Marathon review – Joy, pain, and bountiful loot in a dark sci-fi future

The latest new release to break gaming discourse on the internet is from the makers of Halo and Destiny, and those decades of shooter DNA can be felt in its slick gunplay and deep world-building that players have come to expect from Bungie.

The biggest issue with Marathon is that it's extremely niche, built for a hardcore PvP extraction shooter audience, with PvE quests and missions in the background as powerful AI enemies also add in several wrinkles to the core loop. But is it a bad thing? Not for me, but your mileage may vary quite a bit.

Image via Bungie As many have discovered over the past few weeks, Marathon is a game that greatly improves as you put more time into it. That's been a mostly positive experience for me, but it's also undoubtedly turned away many players who had a bad time in the shooter's unforgiving early hours. And that's sort of been the overlying trend with this game since its inception: a largely divided response. And I get it, because you can't really expect every gamer to be okay with needing to put in a lot of time for a game to begin to become fun.

I've been skeptical about Marathon since it was announced, especially after playing the lackluster closed alpha test last year. For a long time, I was indifferent if not unexcited about the prospects of playing and reviewing it. But one thing that has never been in question to me is this game's distinct visual style. Every inch of its menus, cutscenes, environments, music, and art style absolutely drips aura. Many disagree. It's truly a love-or-hate aesthetic, but I fall in the former camp.

Marathon's art style stands out from just about anything else that's been released in recent years, boasting an utterly unique, colorful, blocky vibe that you either like or don't. Futuristic interiors are found scattered around alien environments, giving variety to exploration and looting. I like it, so I find the look of the game to be an awesome complement to everything else it has to offer, which is a very fun PvEvP extraction experience, with a big emphasis on that second P, carried by Bungie's trademark solid gunplay and very smooth optimization on my mid-tier rig.

As you level up, extract with improved loot, unlock upgrades, and grow to better understand the core gameplay loop with each run, the odds of the game getting its hooks into you increase. For me, the first days following Marathon's release felt very familiar to that of ARC Raiders, where I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't playing it, and sneaking out of bed for one more run before lying down to sleep at night and continuing to think about it.

PvP is everything in Marathon, and while it's possible to use proximity chat to attempt to team up with other players or squads (or plead for your life), it feels like a rarity. My PvP experience has been cutthroat, and the antithesis to the time I had in my other most-played extraction shooter in ARC Raiders. It truly feels as though the vast majority of Runners are not logging on to make friends (although it's possible, especially in randomly-queued Trios), and that likely scares away PvE-focused players who may be trying to do quests across the game's various locations.

Image via Bungie One of the best things I can say about Marathon's core loop is that I've had multiple occasions over the past couple of weeks where I would lose a gunfight and a ton of gear, get frustrated, and close the game, only to be sitting there at my desk for a few minutes, ready to open it up again for one more run to try and re-gain my stash.

A lot of the "one more run" feel that the game has must be given credit to Marathon's map design, which at least in its launch offerings, is great. Perimeter is a good starting point for all players, while Dire Marsh brings a foggy, sweatier experience with the chance for more PvP. Outpost, meanwhile, is a claustrophobic, dangerous, and intricate locale with weather hazards and light puzzle-solving required for quests and acquisition of some of the best loot, all while dealing with tougher AI.

And then there's the masterfully-crafted endgame map, Cryo Archive, which can function like a Destiny raid where you have to fight other players at the same time. Each area is filled with different activities and opportunities that up the risk/reward stakes in different ways, with a layout that filters players towards each other with top-tier loot everywhere to be found.

But the most important thing about Marathon's PvP is that it feels really damn good. It's fun. Having to work together with teammates is enjoyable, coordinating movements and attacks around the map and gauging whether or not to go weapons free and alert the enemy AI that lurk many of the points of interest across the game's maps. And shooting just feels satisfying, whether your bullets are destined for bots or unsuspecting gamers trying to get away with valuable materials. I can't reiterate enough how good the weapons feel, which is something that Bungie always nails, regardless of anything else.

Similarly, the solo experience in Marathon is likened by many to a horror game at times, and I have to agree. The tension I feel while navigating the map, either looking for loot or gunfights, is palpable, especially with the combat formidability of the PvE foes combined with other players also playing sneakily. It's all ratcheted up against the backdrop of Marathon's dark sci-fi world, where several factions are fighting over the resources that remain of a failed human colony in the outer reaches of space, setting for a vibe that's thus far unmatched in the genre. Bring some good headphones and get ready to hear every thunking footstep of bots or distant gunfire to help inform you of what to do next.

Those same factions are core to the experience in Marathon, offering contracts to complete and upgrades to chase. But they're brought to life brilliantly by some of the top voice actors in the business, and animated in a glitchy, dark future AI style that makes them a thrill to visit and listen to as you climb the ranks.

Screenshot by Destructoid Although it's a PvP-focused game, Marathon's world is filled with environmental storytelling that's further fleshed out by codex unlocks and signature Bungie ARGs. This new title is an extension of the deep sci-fi story of the original FPS trilogy from the 90s, and it's ripe for opportunity to expand with lore drops that could continue to build an ongoing plot. A fantastic OST only serves to increase futuristic atmosphere of dread and opportunity.

