Halo Wars 2

Moderate overall intensity
Highest flag: Spending — loot boxes
Sci-fiStrategy

What's in it

Violence realistic
Moderate

Military sci-fi warfare where armies of human soldiers, alien troops, and vehicles are destroyed from a bird's-eye view; cinematic cutscenes show more direct combat with brief blood, but no gore or dismemberment.

Spending loot boxes
Moderate

Downloadable content and a card-based Blitz mode with optional card packs are sold separately.

Dark themes mild
Low

War-driven story of casualties, sacrifice, and a marooned crew fighting a brutal warlord.

Language mild
Low

Occasional mild language in campaign dialogue.

Spending pressure optional
Low

Blitz card packs can be bought or earned through play; purchases are optional.

Who can reach your kid

Voice chatStranger friend requestsReal-money spending

What it is

Set within the Halo fiction, Halo Wars 2 belongs to the real-time strategy genre with a military science-fiction flavor. Players watch the action from above while constructing bases, collecting resources, and directing forces made up of infantry, ground vehicles, and flying craft. Its story mode centers on the crew aboard a UNSC vessel, who clash with a merciless alien group known as the Banished over an ancient facility. Fighting drives the experience, as opposing units trade fire and wipe each other out on the field of battle. Filmed sequences show troops taking wounds and dying, accompanied by a bit of blood but no dismemberment or graphic detail. Characters occasionally use mild language in their exchanges, and the narrative dwells on wartime sacrifice and strain. Outside the story, players can join others online in cooperative or competitive matches, among them a Blitz mode built around cards, with additional card packs available for purchase using actual currency.

How it's framed

The title casts its struggle in the mold of a familiar wartime tale, positioning the player's UNSC troops as defenders repelling an alien warlord's invasion. Its bloodshed reads as strategic warfare on a broad scale instead of intimate cruelty, and enemies fall from afar with little attention paid to pain or graphic injury.

Details

Developer
343 Industries and Creative Assembly
Publisher
Microsoft Studios
Released
2017
Metacritic 80critic score (third-party) · out of 100

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