There was something special about the original entry into the Halo universe: Halo: Combat Evolved.

I’m a nostalgic person by nature, so it’s no surprise that I look back on games that I played in my childhood such as Halo with a certain level of fondness.

But even beyond nostalgia, I’m still drawn to the first Halo game even now. Periodically I’ll open the Master Chief Collection and replay the original Halo campaign which still entertains me to this day.

Even for games that I used to love, most of them simply don’t demand my attention in the same way that Combat Evolved did and still does.

The question is why?

What was it about Halo that stuck with me and a generation of gamers for so long?

The answer is that there are lots of reasons. For its time, Halo had a compelling story, engaging gameplay, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack and much, much more.

But there’s one thing in particular that recently caught my attention that separates the original entry into the Halo universe from the sequels that inevitably followed. It might be a small detail, but it helped give the original Halo game character that set it apart from other games of its era.

It would be easy to point the finger at 343 Industry’s foray into Master Chief’s story with Halo 4 and Halo 5 as being the problem, but the truth is that even Bungie, back in its heyday, ruined a good thing long before 343 came around.

The thing that Combat Evolved got right was simplicity and minimalism, particularly with the weapons.

When you take a look at many of the weapons in the original Halo, they have a glossy shine with minimal details.

Just take a look at the original shotgun design. It’s a sleek stainless steel beauty that looks more ornamental than tactical.

It didn’t look realistic, and that’s what made it unique and memorable.

The same can be said for the pistol and sniper rifle in particular. The original designs were beautiful and matched the vibrant aesthetic of the Halo universe. Only the essential aspects of the weapons were present. Everything else was stripped away.

But when the weapon redesigns started coming through, the beautiful simplicity of the original designs was discarded in favor of more detailed weapons. These redesigns did look good…if they would have been placed in another game instead of Halo.

The new redesigns did look slightly more realistic, but that’s precisely what took away from the epic character that made Combat Evolved so memorable and refreshing.

With each sequel it felt like the makers of Halo had a sudden urge to make everything more detailed and tactical. This inevitably made the Halo games feel more like Call of Duty than the classic game that gave the series life.

Halo was never about realism. The story of Master Chief and Cortana was a space opera plain and simple. It thrived on a grandiose tale, heroic themes, and epic musical cues.