“Halo: Reach” (2010) & The Art Of The Doomed Narrative

2010’s “Halo: Reach,” developed by Bungie and published by Xbox Game Studios, is a first-person shooter and spin-off in the “Halo” franchise, notable for being Bungie’s last work on the series before moving on to “Destiny” (2014). The game’s story is a prequel, set before the first game in the series, 2001’s “Halo: Combat Evolved,” and set during the invasion of the planet Reach. Notably, the game’s campaign puts players on the front lines of Reach during its fall, placing them in a losing battle.

“Halo: Reach” makes no attempt to obscure its ending from the player. As the opening cinematic settles on a shot of the player character’s helmet, damaged and discarded, it becomes painfully clear that the stories of Noble Team and Reach will end in death and defeat, setting the stage for a doomed narrative.

The game permeates its narrative with the miasma of a losing battle, using dashes of false hope and an inherently interactive structure, combined with the overarching themes of the “Halo” series, in order to make the ending hit the player just as hard as the character. In “Halo: Reach,” the only end for both is defeat.

Setting The Stage For A Doomed Battle

The “Halo” franchise centers on the Human-Covenant War, a massive interstellar conflict putting the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) against a theocratic hegemony called the Covenant, which believes that the destruction of the human species is the will of their gods. While the main entries in the series place the player into the shoes of the Master Chief, an augmented Spartan super soldier, “Halo: Reach” casts players as Noble Six, a different Spartan super soldier, joining as the newest member of Noble Team following the death of a prior teammate in battle.

The player’s teammates include Carter, acting as Noble Team’s leader, Kat, Noble Team’s strategist, Jun, serving as the group’s sniper, Emile, the assault specialist of the group, and Jorge, the heavy weapons specialist of Noble Team. Both Reach and the Fall of Reach are pre-existing concepts within the larger “Halo” franchise. “Halo: Combat Evolved” has its first mission take place on the Pillar of Autumn, a UNSC cruiser that just escaped Reach weeks before the start of “Halo: Combat Evolved’s” story.¹

The first “Halo” novel, 2001’s “Halo: The Fall Of Reach,” written by Eric Nylund, establishes Reach as a major military stronghold and among the most important colonies within the UNSC, second only to Earth, before depicting its fall in the final chapters of the book.² These concepts are key elements of the larger “Halo” series, with its fall being one of the earliest stories told in the series.

“Halo: Reach” assumes that the player already knows what will happen to Reach and Noble Team, as the reveal trailer’s tagline, “from the beginning, you know the end,”³ and the opening cutscene, depicting Reach barren and destroyed before resting on a shot of Noble Six’s damaged helmet front and center,⁴ announce the intention of the game clearly. “Halo: Reach” has only just started, and yet it’s already lost. These pieces of information are how the game chooses to make its first impression upon the player.

Waging A Losing Battle — How “Halo: Reach” Redefines Failure

The first proper level of “Halo: Reach,” “Winter Contingency,” sees Noble Team investigate communications discrepancies, expecting to face off against insurrectionists. Instead, they discover that the Covenant is now on Reach, which means the planet will soon be their next target for destruction.

The earlier missions of “Halo: Reach’s” campaign, while dire, uphold the idea that the battle for Reach can still be won. “ONI: Sword Base,” the following level, sees the player and their allies retake the military base the mission is named for.

“Tip of the Spear” sees a large-scale UNSC operation to neutralize a Covenant tower housing a teleporter. Though these battles are fraught with peril and danger, victory seems obtainable in these missions. It may be a costly, hard-fought victory, but a victory nevertheless.⁵

“Halo: Reach’s” story takes a turn in the mission “Long Night of Solace,” where Noble Six and Jorge board a Covenant warship while it refuels with a supercarrier in space in order to use a faster-than-light (FTL) drive as a bomb. But the plan goes awry, forcing either Noble Six or Jorge to stay behind and activate the drive manually, ensuring certain death for whoever triggers the detonation.

Jorge volunteers, throwing Noble Six off the ship while he sets off the drive, giving his life but destroying both the warship and the supercarrier in the process. But the hope from the victory is short-lived, as a Covenant fleet uses FTL travel to emerge just above Reach, and it becomes very clear that Jorge’s sacrifice was for nothing.

