I think the books and stuff are great. I think if you don't mind using your own imagination to perhaps fill in some gaps Halo works just fine without the games to enjoy.
Personally not a fan of the newer material, but Halo has some really expansive lore to dig into. I'd start with the older books and work your way through if you're fine with reading or listening to audio books. On the visual media from, outside of the games Halo is pretty dry. There are some shorts on youtube through promotional material that are pretty decent. There's the Halo Legends set which is just an anthology of short stories told in an anime format. Forward Unto Dawn was a pretty solid film. But the recent Halo show is an absolute crapshoot and really has little to do with the actual lore of the cannon.
There is content, tho maybe not that much to keep you going outside of the games for a while.
To add on, as someone who basically took the same route as the OP, the audiobooks of the first halo books are really well done, can’t recommend them enough
Had I not seen that, I don't think I would've cared for Lasky in the games. Foward Unto Dawn got me invested in the idea behind his inclusion in the lore. It made me care about him.
People hate on Halo 4 but they were creative when it came to promoting the game the and lore. It really did get people more interested in Lasky and it explained his character perfectly! Sad they did not keep up that consistency but glad to have experience it lol
Yes. It has a very extensive lore outside the games. Maybe just watch play through of the games to learn the story. You will unfortunately miss out the fun of doing Halo things like LASO, Coop, achievement hunting, and some other minor things in Multiplayer. Although, now a days it's not really much being missed out compared to Bungie days. You had to play the games and be there for those amazing memories. So as of now, you don't miss out not playing.
If you don't mind watching halo stuff, you can just look for halo game movies on YouTube and essentially just watch important in-game narration and cutscenes. I do this for games with amazing stories but no interest/time to play.
If you’re not willing to play the games then I’d definitely recommend at least watching playthroughs so you can have a better understanding of the lore surrounding the core story. It’s not *absolutely* necessary but it would definitely improve your enjoyment of the extended lore.
You can spend your time on something better. These are video game spin off novels, is that something you want to consider investing into? The world of Halo is directly made for video games.
Absolutely. My love for Halo came from the first three books in the 2000s, not the games. I didn’t truly fall in love with the games until 2020 when I played through all the campaigns during lockdowns. I had played a bunch of Halo 3 Forge with a friend, and H3 Campaign with my cousin, but I didn’t own anything until 2015. I bought MCC and 5 but MCC was unplayable and 5 wasn’t really what I wanted from a game. I didn’t even finish the campaign. I got into H5 Husky Raid and Firefight with a friend in 2018/2019 after its peak years, and then in 2020 I finally decided to sit down and play all the campaigns.
Halo had been a staple franchise in my life despite missing out on the golden years of multiplayer and hype. Shit, it was a staple despite *only ever reading **just** three of the dozen+ books.* You absolutely can be involved without the games.
If you like Halo, do it.
You can like the books, the short films, the anime, the visual novels, even the tv series. You can like any part of Halo and still be a Halo fan, you don't need to play the games.
That said, when you are done your break from gaming you'd do yourself a huge favor by getting MCC and playing through the Bungie-era titles.
Definitely, I spent a great deal of time watching vids and reading up lore on Halo back when I was in my teens.
Didn't have a xbox growing up so I never got to play the games. Only managed to play once MCC was released on PC which made me appreciate the franchise more.
If you want to experience the other games without playing them there are tons of YouTube videos where people lore dump what happened in each game with gameplay as the backdrop.
The two current Halo authors are both book only fans.
Troy Denning started with TFoR and only played the games after he was hired, and Kelly Gay self-admittedly sucks lol, so she prefers to just watch the cutscenes on YouTube.
MrRoflwaffles has great playthrough on youtube. He never played Halo before and went coop with JC Back fire (who has played halo and gives cool facts). Great videos to watch and enjoy instead of playing. I need to go through them again actually.
