I played the Halo Mega Bloks game, and it was truly Killtacular

Known under the codenames Project Haggar and Backyard Heroes, a Halo Mega Bloks game was in development at N-Space. As the studio’s last game before its eventual closure, the canceled kid’s game was lost outside of an extensive gameplay video released in 2017. 

Following leaks of games like Call of Duty: Future Warfare, a build of the Halo Mega Bloks game has made its way online. Available to play on an Xbox 360 dev kit, the small vertical slice is a fun look at what this spin-off could be. With fun combat, platforming and, yes, even Suicide Grunts, this could’ve been a hugely successful game for a younger audience, but it wasn’t to be.

Halo Mega Bloks was actually good

Alongside the mysterious Halo DS game, Halo Mega Bloks is a holy grail for fans of Xbox’s flagship franchise. The boldest spin-off possible for Microsoft’s action-packed franchise, the cutesy action game could’ve been a strong competitor to the LEGO games. 

While extremely unfinished, the small vertical slice available in the game’s leaked build puts you in the role of Master Chief. Based on his Halo 4 design, you fight Covenant forces through a dense forest, building bridges, cover and turrets with Bloks you pick up and driving vehicles through open environments. 

The mission is lengthy with multiple arenas, platforming puzzles and some genuinely engaging mission design. One section tasks you with protecting generators in an ONI base as waves of Covenant storm in. 

Here you’ll use your collected Bloks to construct cover, turrets and mine fields in a thrilling wave defense mode. Despite its unfinished state, Halo Mega Bloks makes excellent use of its LEGO-clone aesthetic to deliver an experience like no other. 

It’s Halo through and through. The regenerating health, two weapon system, grenades and physical vs plasma weapons are all here. Most of the Covenant enemies are also here including Elites, Grunts, Jackals and even boss fights with single Hunters instead of the usual pairs. As with all 343-era Halo games before Halo Wars 2, Brutes are nowhere to be seen. 

As you collect blueprints to construct new vehicles, man canons and Forerunner terminals, the canceled game evolves into a title that could’ve made an excellent kid’s game. It’s a shame the title was never expanded into a full release, as what’s here could’ve easily become something spectacular and would’ve introduced a younger audience to Xbox’s flagship franchise.

From fun, frantic shooting with a kid-friendly lock on system to fast-paced vehicle sections (although the Warthog does make the game crash right now), it’s everything a kid could want. Surprisingly, there’s even Suicide Grunts, which I can’t imagine would’ve made it to release. 

“You told me there wouldn’t be any cameras”

Years after its cancellation, the untitled Halo Mega Bloks game is at least known. With many canceled projects never seeing the light of day, at least builds exist of the title for those with the knowhow to enjoy. 

Instead of this truly awesome idea, we did get multiple Halo spin-offs. While not fantastic, the top-down shooters Spartan Strike and Spartan Assault are fun times, and Halo Wars 2 was a phenomenal RTS. 

Unfortunately, the Halo franchise isn’t in the best of shapes today. While Infinite is an amazing single and multiplayer suite with firefight, deep customisation and a Forge mode to die for, it’s struggled to gain a sizeable player count. And the less said about the TV show, the better. (Although it does have some sweet action scenes.) 

Hopefully, one day, Xbox will be brave enough to revisit the Mega Bloks idea. It may not be something the Halo fanbase will be happy about, but they’re never happy with anything anyway. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to re-read Halo: Epitaph.