Instead of taking part in large-scale military offensive operations to push back against the Covenant, the next level, “Exodus,” puts Noble Six on the defensive, escorting civilians to evacuation transports. The background of “New Alexandria” depicts Covenant ships glassing Reach — bombarding the planet with plasma. As the remaining members of Noble Team escape one of these bombardments, Kat is picked off by a sniper, falling dead instantly. This pair of missions highlights the desperation felt by the UNSC during the Fall of Reach, as well as the extent of their defeat.

Even when Noble Team returns to Sword Base in the mission “The Package,” it’s to destroy the facility after it has fallen to the Covenant, before being revealed that the remaining members of Noble Team have been entrusted by the A.I. Cortana to escort a fragment of her to the Pillar of Autumn, and by extension, off the planet. Jun is sent to escort Dr. Halsey, a lead scientist within the UNSC and the Office of Naval Intelligence, to a secure location, leaving only Carter, Emile, and Noble Six to escort the Cortana fragment in the penultimate level, “The Pillar Of Autumn.”

Noble Six succeeds in delivering Cortana to the eponymous ship, but doing so costs the lives of Carter and Emile. As Covenant airships attack the Pillar of Autumn, Noble Six makes the choice to stay behind and destroy the ships, ensuring both Cortana’s and the Pillar of Autumn’s escape and leaving them with no means of escape.⁶

One of the core themes of “Halo” has always been the idea of the indomitable human spirit, holding out long enough in order to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. The original “Halo” trilogy, as well as “Halo: Reach,” all take place in the last year of the Human-Covenant War, after humanity has already been beaten and battered by the Covenant for just shy of thirty years. Humanity has had its back against the wall, and though it endures great losses, it ultimately emerges from the war as the victor.⁷

“Halo: Reach’s” story uses this theme, but flips it on its head. Its story is one where human defiance and a will to survive are not enough to win, because the story is built upon the back of failure and a foregone conclusion. The desperation of the UNSC and the looming threat of extinction at the hands of the Covenant are on full display within the game’s narrative, which makes the inevitability of its ending stand out even more.

Missions such as “Long Night of Solace” demonstrate the ingenuity of the UNSC and their drive for victory, but it rips away any hope gained from the destruction of one Covenant supercarrier by showing dozens more taking its place. At this point, the player is cruelly reminded that Reach will fall, most of Noble Team will die, and they cannot stop it.⁸

At the end of “New Alexandria,” once Noble Six has reunited with the remaining members of Noble Team, a cutscene plays. Jun asks Carter if it’s true that other Spartan teams are being reassigned to civilian evacuation, revealing he overheard the information from Kat.

When Carter questions how Kat heard about this, she asks why Spartans are being put onto defensive deployments, while also pointing out that Carter dodged the question. Carter reads between the lines and asks if Kat wants to know if the UNSC is losing, to which she responds:⁹

“I know we’re losing! I want to know if we’ve lost.”¹⁰

“Halo: Reach” puts the player on the losing end of the Human-Covenant War, a fact which the characters themselves come to realize, as well as realizing that there is no escape. Failure is the only option, but that failure is truly and finally cemented in “Reach’s” final act.

“Noble Six’s Last Stand” — The Limits Of Willpower

The final mission of “Halo: Reach’s” story, titled “Lone Wolf,” is set moments after Noble Six has helped the Pillar of Autumn escape Reach. A brief cutscene plays, depicting Noble Six looking upon the horizon as Covenant forces approach their position. The player is given control of Noble Six one last time, along with the only objective being to “survive.”¹¹

Noble Six is thrown into battle against an armada of Covenant forces in a sequence that is impossible to win. No matter how long Noble Six holds out for, or how good the player is at the game, “Lone Wolf” is designed in such a way that the game will not grant the player any kind of victory. The enemies eventually become too great in number and too overwhelming, resulting in the death of the player. There is no last-second rescue, nor is there any refuge from the combat. Defeat is the only option.¹²

Noble Six’s final moments play out in a cutscene, as Covenant Elites overwhelm the Spartan and kill them. The final shot of the mission uses the same image as the opening cinematic, resting on a shot of Noble Six’s damaged and discarded helmet. Though an epilogue set decades after the events of “Halo: Reach” shows the planet recovering, Noble Six’s helmet remains, cementing the fact that Reach did fall in the waning days of the Human-Covenant War.¹³

The hopefulness of Reach’s recovery aside, “Lone Wolf” is a testament to how much “Halo: Reach” differs from the original “Halo” trilogy. The indomitable human spirit defines Master Chief’s journey within the first three “Halo” titles, but “Reach” defies this. Noble Six is still a Spartan super soldier, one of the strongest tools in the UNSC’s arsenal. If this were any of Bungie’s other “Halo” games, then Noble Six and their incredible resolve would guide them to victory against impossible odds.

