10 Hugely Beloved Video Game Sidekicks - Ranked From Worst To Best

Yes, Cortana is technically an AI. But she's also a person. Considering she’s designed solely to assist the Chief, she does a hell of a job and goes way above and beyond her mission briefing, all to protect humanity.

For starters, she’s an AI – meaning that all of the chief’s tactical information about the enemy and his strategies to deal with the threats all stem from Cortana’s info. Without is, Earth would be doomed to glassing by the Covenant, or zombification by the flood. Then she gets captured and tortured by Gravemind for information – and she gives it absolutely nothing to work with, meaning she’s just as tough as the Spartans are.

To top it all off, she’s the only person throughout the whole series that the Chief actually formed any sort of emotional bond with. You could argue there was something between him and the Arbiter, but that felt more like a mutual respect. With Cortana, there’s something deeper and more primal – and you can see it manifested so clearly in Halo 4, when Cortana vanishes.

The best AI to ever grace our games (sorry, EDI), the Halo series just would not be the same without Cortana. If the Chief doesn’t manage to restore her somehow in Halo 5 – well the world will be worse off without her.