly traditions that they look forward to. Sometimes it can be as simple: a birthday, an anniversary, or getting together to watch a season opener for your favorite sports team. I'm no different in this regard, too, but instead of getting together to yell at Matthew Stafford on the Los Angeles Rams in his opening game, my friends and I instead yell at one another while trying to complete the entire Master Chief Collection on Legendary.

As one might imagine, this is no easy task because some of the best Halo games are significantly harder than others (I'm looking at you, Halo 2). Still, the hardest thing about all of this is scheduling time to do so. If getting older has taught me one thing, it's that getting any group of adults together is a task all on its own. Yet we always manage to dedicate some time out of the year to run through everything The Master Chief Collection has to offer.

Back in the fight

Halo, in a lot of ways, is timeless. When the series originally came out, it was during a very formative time in our young lives. It showed us what console gaming can be, and how good storytelling can stay with you for years. In many ways, replaying this with friends is a lot like rewatching your favorite movie with someone who enjoys it as much as you do. Even though you know exactly how it ends and what twists and turns are waiting for you, they still hit as hard as they initially did the first time you played it.

Every time we embark on this yearly tradition, it's usually done in chronological order. The opening of Halo Reach sets the tone for what's to be expected. It's an emotional journey that captivates us all the way to Halo 4. By the time we get to the end of Reach, we're usually emotional wrecks, having witnessed some of our favorite characters in the series die one by one. But despite the emotional damage, the ending is always the best part of the game for us because it always becomes a challenge to see which one of us will survive the longest.

The challenges don't end there. As we make our way through the games, almost like clockwork, we always fall into these role-play situations where we pretend to be in the UNSC fighting whatever the Covenant or Flood is throwing at us. Because of this, it makes it significantly funnier whenever one of us is shot in the head by a Jackal or beaten to death by a Brute. Most of these deaths are followed by a salt in the wound quip – funny for those of us who see the calamity from a safe distance, at least.

But nothing will bond you and your friends quicker than dying repeatedly to a Brute Chieftain with a Gravity Hammer, or a white armored elite chasing you down with an Energy Sword on Installation 04. Jokes about dying stop being funny, and now you all have a common enemy whom you all equally hate and want to see dead. Finally seeing them bite the dust is a feeling that never gets old.

Halo naturally has a lot of fantastic over-the-top moments that are only elevated when playing with a friend. Nothing will make you feel more like an action hero than blowing up a bridge with your buddies to stop the Covenant from closing in on you in Halo: ODST, or by outrunning an exploding planet like you do at the end of both Halo Combat Evolved and Halo 3. Some of these sequences feel impossible – but so is trying not to grin when Forward Unto Dawn plays out.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has a lot to offer. Each story has its own unique identity that makes the games well worth playing at least once. The Halo series is a giant space opera, and there are a lot of little things to get attached to. Despite knowing that Sergeant Johnson is going to die at the end of Halo 3, it still hits all of us like a truck when it inevitably happens. I have just as much fun playing through these games now as an adult as I did when I was a child when they first came out. Playing through the entire collection with my friend group is something we look forward to doing every year, and we've already made early plans to do it again in 2026. If you haven't had the pleasure of going through The Master Chief Collection with your friends, it's something I'd highly recommend – you'll be in for one hell of a time.

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