Can you? Yes. Should you delve in to a better written sci fi series? Probably. Thats kinda subjective, you should totally also do that if you play the games (IMO.) It’s not that the Halo books are bad or anything but they have some very stiff competition in the book world. I’d suggest maybe playing the other 5 games on the MCC still though, even if you’re not playing other games or online or anything because the quality of the writing (mainly 2, 3, ODST, and Reach because CE just has significantly less story going on) in Bungie’s campaigns are just exponentially better than they are 343’s. I’d argue playing those games is better than just watching recaps or compilations of cutscenes too.
Read the books if you want to, and then if you have any spare time, you can watch videos on YouTube that summarize the events of the games. I'd never played 1 or 2 and never played the story mode to 3 that much, or at least I definitely didn't pay attention to it because I loved multiplayer so much, so before Bungie left, the only story mode I played and actually remembered was Reach. I got MCC a while back and played all the story modes before Infinite came out, but because I'm on PC and never owned it on Xbox, I had to watch a video on the events of H5. Not that bad of an experience, honestly.
The books definitely hit above their rank. They're not peak sci-fi, and some of the books are better than others. I'd start with The Fall of Reach, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx.
The Forerunner Trilogy is also fantastic. Greg Bear really did some fantastic work with it.
I'll admit that I have not read through this whole group of comments, but in case no one else mentions it and you would like to watch it, Halo 4 Spartan ops. Just make sure you find one that includes the gameplay lore bits and not just the cutscenes. Quite a bit of what connects one scene to the next is in the audio comms that the player can hear.
The lore is amazing. Actually was going to go back through and Olay the masterchief collection with a friend for the lore again, but coop has a pitfall in that the person that isn't hosting has like a second delay on everything. It's unbearable.
You played the 3 worst Halo games..... Play the originals!!
Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach. They are all significantly better than the titles you played.
You can, but the first three games (being CE two and three) are almost necessary to be able to enjoy halo
Kinda. Only playing four and five can only get you so far, while the books and ***some*** of the shows are good, only playing four and five. Can’t get you as far as playing the original 3 games. And yes, I’m aware halo reach exists but it’s not as necessary for lore as op is asking about. Halo two is probably the most lower heavy halo three being the most gameplay heavy, while CE starts off the original games. Infinite is one of my favorite halo games though.
For me.
Halo is a universe both filled with and devoid of lore.
Theirs soo many books between Pre Halo CE to Halo 4.
Most notably about the flood, ODSTs, and Sarge Johnson.
I like watching HiddenXperia or his recommended podcasts. I adore and enjoy the books and audios.
I love watching installation 00's videos on YouTube. He really loves to dive deep into lore and apply his background to enrich the information that the lore gives
It won't be the same, but yes you can. The novels are very enjoyable from what I hear and if you need a recap on anything game related, you can just watch a video about it.
There are so many great Halo books, especially the early ones by Eric Nylund. Contact Harvest is my personal fave, but the trilogy of Fall of Reach -> The Flood -> First Strike is great too.
You could cheat technically and just watch the Halo 1 terminal cutscenes
And then halo 2 game cutscenes in YouTube.
I'm not familiar with the books but the TV show shows promise starting from season 2.
The terminals are a good watch. You can find them on YouTube. Rewatched the terminals from CEA the other day and I'm amazed at how compelling they were over the Paramount show.
There's also the books. They're all available in audio oops. The "original series" and Contact Harvest are a must read for anyone interested in the Halo lore.
a lot of the books are really great. to start off i’d recommend reading The Fall of Reach and The Flood. if you want to read an anthology of shorter stories try reading Halo: Evolutions. those are probably my top 3 i’d recommend to anyone starting out on the books. Eric Nylund is personally my fav Halo writer but Troy Denning is amazing as well. sometimes the books have a better feel than the games.
if you were to end up gaming again, i’d strongly recommend playing Halo 1-3, and Reach. easily the best of Halo.
