Marathon Review

This is a review of Marathon after the opening few weeks of the live service title. With more updates and maps to come, we’ll revisit this as and when the time is right, and as such this review reflects our opinions of the game as of publishing.

I never imagined that the Extraction shooter genre would grab me. I rarely have time for long games or those that demand repeated visits, usually only dipping in occasionally to things like Fortnite or Rocket League. However, Arc Raiders won me over massively last year (and continues to do so into this year) so when the opportunity arose to check out Bungie’s latest and new entry into the genre, I jumped at the chance. What we have here is a brilliant shooter, blending the best of the likes of Halo and Destiny with the tense, edge of your seat gameplay of extraction shooters. It can take some time to get into – my first couple of hours with it were difficult – but once it hooks you there is definitely something here worth persevering with.

What I enjoy most about Marathon is the tense atmosphere. While Arc can have its moments, it is undoubtedly a far friendlier experience, with plentiful proximity chat and players teaming up for big battles or just for the hell of it. Here, you’re as good as dead unless you get the drop on them first. It makes for an almost horror-like experience as we creep around rooms, checking our surroundings and freezing at the first sound of footsteps coming stomping towards us. It’s a rare sense of tension when we know there’s another player somewhere, and trying to find them before they find us becomes a game of nerves and skill. I have met a few other friendlies on there, but 99% of the time it’s either me or them, and it’s exhilaratingly fresh to experience. 

Playing solo is nerve wracking at times, but even in a squad it can be a tense affair. Playing with Million Man Ian, I was just explaining to him about being stealthy and quiet before we were attacked by the AI UESC robots. After a prolonged fight we took them all down, only for a team to be drawn to our gunfire and swoop in to finish us off as we recouped. Another time we were the ones doing the swooping, taking out two teams before a third and fourth arrived to eliminate us as well. Can it be frustrating? Sure, especially if we’re not on a free loadout or have a tricky contract to complete. But man, I can deny a little smile creeps across my face with every encounter, good or bad. 

The shooting makes the fights enjoyable by feeling weighty and frantic. While we have shields and health, early on in particular they are not going to withstand too much punishment. Guns come in a range of types, from energy to rifles, shotguns, and more. Each one I’ve used so far feel distinct and powerful, with the V22 Volt Thrower being a particular favourite thus far. Melee is underpowered but good as a last resort, and unlike Halo grenades are to be used sparingly, if at all. Whether it’s human players or the multitude of UESC opponents, firefights are always thrilling and difficult to survive.

We have access to several Shells to use in game. Some, like the Assassin, offer better stealth thanks to camo and smoke ultimate abilities, whereas the Destroyer is more for a head on approach using a shield for defence as well as homing rockets. My playstyle suits the Assassin, and mixing up a team with different Shells will be key to getting off of Tau Ceti IV alive. 

To start with, we have access to two maps; Perimeter and Dire Marsh. The former is a slightly less aggressive area – though don’t read that as easy at all – while the latter offers more open spaces and foliage, as well as tougher opponents. Later on we unlock Outpost, and later this month a new area will be released for high-level players that will throw more challenges and a end-game level raid of sorts. I’ll be dipping in and out of Marathon over the next few weeks as I prepare for this, but am under no illusion that I’ll survive to see a great deal of it. Of those on offer now, I prefer Perimeter slightly thanks to a bit of an easier to read layout, though I have also spent more time here so am more familiar due to this.

All offer various hotspots to loot, with AI and players looking to foil our plans to gather certain items or complete contracts. One thing I do like about the map in Marathon is that it’ll clearly show areas that are likely to hold any tracked resources with an eye icon. I would like to be able to zoom in a little further than we can currently though, as it can be tricky at times to mark specific areas directly. 

There are other UI niggles I’d like to see addressed too. The menus, for example, are very stylised and, as such, can be hard to read quickly. Even having spent many hours with the game at this point I’m not always entirely sure what items I need, or go in what slots on our frame. Back at the vault where all of our gear is stored can be equally full of confusion, with some icons that are hard to read or differentiate quickly. Naturally over time I’m sure this’ll become less of an issue, but early on it can be a bit off-putting. 

There’s also the baffling decision to have button prompts swap between the vault and in game. Pressing X in the vault will quick move an item, but in game that swaps to A. The first few chests I looted saw me dropping everything to the floor before I realised, and from those I’ve spoken to I’m not alone as everyone else has done exactly the same. 

Contracts come from one of the factions, and range from collecting various items to completing a sequence of events in one run. We can only take out one at a time which is a shame, as I’ve found times where I complete the contract within the first few minutes of a run, and then must decide on whether to extract or just spend time looting, when I could have been working towards another goal. They do generally offer a good challenge, and make us explore the range of the maps well. Some will require a team, or very high skills, but on the whole we can complete most solo. Handily, if we are in a squad we can see what everyone else’s contracts are, and can work on them together.

Unlike Arc Raiders, Marathon runs on seasons. At the end of Season One, and for all future seasons, players’ vaults will be wiped, with us needing to start again gathering loot and completing quests. While this is counter to Arc’s optional Expedition that resets players progress only if they wish to do so, I can see the appeal in that while we might be starting from scratch in loot, we’ll be more familiar with the maps and intricacies of the game, allowing players to upgrade and progress faster in theory. It also prevents players from  getting maxed out and all but unstoppable as the months and years progress.

I do worry that this wipe will prevent more casual players from being enticed back to play as starting out in Marathon can be a daunting prospect indeed. Between the overly stylised UI making things hard to read and parse, the high level of aggression between players, and just needing to survive to try and get a bearing on the game to start with, Marathon is not as pick up and play as something like Arc Raiders. They offer very different takes on the same idea, but even people I’ve spoken to who are more casual players that really enjoyed Arc have struggled to find a groove here. Knowing that they will be forced to wipe their stash at some point is not doing a lot to encourage them to keep playing right now either.

For me though? As I said up top, there is something in Marathon that has got its hooks in me. The combat is excellent and feels weighty, the core loop of exploring and extracting is stressful but fun, and the promise of more to see and do as time goes on is appealing indeed.

Conclusion

While there’s no denying Marathon is an aggressive PvPvE extraction shooter, it is also a remarkably moreish one. The core loop of exploration, looting and fighting feels great as we’d hope from FPS veterans Bungie, and while the UI could use some touch ups in both inputs and clarity, that one more game feeling is present and correct enough that I can see myself sticking with this for some time to come. With constant updates and additions promised, I think the future is bright for Marathon indeed.

This game was tested and reviewed on PC (via Steam). All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by the publisher.