Halo Wars 2 Review After 1,000 Hours

After playing Halo Wars 2 for well over 1,000 hours (likely closer to 2,000-3,000 hours), including early access before the game launched, this is a comprehensive review of the game roughly five and a half years after release.

Short Answer: Wholeheartedly recommend Halo Wars 2. It's one of the best RTS games ever and a personal favorite of all time.

PROS

Easy to Learn

Limited base building slots reduce complexity
Once your base is built, you have a limited number of building slots for economy or production
Forgiving RTS - mistakes don't immediately end matches like in StarCraft
Mid-game mistakes can hurt your chances, but overall it's more forgiving

Low Skill Floor, High Skill Ceiling

Easy for new players to pick up and play
Can fit in with players at your skill level
High skill ceiling for those wanting to master micro and macro

Unit Variety

Much more variety than Halo Wars 1
Different units with unique abilities and functionalities
Each leader has unique unit compositions

Accessibility

Available on Xbox One, Xbox Series consoles, PC, mobile phones, Game Pass, and cloud streaming
Can play without any hardware via cloud streaming
Xbox Play Anywhere title

Content

Three Campaigns: Main campaign, Awakening the Nightmare (Banished campaign), Operation Spearbreaker
Two Firefight Modes: Blitz Firefight and Terminus Firefight
Standard Multiplayer: Team War (unranked 2s and 3s), ranked 2s, ranked 3s, solo ranked
Blitz Mode: Card-collecting game mode
16 Leaders: Significant increase from Halo Wars 1's six leaders

Cross-Play

Play with friends regardless of platform (PC, Xbox console)
Mix and match platforms easily
Possible to even play against cloud streamers or mobile players

Control Schemes

Controller and mouse/keyboard support
Controller is the recommended way to play
Top-level players use controller - designed with controller in mind

Semi-Moddable

Possible to mod the game (e.g., playing as the Flood)
Videos available showing modding possibilities

Active Player Base

Still active online player base
Can find matches in under 30 seconds at any time of day
Game is not dead despite claims

Game Pass Included

Can access via Game Pass (very cheap entry point)
Makes it highly accessible

Performance Enhancements

FPS boosted on Series consoles
4K resolution on Xbox One X and Series consoles
Best performance is on PC

CONS

Toxic Community

One of the most toxic communities in online multiplayer
Opponents send hostile messages after wins
Content creators sometimes trash talk other creators
Tournaments can get mean-spirited

Performance Issues

Bugs and glitches
Crashes frequently on Series X and S consoles
Crashes occur on all platforms but especially on newest Xbox consoles

No Developer Support

343 gave up on the title
No more balance updates coming
No support for glitches or problems
Abandoned despite still being quite popular
Arguably still one of the most popular RTS games in the world

No Steam Release

Strange since Halo Wars 1 is on Steam
Adding HW2 to Steam with cross-play would help the game significantly
Hope for Steam release is fading over time

Limited Modding Support

More complicated to mod compared to Halo Wars 1
No official mod support

Maps

Maps are generally lacking in quality
No S-tier maps besides Sentry or Badlands
Halo Wars 1 has better map variety and content

DLC Confusion

Awakening the Nightmare not included in Season Pass
Some DLC never goes on sale
Best to buy Complete Edition for everything
Confusing for new players trying to purchase content piecemeal

Final Verdict

Should you buy Halo Wars 2? YES, absolutely.

Despite the issues, after thousands of hours of playtime, the game remains a tremendous experience when it works well (which is most of the time). It's just plain old fun to try out and enjoy.

Is it as good as Halo Wars 1? Uncertain. A comparison review would be needed, but both games have their merits.