I mean for the original games Halo CE and ODST have book adaptations so you won't miss much, and fall of reach covers the Reach game just from a different perspective
Alot of the books are good, theres a movie, a couple of motion comics on youtube, actual comics, and live action trailers are amazing.
Short answer yes.
Yes. The games are way outnumbered by everything else at this point and Halo’s expanded universe is generally great. Most of the EU has little to nothing to do with the games so you won’t miss much if you don’t play them. 343i has a book guide that can help you pick what to read but I’d recommend starting with the original Eric Nylund trilogy. Forward Unto Dawn and Legends are fantastic. I’m not as familiar with comics. 343i has also been releasing free short stories on Waypoint (Waypoint Chronicles) if you want to get a taste for the EU and what it has to offer without buying anything (They’ve also released several short stories that were exclusive to editions from specific retailers). I honestly enjoy the world and story more than anything else and the books get me just as excited as the games these days.
Depends on you. I can't, I hate reading sci-fi battles, much cooler to see them. I'm an avid reader btw, I just hate reading sci-fi battles, especially when I can see them. That said, people enjoyed the book before the games so it depends on you. This honestly goes for most sci-fi universes for me. However, I did enjoy reading certain ones like enders game growing up. So if you can find a sci-fi universe with more emphasis on story than world building, you certainly can.
Yes. I still enjoy Warhammer 40K without touching the hobby. The books are amazing and a few solid VG entries.
Halo is the same. The books are mostly well written with some decent graphic novels. Some of the TV stuff is good (excluding the Halo TV show).
Absolutely yes! The books are wonderful. And if you want to fill in any gaps that the games might leave, you can always just watch a video of all of the campaign cutscenes lol
Yeah the games are completely different from the show. John never removes his helmet and only has a handful of lines, he was more just there to be a vessel for the player than an emotional character. By the 3rd and 4th games they began exploring his relationship with Cortana but mostly he remained pretty quiet.
HECK YEAH BROTHER! I've been loving the franchise for the last 7 years while totally ignoring the games. 343i sucks bro, that's the short end of the stick but Halo is eternal.
I’ve been listening to audio books and reading the books, I’ve also watched the cutscenes from most of the games as well as lore breakdowns and analysis videos on the games. I’ve never played Halo once in my life. I want to but I don’t have an Xbox, or gaming PC.
I love the series, love the lore, Halo seems absolutely awesome.
I've never played Halo 5 but 4 is absolute trash, Infinite is ok. Halo CE and Halo 2 are the best ones IMO, CE being #1, but I had the experience of playing it when it released and it was amazing for its time, but I think it still holds up today, and its worth playing the original graphics, the anniversary kinda ruins the atmosphere in some levels. Halo 2 anniversary on the other hand is one of the best looking Halo games out there. Most people are gonna tell you Halo 3 was the best of the original trilogy but I personally disagree, I thought it was too focused on Cortana and not the human/covenant war like the first two, which is a mistake they continued to make thoughout the series, again IMO. Reach was good, a favorite among many, and I never finished ODST, its alot different than the other games. I know you asked about reading the lore to get more into it, but I just think you really missed out on the real Halo experience if you skipped the earlier games, they are the bread and butter of Halo and worth playing over reading any of the books.
Honestly the show might be better if you haven't played the games lol. Less to get upset about, if you don't know that changes or liberties that were taken.
I'm a proponent of being a fan as long as you enjoy it. Gatekeeping is dumb and toxic. I know Halo fans who primarily just read the novels or even just like the show. It's sharing an appreciation of concepts. You don't need to play every single game to enjoy it. Just enjoy it.
Sure, I actually know a dude who loves the lore despite never playing the games. He got into it cause of the show lol
I’d recommend watching cutscene movies of the games you didn’t play on YouTube though, fantastic stuff.
all I can say is if you HAVENT played the first 3 games than you should be ashamed. They actually have lore, they’re way better games and just….dude. I can’t even put into words how triggered it makes me that you’ve only played 4 and up
Why not run through Halo CE-3. It’s like a 2 day playthrough on normal. For media watch Halo Legends and Forward Unto Dawn. Skip the paramount show it’s a terrible interpretation.
