When 2012's Halo 4 ended (spoiler alert), Master Chief had just lost his closest friend in the world, the A.I. Cortana. She was much more than a humanoid sim; she was his constant companion, and over time, she'd developed very real feelings for him, and him for her.
343 Industries showed gamers just how deep Chief's grief ran by having him remove his armor and helmet in the cut scene that ended the game. If you finished the game on "Legendary" setting, you were even treated to a half-second glimpse at his eyes.
The scene felt a little like a cliffhanger. All that was missing was the "To Be Continued ..." bit. The significance was great and the atmosphere heavy. By taking off his armor, Chief was shedding everything we know about who he is. Was this Master Chief retiring, giving up the fight and going off to live a quiet life alone, as simply "John?" Or was it a symbolic rebirth? (watch that final cutscene for yourself below).
Gamers have waited three years to find out what happens next. Would Halo 5 pick up immediately where 4 left off and finally show us Master Chief's face?
We know now from its marketing campaign that Halo 5: Guardians catches up with events months later, after Master Chief has gone AWOL. No doubt, this came in response to losing Cortana, but humanity needs him back in action when numerous colony worlds are attacked by a mysterious enemy. A new Spartan soldier named Locke is sent to retrieve him, and it looks like the campaign will have players switching back and forth between Locke and Master Chief.
Today, we have an answer to the question of seeing Master Chief's face. The answer is no.
GameRant recently spoke to Tim Longo, 343 Industries' creative director of Halo 5: Guardians during a Canadian gaming event, and he was asked if we might get a look at the man underneath the mask in this game.
"He doesn't take his helmet off," Longo stated, definitively closing the door on that possibility. For this game, at least.
There's an argument to be made that Chief should never be unveiled. The character's stoicism and mystique are well served by never viewing his face. Maybe it's better that we never see him, so that we might imagine him with features that suit each individual player. Revealing him would undoubtedly lead to disappointment by some (unless there was something insanely cool and shocking under there).
On the other hand, Master Chief first debuted in the original Halo way back in 2001. For 14 long years, gamers have been playing as this character, getting to know him, understanding his movements, his attitude, his motivations, his physicality. To know someone fairly intimately for that long — even a fictional someone — and never see their face? It just feels wrong.
Remaining masked in Halo 5 won't stop players from wanting to see what he looks like, and 343 Industries is smart enough to know that. It's a basic tenet of human nature to always want what we can't have.
Halo 5: Guardians goes on sale worldwide on October 27, 2015, exclusively for Xbox One.
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