Marathon has a clarity issue—and it’s not just the UI

Marathon's server slam has captivated me more than I would want to admit. Since I was one of its main critics, I have to admit that it could genuinely become a great game. With an art style like this, it's surely earned its place among the greats, but one crucial problem persists and is sure to alienate a good chunk of players: the lack of clarity. When I first booted up Marathon a couple of days ago to participate in the server slam, I had no idea what to expect. I had criticized the game in the past, was wary of its corporate spiels, and was well aware of its turbulent development cycle, during which multiple directors and other executives either left or were let go from Bungie. None of that told a good story or signaled to me that Bungie did, in fact, make something worth my while. And that turned out to be dead wrong. Marathon is an exceptionally good-looking game. In fact, I would go on record to say that it's probably one of the most stylish games out there. I know I recently said that about Deadlock as well, but please be aware that I am super weak for any sort of metaphysical sci-fi or cyberpunk world, and the one Bungie has crafted here is certainly among the most pleasing to the eye. I mean, just look at this image below of the ARACHNE corporation and tell me it isn't pure aura. Screenshot by Destructoid Each of the factions in the game has these ads that play from time to time, and they're simply amazing through and through. The companies are also recognizable, with unique styles and logos, as well as representatives who are all weird enough in their own way to be set apart from all the others. In short, the worldbuilding and art direction side of things is as good as it gets. However, though every aspect of Marathon's setting and backdrop is fleshed out, unique, and recognizable, the actual gameplay suffers from a debilitating lack of clarity, muddying each and every match because you never know what is happening on your screen. As soon as the server slam launched, people (our staff included) started criticizing the game's confusing and rather overwhelming UI. And sure, this side can be quite nebulous. The overloaded colors, abstract shapes, and icons packed within a poorly navigable HUD can produce significant levels of disorientation, causing players to spend much more time looking for things than they'd otherwise want to. Compare this to ARC Raiders, where each item can easily be identified, and all UI elements are clear and concise. And that is only the beginning of Marathon's unclear nature. Telling the AI from players can sometimes be a true challenge, and making the heroes more unique would help tremendously. Image via Bungie Once you do get past the UI and start actually learning what is what and where it can be found, you end up with an entirely new problem: enemies. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've run into AI robots or other players and didn't know which was which. My friends would be yelling "Players! Players!" into the microphone because they just got ambushed by a robot that can turn invisible in the same way one of the heroes can, leading us to invest many more resources and care into fighting a PVE battle, thinking we were just beset by another crew. And the inverse is true: I'd attack a group of runners thinking they were AI, only to see them get downed and realize they're in fact actual human beings. This sort of character design makes the entire match feel unclear, and you never know who it is that you're trying to fight. Only a handful of smaller, weaker enemies stand out enough to immediately signal to you that they're not actual people, while most of the other enemies and characters in the game are just too generic (or rather, too similar to each other). On top of that, playing the game and completing contracts can sometimes lead to more confusion. Your assignments and missions, when not clearly labeled, can easily blend into the environment. Everything looks sort of the same and similar, and it becomes hard to identify unique locations by their looks, leading to your referring to the map almost all the time. In ARC Raiders, one visit to any sublocation on any of the maps immediately ingrains that place into my mind. I don't have to look at my map to know where it is and what it looks like. Power Generation Complex is in stark contrast to Water Treatment, which, in turn, is strikingly different from the Red Lakes. In Marathon, at least on its Perimeter map, the Southern Relay doesn't really mean much to me, as contrasting it to Station or most of the other above-ground locations is rather challenging to do. At the end of the day, these issues can be fixed. UI comes last in development more often than not and is never "final" prior to full release. Color-coding and touching up certain areas could help them stand out more, and characters can also be refreshed with minor changes that let them easily stick out, especially when it comes to AI and actual pl

Mar 1, 2026 - 05:55

Marathon has a clarity issue—and it’s not just the UI

Marathon's server slam has captivated me more than I would want to admit. Since I was one of its main critics, I have to admit that it could genuinely become a great game. With an art style like this, it's surely earned its place among the greats, but one crucial problem persists and is sure to alienate a good chunk of players: the lack of clarity.