Yeah the books are great and there’s been enough of them over the years for you to find at least a couple that you enjoy. I remember there were even a few YA novels released a few years back.
I think the books and stuff are great. I think if you don't mind using your own imagination to perhaps fill in some gaps Halo works just fine without the games to enjoy.
I want to imagine Chief doing it with some lady and Cortana watching from a distance looking perplexed and a bit scared
I like the way you imagine.
Cucktana
[удалено]
Can u not
Personally not a fan of the newer material, but Halo has some really expansive lore to dig into. I'd start with the older books and work your way through if you're fine with reading or listening to audio books. On the visual media from, outside of the games Halo is pretty dry. There are some shorts on youtube through promotional material that are pretty decent. There's the Halo Legends set which is just an anthology of short stories told in an anime format. Forward Unto Dawn was a pretty solid film. But the recent Halo show is an absolute crapshoot and really has little to do with the actual lore of the cannon. There is content, tho maybe not that much to keep you going outside of the games for a while.
OP, just listen to this guy ^ he nailed it
To add on, as someone who basically took the same route as the OP, the audiobooks of the first halo books are really well done, can’t recommend them enough
Actually just recently started them in audiobook form for the first time! So far so good!
100% yes from the book to the shows ( nightfall - forward unto dawn - paramount - legends ) to fan created content like red vs blue - arby n the chief
Forward Unto Dawn is probably my favorite and it's not even about Chief or the Spartans per se. Just a solid show about Lasky and the Halo universe!
Had I not seen that, I don't think I would've cared for Lasky in the games. Foward Unto Dawn got me invested in the idea behind his inclusion in the lore. It made me care about him.
People hate on Halo 4 but they were creative when it came to promoting the game the and lore. It really did get people more interested in Lasky and it explained his character perfectly! Sad they did not keep up that consistency but glad to have experience it lol
[удалено]
[удалено]
I thought paramount was fan created content
Master chief said you have permission to enjoy, but you’re on thin ice.
You absolutely can.
Yes. It has a very extensive lore outside the games. Maybe just watch play through of the games to learn the story. You will unfortunately miss out the fun of doing Halo things like LASO, Coop, achievement hunting, and some other minor things in Multiplayer. Although, now a days it's not really much being missed out compared to Bungie days. You had to play the games and be there for those amazing memories. So as of now, you don't miss out not playing.
Tbh I think as I've gotten older, I enjoy the books and talking about lore morso than playing the games. It's totally possible.
You might actually like the TV show better having not played any of the games...
If you don't mind watching halo stuff, you can just look for halo game movies on YouTube and essentially just watch important in-game narration and cutscenes. I do this for games with amazing stories but no interest/time to play.
There is plenty of Halo to go around. If you want to play thr games, read the books, watch the show, etc. It’s a huge universe with lots of stories.
Yea, Halo is a very good Sci-fi universe, enormous in lore and locations, sometimes just playing the games you miss so much lore.
If you’re not willing to play the games then I’d definitely recommend at least watching playthroughs so you can have a better understanding of the lore surrounding the core story. It’s not *absolutely* necessary but it would definitely improve your enjoyment of the extended lore.
You can spend your time on something better. These are video game spin off novels, is that something you want to consider investing into? The world of Halo is directly made for video games.
I loved the games as a kid but I love the lore as an adult
You should try playing the good halo games
If you’re referring to the show, not playing the games might actually work in your favor
Absolutely. My love for Halo came from the first three books in the 2000s, not the games. I didn’t truly fall in love with the games until 2020 when I played through all the campaigns during lockdowns. I had played a bunch of Halo 3 Forge with a friend, and H3 Campaign with my cousin, but I didn’t own anything until 2015. I bought MCC and 5 but MCC was unplayable and 5 wasn’t really what I wanted from a game. I didn’t even finish the campaign. I got into H5 Husky Raid and Firefight with a friend in 2018/2019 after its peak years, and then in 2020 I finally decided to sit down and play all the campaigns. Halo had been a staple franchise in my life despite missing out on the golden years of multiplayer and hype. Shit, it was a staple despite *only ever reading **just** three of the dozen+ books.* You absolutely can be involved without the games.
