Halo is a universe near and dear to many people, including my own. Some will blindly like anything with the “Halo” name attached to it, others will hate it out of principle. HUNT the TRUTH takes the popularity of NPR’s Serial form and uses the fictionalized world of the Halo video games to increase sales of the next game in the series–Halo 5: Guardians.
It seems the writers were so focused on creating a bridge from Halo 4 to Halo 5 that the result feels more like solely a marketing department decision. The only thing unique about this story is that it explains why the Master Chief is being hunted by Spartan Locke and his team. Everything else, even the slightest fan will know to be canon. The whole atrocities of the Spartan II program are nothing new. Yes, in-world, only a select few characters know the truth about the second phase of the Spartan program, but to compose a whole story based on that concept alone is foolish. Add in the fact they undermine themselves near the end with a cheap thrill ride by practically retconning the story they’ve told so far. The ending is basically a lie you’re expected to swallow. While it goes down nice and easy, there’s a strange after taste which makes you question the decisions of the writers.
It’s a shame that the second attempt at a Halo audio drama falls short of its precursor. The Halo 3: ODST story told via collectible audio logs was the first and a true audio drama. NPR’s Serial is a good show, but as many have said it isn’t audio drama. It’s the equivalent of creative non-fiction. HUNT the TRUTH takes some of the same notes as Serial, but ultimately fails as both a marketing ploy and an audible drama in general.
3.5/5 Stars