The overarching story of multiple artificial intelligences chasing godhood, mysterious alien races, the failed expedition of humanity to Tau Ceti IV, the enigmatic ruins of the UESC Marathon ship, and the factions looking to pillage its remains are just a few parts of this title's ongoing plot that is already the best in the extraction shooter genre. But therein lies the rub: this is a PvP game, and its lore is thus far relegated to audio logs and the occasional cutscene, and it feels like a missed opportunity to really dive in to this sci-fi story in more meaningful ways. But I expect we'll get more and even better storytelling over time, as is Bungie's M.O.

Image via Bungie Some of Marathon's post-launch discussion has revolved around the game's daily concurrent player count, which usually isn’t a factor in a written review. But as a live-service game, and Bungie's first new release after being acquired by Sony, it's important in the eyes of many, and deservedly so.

These days, multiplayer games are quickly shut down or benched (followed sometimes, unfortunately, by layoffs or closures). In light of that, I don't blame gamers for being interested in this sort of thing. I don't know where Marathon will be in six months to a year, but as a launch title, it's a game that I and others are having a lot of fun with, especially as I invest more and more time and interest into it.

As a live-service game, Marathon will continue to get updates to improve it over time. There have already been a couple. These patches serve to iterate on feedback and add content to the game or address feedback from players. Despite Destiny 2's recent failures, its longevity has shown that Bungie is capable of creating a successful live-service title if given the time and resources. But now, it's fair to call the promise of both into question, given the circumstances.

Beyond this unfortunate and forced uncertainty, one of the game’s biggest pain points for me early on was familiarizing myself with the menus and UI. Like all extraction shooters, Marathon is flooded with a bunch of junk items, power-ups, buffs, and debuffs to learn, and it's completely overwhelming at first. I've become more accustomed to it now as I've racked up hours of playtime, but I still think they could use some work for quicker readability for new players to prevent them from getting bogged down early.

Marathon is quite a punishing game, too, whether you're new or a veteran with hours in the bank. It's very easy for things to snowball in any given run, dealing with environmental hazards, AI enemies, and sneaky players all at the same time. You will repeatedly die and lose your gear, whether you're a sweaty PvP pro or a noob. And as ever, losing your hard-earned high-quality gear sucks and feels very bad, making it feel like you're losing progress quickly. But I also think it's easy enough to queue up with a free Sponsored Kit, or even as the solo-only loot-goblin Rook class, to play carefully and stock back up before heading out for a serious quest-oriented mission again. This makes the vaunted "gear fear" that sometimes plagues the genre feel not so prevalent, for the most part.

Image via Bungie The other playable classes are inoffensive, to a fault. They generally don't feel too overpowered (although the medic Triage class is always nice to have on your squad when shields or HP get low, and solos are infested with the invisibility-cloaking Assassin), but they also lack personality and punch when compared with other "hero shooter" archetypes. That's likely by design, as the classes are Runner Shells meant to be inhabited by a consciousness and then discarded, but it still makes them tough to stand out amongst the crowd.

Marathon's different classes work best when in a team of coordinated play, so I highly suggest having a squad to play with to really sweat it out in PvP and get the most out of the experience. I've had several positive runs with randomly matched teammates, and many stealthy solo excursions along the way, beginning with a very punishing first few hours. But Marathon truly excels as a PvP game in a group, actively hunting down other teams to steal their gear or unlock secrets on the maps.

Playing isn't just better with a communicative team, sometimes it's required, like in Cryo Archive. The endgame activity offers some of the most unique, exciting gameplay challenges the extraction genre has ever seen, and it's unapologetically difficult to survive without even making it to the final boss to reap its rewards. It will be remarkably tough for most players to even access it, let alone succeed.

Cryo Archive requires a full team working together to tackle the challenges within it, leveling up, acquiring key items, and solving puzzles in order to make your way towards a main goal while meeting up to fight against other teams and also dealing with strong AI enemies everywhere. Marathon's first endgame content thus far offers a very memorable experience with your group, so if you can manage it, it's worth it to grind for. But realistically, the majority of players will miss out on it due to how difficult the activity is and how long it takes to be gear-ready for it.

I have some other minor gripes with Marathon, like how you can only complete one active contract at a time, or how you can't move while you open the map to mark your next destination. The spectator camera if you die and want to watch teammates play is also annoyingly over-the-shoulder and jarring. These things could potentially be fixed in future updates if the want for it is loud enough, though, and as a live-service game, it's expected to get better from here.

Image via Bungie In a way, Marathon reminds me of games like Dark Souls, where you're throw into battle and have to learn how to play it the hard way. You will die a lot early on, and it will feel rough, but losing is learning in many of these cases. And when you finally have some matches where you're able to use what you've earned to help you take out several other Runners and get home with some top-tier loot to advance your progression, the satisfaction feels similar to finally taking out that tough boss fight that's been plaguing you for hours...especially as the seconds tick down in every 25-to-30 minute round, where it's extract or lose it all.

But as the game gets more and more hardcore, and filters out the most casual and less-skilled players over time, that sweatfest may become too much to bear for most players to enjoy. Me? Even as someone whose best multiplayer skill days are behind them, and with all of the plentiful suffering Marathon has to offer within, I find myself wanting to squeeze in one last run all the time lately.

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