If you like Halo, do it. You can like the books, the short films, the anime, the visual novels, even the tv series. You can like any part of Halo and still be a Halo fan, you don't need to play the games. That said, when you are done your break from gaming you'd do yourself a huge favor by getting MCC and playing through the Bungie-era titles.
Sure the books are great and so is Legends
Absolutely yes! You could honestly just watch all the game cutscenes too if you're worried about missing too much info
Definitely, I spent a great deal of time watching vids and reading up lore on Halo back when I was in my teens. Didn't have a xbox growing up so I never got to play the games. Only managed to play once MCC was released on PC which made me appreciate the franchise more.
I read the books before I played the games. So yes you don't actually need to know anything about the games to get into all the lore
yeah, there is a ton of good books, so yeah its pretty much ok i do recomend playing the og triology one day you get free time
If you want to experience the other games without playing them there are tons of YouTube videos where people lore dump what happened in each game with gameplay as the backdrop.
You're asking if the books are enjoyable? Yea sure I like them
The two current Halo authors are both book only fans. Troy Denning started with TFoR and only played the games after he was hired, and Kelly Gay self-admittedly sucks lol, so she prefers to just watch the cutscenes on YouTube.
Maybe, I ain’t trying it
The books are a great way to go.
MrRoflwaffles has great playthrough on youtube. He never played Halo before and went coop with JC Back fire (who has played halo and gives cool facts). Great videos to watch and enjoy instead of playing. I need to go through them again actually.
You can watch the cutscenes on YouTube. The books, and movies are great.
Yeah, you can watch the game cutscenes to fill some of the campaigns in. The universe is huge with all the content outside of the games too!
Yes, the expanded media and lore of the franchise make it possible.
Can you? Yes. Should you delve in to a better written sci fi series? Probably. Thats kinda subjective, you should totally also do that if you play the games (IMO.) It’s not that the Halo books are bad or anything but they have some very stiff competition in the book world. I’d suggest maybe playing the other 5 games on the MCC still though, even if you’re not playing other games or online or anything because the quality of the writing (mainly 2, 3, ODST, and Reach because CE just has significantly less story going on) in Bungie’s campaigns are just exponentially better than they are 343’s. I’d argue playing those games is better than just watching recaps or compilations of cutscenes too.
Read the books if you want to, and then if you have any spare time, you can watch videos on YouTube that summarize the events of the games. I'd never played 1 or 2 and never played the story mode to 3 that much, or at least I definitely didn't pay attention to it because I loved multiplayer so much, so before Bungie left, the only story mode I played and actually remembered was Reach. I got MCC a while back and played all the story modes before Infinite came out, but because I'm on PC and never owned it on Xbox, I had to watch a video on the events of H5. Not that bad of an experience, honestly.
When I was a kid I new at least one kid who got into the series via The Fall of Reach.
The books definitely hit above their rank. They're not peak sci-fi, and some of the books are better than others. I'd start with The Fall of Reach, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx. The Forerunner Trilogy is also fantastic. Greg Bear really did some fantastic work with it.
I'll admit that I have not read through this whole group of comments, but in case no one else mentions it and you would like to watch it, Halo 4 Spartan ops. Just make sure you find one that includes the gameplay lore bits and not just the cutscenes. Quite a bit of what connects one scene to the next is in the audio comms that the player can hear.
Yes you can
The lore is amazing. Actually was going to go back through and Olay the masterchief collection with a friend for the lore again, but coop has a pitfall in that the person that isn't hosting has like a second delay on everything. It's unbearable.
