Someone’s been listening to too much serial.

Can't get enough

I love the whole idea of this! It's well created and the scripting is perfect. Very gripping as well. I wish it was every day rather than every week!

Amazing show! Hats off to 343

Brilliant season 1, now onto season 2 which is shaping up to be even better! Great voice acting and background noise and an excellent, compelling storyline that's sure to keep one hooked.

Brilliant. This was a great idea. An accompaniment to the new Halo game or a stand alone piece of entertainment, Hunt the Truth stands up and stands out.

Clearly inspired by the format of the popular Serial podcast but it goes in a completely different direction, so it's really it's own thing. Conspiracies, story, drama and great voice acting.

I loved Hunt the Truth and really want to play Halo 5 now! Argh, now I need an XboxOne!

Narrator is brilliant the series is great with many twists and turns and shocks

Really sets the halo 5 story in motion

This podcast was an excellent way to set up halo 5. I hope there's another series

Depressingly often, the rule of thumb with Halo's extended universe was that it existed as fan service. It did nothing to attract new customers, diversify the demographics, only to expand the already compelling game-world developed by Bungie and their successor, and to appease inquisitive die-hards between games.

Not so with Hunt the Truth. Admittedly, a lot of this play's dramatic tension derives from a long-standing player's investment in the heroism of the master chief, and their desire to see a character who, arguably, is a somewhat monolithic icon of agency from many of our childhoods - exonerated of the horrible crimes levelled at him. However - Hunt the a Truth's writer has navigated the pitfalls of episodic releases masterfully - creating a story which stands on the merits of its own perfectly rhythmic pacing and its compelling main character, Ben.

Ben Giraud, the narrator, undergoes a process that is quite alien to the Halo series. Character development. Whilst I love the Halo series, 343i seem, as again evidenced by the train wreck "Nightfall", completely incapable of creating compelling characters to drive their narrative. Whilst Ben is not a nuanced as could be desired - his progression from lap-dog to paranoid revolutionary, and his excellent emotional range (credit to Keegan Michael-Key) , and frankly, the fact that he, unlike most Halo characters, isn't some military pastiché, jacked on ego and detest of brain-power, but just a normal guy with relatable problems of money and inadequacy - means we are far more invested in his plight than any other area of Halo's canon.

Halo's awe-striking, ancient universe - Forerunners, Covenant, Ancient Humans - all of the wonder that drives the typical Halo story is absent, (save for a vividly and imaginatively written stride across a glassed planet - something I have always wanted to see), and why? Because it isn't needed. The intrigue, the driving voice of Ben, the relatable and strangely relevant-to-today struggles against the omnipresent fictional intelligence firm ONI - an agency who, for currently indiscernible reasons, oppresses and deprives humanity of what NSA has learned we all crave - truth - these keep us listening (I listened to the whole thing back to back until 3am). The beauty, the awe, the humanity wide gravity of the series have their place, but this return to storytelling of less ambition have ironically yielded the best results in years.

ONI is a master stroke of a villain - 343i have matched them expertly with the medium, here. The disorientation of having nothing but spoken word and imagination lends itself naturally to the paranoia ONI impress into every corner of this piece's civilisation. They are ethereal, cruel, and indomitable - and if I can give any more praise at all - it would be to say that at times I felt genuine anger and their methods and results.

This has given me hope for the Halo series. 343i may not seem to have the narrative tact to develop character in their games - and the continued personification of the eclectic Forerunners seems to be sapping away the wonder of the series and replacing it with sadly recognisable clichés - but this play and it's centre-piece villain have piqued my interest again.

(Foot note: If I could make one criticism, it would be the writer's perception of future culture. Granted, the podcasts closing episode relies on frustration at recognisable american tropés of a corrupt, money-obsessed media and patriotism - but to many foreigners, the americanisms will set your teeth on edge. I cringed at the military worship - particularly the line "always good to see a veteran in uniform", the use of "patriot" as a compliment, and the mention of the fact that this culture retains the death penalty, but these are ornery frustrations.)

While we wait for Halo 5: Guardians, I couldn't think of anything better than a mini series (Halo Nightfall) to fill the time...but Hunt The Truth, I think tops that! It's so intense and gripping. Gives you more insight into not just Master Chief but ONI and UEG as well and it does very good job of filling in the gap between Halo 4 & 5. Only downside is that it's weekly and not daily, but I guess you can't have it all.

I really hope this would carry on for a lot longer than just running up to E3

Struggling to relate to this guy's world, it's obvious this is acted/scripted, even if that was the intention, why make it so blatant, this is the problem I have with the media following this game, much like Halo Nightfall, you have to wonder what happened to these guy's imagination.

its absolutely gripping, wish it was once a day instead of once a week

This is chilling in some ways, really enjoyed the narrators voice too he makes it more atmospheric!