But “Halo: Reach” is not one of Bungie’s other “Halo” games. It knows it is a tragedy, and its ending does not try to fight against its nature as one. For as much strength and willpower Noble Six has, despite all of their skill and guile, they are only one soldier against an endless onslaught. The resolve of the human spirit isn’t enough this time.

“Lone Wolf” serves as a brilliant bookend to “Halo: Reach’s” campaign by realizing the premise of its story to its logical extreme. If “Halo: Reach” establishes that the stories of Noble Team will end in death, then it only makes sense that the player’s character is not exempt from this fate. Though Noble Six’s last stand embodies the core theme of “Halo,” the insurmountable will of survival, it isn’t enough to win their survival. The UNSC’s defeat on Reach is inevitable, as is Noble Six’s death, and there is nothing the player can do to change either of those facts.

How “Halo: Reach” Makes The Player Feel Defeat

The “Halo” series has always featured the customization of player avatars in multiplayer game modes, as a way for players to personalize their own Spartans in online games. “Halo: Reach” is the first time that customization extends into the single-player campaign mode of the game. As such, the player is offered an unprecedented level of cosmetic customization over Noble Six in the campaign. Six’s armor and gender are up to the player’s choice, which in turn allows for the player to create their own personalized version of Noble Six.¹⁴

Six isn’t given as defined as a personality compared to the other members of Noble Team, making their character a blank slate for the player. While expanded universe material gives backstory to the other members of Noble Team, Six’s background is largely unexplored, save for Noble Six having been an assassin and test pilot prior to being assigned to Noble Team. As such, Noble Six acts as a conduit for the player to insert themselves into the story of “Halo: Reach,” effectively serving as a self-insert for the player’s journey throughout the Fall of Reach. They are a shell for the player to inhabit throughout “Halo: Reach.”¹⁵

This allows the tragedy of “Halo: Reach” to fully take advantage of the inherent interactivity of the video game medium as well as Noble Six’s nature as a player-insert. As opposed to a film or a novel, a video game forces the viewer to take an active role within the narrative. The trials and tribulations of the characters become the trials and tribulations of the player, deepening their investment in the story and the characters.

Noble Six first meets Noble Team when the player does. These characters, then, are more than allied NPCs across “Reach’s” campaign. They’re the player’s team and comrades. They struggled alongside the player and saw victories alongside them as well. But these elements change when the player knows from the beginning that the story will end in the death of their character.

The Weight Of Inevitability & Foreknown Failure

As the Fall of Reach is an element of the “Halo” story that has been referenced before “Halo: Reach,” the player knows that their attempts to save Reach from falling to the Covenant will fail. They know that Reach will fall, and though they can try to stop it, their efforts will be futile. The losses and failures inevitably hit harder, then, because the player has been fighting alongside these characters up to their deaths.

When a member of Noble Team dies, it is more than the death of an allied NPC. It is the death of a companion whom the player has fought beside up to that point. The game’s mood following Jorge’s death darkens significantly. His sacrifice should have been the sliver of hope needed to successfully defend Reach, but the arrival of the Covenant fleet mere moments after he gave his life rips away that hope.

Jorge’s death, and his sacrifice being for nothing, reinforces the feeling of defeat that “Halo: Reach” basks in by reminding the player that they and their allies will be dead by the end of the game. When Noble Six reunites with the team after “New Alexandria,” Carter said of Jorge, “He gave his life thinking he just saved the planet. We should all be so lucky.” Jorge’s death doesn’t just cast a shadow over the player, but also over the rest of Noble Team.¹⁶

The missions the player undertakes emphasize this fact. Though Spartans are some of the UNSC’s most valuable offensive assets, “Exodus” and “New Alexandria” see Noble Six on defensive deployments, which Kat calls out as a surefire sign that the UNSC is losing on Reach before being killed by a sniper. In “Pillar of Autumn,” Noble Six and Emile only reach their objective because Carter gives his life to clear a path for the pair. Emile is stabbed in the back by an Elite while trying to clear an escape for the ship, but not without taking his killer with him. “Halo: Reach” ends with Noble Six’s death, fighting against impossible odds.¹⁷

Even armed with the knowledge that humanity will emerge from the Human-Covenant War victorious, the tragedy of “Halo: Reach” is not lessened. It only intensifies under the crushing inevitability of the game’s ending, as well as the deaths of Noble Team throughout. Not only is the player unable to prevent Reach from falling, but they also watch as characters they have fought and struggled alongside die one by one, until they are the last member of their team, and their own death is a guarantee.