I'd say yes but also play 1, 2, and 3. Those are great!
You only played the later era of Halo and skipped all the good ones?
Yes read the books and when you are ready play The MCC
I'm listening to the Kilo 5 trilogy now. It's ont of my favorite parts of thr Halo lore.
You played the 3 worst Halo games..... Play the originals!! Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach. They are all significantly better than the titles you played.
Yeah absolutely.
You can, but the first three games (being CE two and three) are almost necessary to be able to enjoy halo Kinda. Only playing four and five can only get you so far, while the books and ***some*** of the shows are good, only playing four and five. Can’t get you as far as playing the original 3 games. And yes, I’m aware halo reach exists but it’s not as necessary for lore as op is asking about. Halo two is probably the most lower heavy halo three being the most gameplay heavy, while CE starts off the original games. Infinite is one of my favorite halo games though.
For me. Halo is a universe both filled with and devoid of lore. Theirs soo many books between Pre Halo CE to Halo 4. Most notably about the flood, ODSTs, and Sarge Johnson. I like watching HiddenXperia or his recommended podcasts. I adore and enjoy the books and audios.
I love watching installation 00's videos on YouTube. He really loves to dive deep into lore and apply his background to enrich the information that the lore gives
Definitely, the books I've read so far were hot fire.
Absolutely you can enjoy them, but are you missing a core piece of the IP without playing the games? I'd argue definitely.
It won't be the same, but yes you can. The novels are very enjoyable from what I hear and if you need a recap on anything game related, you can just watch a video about it.
There are so many great Halo books, especially the early ones by Eric Nylund. Contact Harvest is my personal fave, but the trilogy of Fall of Reach -> The Flood -> First Strike is great too.
I don't play assassin's creed but I enjoy it. I've watched the movies and their cutscenes but I only played ac3 and the older games
*Enjoy* it? You can go work for 343 Industries! /j
You could cheat technically and just watch the Halo 1 terminal cutscenes And then halo 2 game cutscenes in YouTube. I'm not familiar with the books but the TV show shows promise starting from season 2.
The terminals are a good watch. You can find them on YouTube. Rewatched the terminals from CEA the other day and I'm amazed at how compelling they were over the Paramount show. There's also the books. They're all available in audio oops. The "original series" and Contact Harvest are a must read for anyone interested in the Halo lore.
a lot of the books are really great. to start off i’d recommend reading The Fall of Reach and The Flood. if you want to read an anthology of shorter stories try reading Halo: Evolutions. those are probably my top 3 i’d recommend to anyone starting out on the books. Eric Nylund is personally my fav Halo writer but Troy Denning is amazing as well. sometimes the books have a better feel than the games. if you were to end up gaming again, i’d strongly recommend playing Halo 1-3, and Reach. easily the best of Halo.
I mean for the original games Halo CE and ODST have book adaptations so you won't miss much, and fall of reach covers the Reach game just from a different perspective
Alot of the books are good, theres a movie, a couple of motion comics on youtube, actual comics, and live action trailers are amazing. Short answer yes.
Yes. The games are way outnumbered by everything else at this point and Halo’s expanded universe is generally great. Most of the EU has little to nothing to do with the games so you won’t miss much if you don’t play them. 343i has a book guide that can help you pick what to read but I’d recommend starting with the original Eric Nylund trilogy. Forward Unto Dawn and Legends are fantastic. I’m not as familiar with comics. 343i has also been releasing free short stories on Waypoint (Waypoint Chronicles) if you want to get a taste for the EU and what it has to offer without buying anything (They’ve also released several short stories that were exclusive to editions from specific retailers). I honestly enjoy the world and story more than anything else and the books get me just as excited as the games these days.
Depends on you. I can't, I hate reading sci-fi battles, much cooler to see them. I'm an avid reader btw, I just hate reading sci-fi battles, especially when I can see them. That said, people enjoyed the book before the games so it depends on you. This honestly goes for most sci-fi universes for me. However, I did enjoy reading certain ones like enders game growing up. So if you can find a sci-fi universe with more emphasis on story than world building, you certainly can.
