BRUTE A LORE

Halo Wars 2’ s story takes place 28 years after the original, with the crew of the UNSC having awoken from cryosleep to find a distress signal. This leads them into conflict with Atriox, leader of a splinter group of Brutes named the Banished, which has separated from the Covenant. Atriox himself is introduced in a terrific, lavish CGI sequence from Blur Studio. However, having established a new and imposing foe, the plot has him disappear for much of the game. And although the climactic encounter reaches a fitting crescendo, an abrupt ending makes this feel like another Halo story more concerned with setting up future entries than reaching a satisfying conclusion of its own. Still, we’d welcome Atriox’s return in the inevitable Halo 6.