However, “Halo: Reach” avoids making the sacrifices of Noble Team meaningless. Reach may be destined to fall, and Noble Team may be destined to die, but neither of those facts means the UNSC is forced to take it lying down. The UNSC fights to the bitter end, pushing back against forces that seek to annihilate them.

Noble Six may be fated to die no matter what the player does, but they fight to the last moment and force the Covenant to earn Noble Six’s death. Defeat may be an inevitable part of “Halo: Reach,” but the actions of Noble Team throughout prove that defiance is a powerful tool in the face of defeat. Reach may have fallen, but the small victories of Noble Team aren’t negated by their loss. Their resilience may not have been enough to survive, but it was enough to make sure their actions mattered.

“Halo Reach” (2010) — Resilience In A Doomed Narrative

“Halo: Reach” embraces its doomed narrative and uses it as an advantage, outright telling the player how their story will end. By establishing the inevitability of Noble Six’s death and Reach’s fall at the outset, “Halo: Reach” uses these expectations to tell a tragedy where, despite the best efforts of Noble Team, the Covenant will utterly decimate Reach. Nothing can be done to save Reach.

But “Halo: Reach” does not find nihilism in its tragedy. The indomitable human spirit, present in so many other stories set in the “Halo” universe, is a core element of the game’s narrative. Even in the face of defeat, the UNSC is defiant until the end, putting up a fight as they have for the entirety of the war beforehand. Noble Six’s death is a certainty, but in “Lone Wolf,” they go down fighting. Though the player is faced with insurmountable odds and certain failure, the only option is to fight to the bitter end.

Yet in spite of certain failures, the sacrifices of Noble Team throughout the campaign are what ultimately pave the way for humanity’s survival. Noble Six ensures that the fragment of Cortana makes it aboard the Pillar of Autumn,¹⁸ allowing the A.I. to work alongside Master Chief in the main entries of the original “Halo” trilogy, where the player can control Master Chief and ensure victory for humanity at the end of the war.¹⁹ Noble Six may not have been the hero who saved Reach or the UNSC, but their actions ultimately paved the way for the UNSC to overcome the Covenant.²⁰

The final cutscene, set almost forty years after the events of the game’s story, shows Noble Six’s destroyed helmet atop a grassy plain on a recovering Reach. Dr. Halsey narrates over this image,²¹

“It didn’t take long for Reach to fall. Our enemy was ruthless. Efficient. But they weren’t nearly fast enough. For you had already passed the torch. And because of you, we found Halo, unlocked its secrets, shattered our enemy’s resolve. Our victory — your victory — was so close… I wish you could have lived to see it. But you belong to Reach. Your body, your armor — all burned and turned to glass. Everything…except your courage. That, you gave to us. And with it, we can rebuild.”²²

“Halo: Reach’s” narrative may be a tragedy, but it is not devoid of hope.

The sacrifices the player makes and undergoes throughout the story serve a purpose, ultimately guiding humanity to survival. Even in defeat, the power of resilience shines through, fueled by the flames of sacrifice. The player may endure defeat in this doomed narrative, ending with the death of their own character, but their tragedy is far from meaningless.

Footnotes

1. “Halo: Combat Evolved.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2001. Xbox. ↩︎
2. Nylund, Eric. “Halo: The Fall of Reach.” Del Rey Books. 2001 ↩︎
3. Halo: Reach E3 2009 Teaser Trailer. YouTube, uploaded by Bungie. 12 Dec. 2009. ↩︎
4. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
5. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
6. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
7. “Halo 3.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2007. Xbox 360. ↩︎
8. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
9. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
10. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
11. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
12. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
13. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
14. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
15. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
16. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
17. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
18. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
19. “Halo 3.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2007. Xbox 360. ↩︎
20. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
21. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎
22. “Halo: Reach.” Developed by Bungie. Published by Xbox Game Studios. 2010. Xbox 360. ↩︎