Original Halo Art Director Slams Remake's Ring Design

Marcus Lehto, the art director behind the original Halo: Combat Evolved and its two direct sequels, has criticized the look of the new Halo: Campaign Evolved remake, particularly its depiction of the iconic Halo rings. Lehto, often called the "father of Master Chief, shared his concerns on X, comparing images of the rings from the original game to those in the new Unreal Engine 5 remake. "While Forerunner tech was metal (not stone) it was also ancient, vast, alive, and a tomb to the horrors that lurked within, Lehto wrote.

"It had seen hundreds of millennia of conflict. Yet the [new] game shows it as shiny metal that looks like it was built a few years ago. He singled out the main menu ring as particularly problematic: "The main menu ring is the most offensive thing we see every time we boot up the game.

It should feel massive, dark, mysterious, sinister, but also full of wonder. This new ring looks like a shiny new toy—out of scale, no mystery, damn ugly. In response to a now-deleted post, Lehto also noted the structural toll that "war, Flood outbreaks, repairs, [and] collisions" would take on the ring.

"Also, the biggest issue is just with [the] pure scale of the design. It lacks all the micro detail that should give it the epic scale it deserves. Lastly, it needs to feel like an ancient tomb.

The criticism appears to contrast with comments Lehto made in 2025, when he said "the game looks and feels genuine" and described it as "gorgeous in a way I wish we could have built it originally back in 2001. Despite his gripes about the halos, Lehto seems to be enjoying the remake overall. "Overall, I really love the upgrades—movement, cinematics, visuals—damn the lighting is brilliant, he wrote on August 4. "Do I have gripes? A few, but they are taking a back seat to the fun.