The Halo series is not only one of the most important shooter franchises of all time, but it’s also the only one that managed to save an entire platform. The original Xbox launched with lackluster exclusives, like Blinx: The Time Sweeper and Fuzion Frenzy, that wouldn’t have given players much of a reason to pick the console up — if it weren’t for Halo: Combat Evolved. The original game spawned countless books, toys, television series, and, of course, sequels.
Nowadays, most of the Halo games — not counting the spinoffs — can be found in an optimized form on the Master Chief Collection. For this list, however, we’re judging them as they were when they first launched, and we’re not counting re-releases like Halo: CE Anniversary or Halo 2 Anniversary as distinct entries.
With 13 different games split across multiple genres, there’s a whole world of games to (re-)experience now that Halo Infinite has launched. Here are all the Halo games ranked from best to worst to help you decide which games to play and which to avoid like a plague of Flood.
Further reading
Editors’ Recommendations
