: Last Light has less expectations and also does more with its scenario.

I think the difference between Last Light and Hunters in the Dark is very similar to that between Forward Unto Dawn and Nightfall. One tells a very compact and focused story while the other has an ostensibly bigger scale but can't satisfactorily juggle all the pieces it has chosen to play with. The writing in Last Light is also a lot better on a technical level, so there's that.

Hunters also had the problem of a large portion of the main cast being totally forgettable. I'm pretty sure Mr. Science Mann or the two interchangeable Spartan IVs will not become important at any point, unless they dig them up years later for something like HtT. I think focusing on the Elites and Olympia Vale would've made for a more interesting book.