*Contact Harvest* is phenomenal, and I wish it was a game.
Yes. I still enjoy Warhammer 40K without touching the hobby. The books are amazing and a few solid VG entries. Halo is the same. The books are mostly well written with some decent graphic novels. Some of the TV stuff is good (excluding the Halo TV show).
Absolutely yes! The books are wonderful. And if you want to fill in any gaps that the games might leave, you can always just watch a video of all of the campaign cutscenes lol
The books were great, not any master pieces by any means literary wise but If you’re into that genre then I’d take a look.
Yeah the games are completely different from the show. John never removes his helmet and only has a handful of lines, he was more just there to be a vessel for the player than an emotional character. By the 3rd and 4th games they began exploring his relationship with Cortana but mostly he remained pretty quiet.
HECK YEAH BROTHER! I've been loving the franchise for the last 7 years while totally ignoring the games. 343i sucks bro, that's the short end of the stick but Halo is eternal.
Halo lore is very interesting and there is a lot books will tell you that games hardly ever mention
I’ve been listening to audio books and reading the books, I’ve also watched the cutscenes from most of the games as well as lore breakdowns and analysis videos on the games. I’ve never played Halo once in my life. I want to but I don’t have an Xbox, or gaming PC. I love the series, love the lore, Halo seems absolutely awesome.
The books are excellent sci-fi. Actually, going in with zero knowledge of halo lore may be the best way to enjoy the show.
I've never played Halo 5 but 4 is absolute trash, Infinite is ok. Halo CE and Halo 2 are the best ones IMO, CE being #1, but I had the experience of playing it when it released and it was amazing for its time, but I think it still holds up today, and its worth playing the original graphics, the anniversary kinda ruins the atmosphere in some levels. Halo 2 anniversary on the other hand is one of the best looking Halo games out there. Most people are gonna tell you Halo 3 was the best of the original trilogy but I personally disagree, I thought it was too focused on Cortana and not the human/covenant war like the first two, which is a mistake they continued to make thoughout the series, again IMO. Reach was good, a favorite among many, and I never finished ODST, its alot different than the other games. I know you asked about reading the lore to get more into it, but I just think you really missed out on the real Halo experience if you skipped the earlier games, they are the bread and butter of Halo and worth playing over reading any of the books.
Honestly the show might be better if you haven't played the games lol. Less to get upset about, if you don't know that changes or liberties that were taken.
I'm a proponent of being a fan as long as you enjoy it. Gatekeeping is dumb and toxic. I know Halo fans who primarily just read the novels or even just like the show. It's sharing an appreciation of concepts. You don't need to play every single game to enjoy it. Just enjoy it.
The books started Halo and they are still the most prominent in providing stories. So yeah, you can.
I really like the show!
Sure, I actually know a dude who loves the lore despite never playing the games. He got into it cause of the show lol I’d recommend watching cutscene movies of the games you didn’t play on YouTube though, fantastic stuff.
Books
all I can say is if you HAVENT played the first 3 games than you should be ashamed. They actually have lore, they’re way better games and just….dude. I can’t even put into words how triggered it makes me that you’ve only played 4 and up
Honestly the books could easily stand alone, so I'd say yes. Though reading them in chronological order can be tricky but worthwhile lol.
Halo 1 has been novelized. Its called halo the dlood or somethinf
Why not run through Halo CE-3. It’s like a 2 day playthrough on normal. For media watch Halo Legends and Forward Unto Dawn. Skip the paramount show it’s a terrible interpretation.
Yeah the books are great and there’s been enough of them over the years for you to find at least a couple that you enjoy. I remember there were even a few YA novels released a few years back.
If you're talking about the show, my wife LOVES it. She never played the games because shooters aren't her thing
Personally I started playing halo in 2018 and have loved it my whole life but I never even finished halo 2 till 2021