Introduction to Halo 5: Guardians

We’ve travelled far and wide at Rough Guides – but never before into the future. Welcome to 2558.

This is also the first time we’ve ever left the planet. And we’re not talking about some meek little hop to the moon. Halo sees you ranging right across the galaxy, from mysterious alien jungles and snowy (though entirely extraterrestrial) mountaintops to sculpted monasteries and otherworldly caverns.

A word about warfare. There’s no getting around it: you will have to see your fair share of (really, really intense) battle action. It’s just the way the world is – this world, at least. But there are also countless opportunities for less perilous exploration – what could be finer than spending a leisurely afternoon rooting around among the ruins of an alien civilization? Or practising your interplanetary communication skills, interacting with the habitants of a struggling human colony beyond the reach of the UNSC and besieged by hostile forces?

Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, one thing is for sure: you will be surrounded by quite exquisite beauty, from the pulsating heat of a desert to the wind-whipped desolation of a ravaged continent to spirit-lifting, flower-flecked green hills. It’s all out there for you – but you have to earn the right. You have to fight for that right. Sad but true.

What’s really unnerving about this sort of futuristic, space-travelling tourism is just how quickly you feel – if not at home, exactly, then certainly quite comfortable in these alien worlds. The human capacity to adapt is phenomenal. And boy are you going to need to draw on every ounce of that capacity.

One final point: you’ll have to dress appropriately – specifically by donning the Mjolnir armour of a Spartan. You may feel a little more restricted than on previous flip-flops-and-shorts travels, but there’s really no alternative. You might want to equip yourself with the means to protect yourself from less-than-friendly locals, too. All in the interests of self-defence, you understand.

Things not to miss

1. Alluvion Research Center (A.R.C.)

A strangely beautiful mining complex studded with monumental Forerunner structural interventions – your cup runneth over!

2. Apex 7

Is this place for real? Apex 7 is going to blow your tiny mind with its artificial tropical vibes.

3. Argent Moon

This spooky, abandoned space station will bring out the urban explorer in you – the interplanetary version of the urban explorer in you, that is.

4. Plaza

A sort of futuristic Tokyo filled with baddies, you’re going to need to keep your wits about you to survive a trip to Plaza.

Inside Plaza

5. Genesis

If you’ve had any doubts that alien-built worlds can be beautiful to human eyes, Genesis will put paid to them once and for all.

6. Meridian

This terrible testament to the power of the Covenant will rock you to the core.

7. Nuusra

A history buff’s dream, Nuusra is quite simply a treasure trove of ancient alien sites.

8. Sunaion

Raised above the surface of the Csurdon Sea by giant columns, alien Sunaion is eerily impressive.

9. Kamchatka

Remote and uninhabited Kamchatka offers dark tourism of the most extreme sort – prepare for a spectacularly ghoulish sort of sightseeing.