When I first booted up Marathon a couple of days ago to participate in the server slam, I had no idea what to expect. I had criticized the game in the past, was wary of its corporate spiels, and was well aware of its turbulent development cycle, during which multiple directors and other executives either left or were let go from Bungie. None of that told a good story or signaled to me that Bungie did, in fact, make something worth my while.

And that turned out to be dead wrong.

Marathon is an exceptionally good-looking game. In fact, I would go on record to say that it's probably one of the most stylish games out there. I know I recently said that about Deadlock as well, but please be aware that I am super weak for any sort of metaphysical sci-fi or cyberpunk world, and the one Bungie has crafted here is certainly among the most pleasing to the eye. I mean, just look at this image below of the ARACHNE corporation and tell me it isn't pure aura.

Screenshot by Destructoid Each of the factions in the game has these ads that play from time to time, and they're simply amazing through and through. The companies are also recognizable, with unique styles and logos, as well as representatives who are all weird enough in their own way to be set apart from all the others. In short, the worldbuilding and art direction side of things is as good as it gets.

However, though every aspect of Marathon's setting and backdrop is fleshed out, unique, and recognizable, the actual gameplay suffers from a debilitating lack of clarity, muddying each and every match because you never know what is happening on your screen.

As soon as the server slam launched, people (our staff included) started criticizing the game's confusing and rather overwhelming UI. And sure, this side can be quite nebulous. The overloaded colors, abstract shapes, and icons packed within a poorly navigable HUD can produce significant levels of disorientation, causing players to spend much more time looking for things than they'd otherwise want to.

Compare this to ARC Raiders, where each item can easily be identified, and all UI elements are clear and concise.

And that is only the beginning of Marathon's unclear nature.

Telling the AI from players can sometimes be a true challenge, and making the heroes more unique would help tremendously. Image via Bungie Once you do get past the UI and start actually learning what is what and where it can be found, you end up with an entirely new problem: enemies. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've run into AI robots or other players and didn't know which was which.

My friends would be yelling "Players! Players!" into the microphone because they just got ambushed by a robot that can turn invisible in the same way one of the heroes can, leading us to invest many more resources and care into fighting a PVE battle, thinking we were just beset by another crew.

And the inverse is true: I'd attack a group of runners thinking they were AI, only to see them get downed and realize they're in fact actual human beings.

This sort of character design makes the entire match feel unclear, and you never know who it is that you're trying to fight. Only a handful of smaller, weaker enemies stand out enough to immediately signal to you that they're not actual people, while most of the other enemies and characters in the game are just too generic (or rather, too similar to each other).

On top of that, playing the game and completing contracts can sometimes lead to more confusion. Your assignments and missions, when not clearly labeled, can easily blend into the environment. Everything looks sort of the same and similar, and it becomes hard to identify unique locations by their looks, leading to your referring to the map almost all the time.

In ARC Raiders, one visit to any sublocation on any of the maps immediately ingrains that place into my mind. I don't have to look at my map to know where it is and what it looks like.

Power Generation Complex is in stark contrast to Water Treatment, which, in turn, is strikingly different from the Red Lakes.

In Marathon, at least on its Perimeter map, the Southern Relay doesn't really mean much to me, as contrasting it to Station or most of the other above-ground locations is rather challenging to do.

At the end of the day, these issues can be fixed. UI comes last in development more often than not and is never "final" prior to full release. Color-coding and touching up certain areas could help them stand out more, and characters can also be refreshed with minor changes that let them easily stick out, especially when it comes to AI and actual player models.

March 5 is rather soon, though, so let's hope Bungie manages to give the game that extra care it needs to truly become something to remember.

The post Marathon has a clarity issue—and it’s not just the UI appeared first on Destructoid.

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