Marathon (PC) Review

Marathon is an extraction shooter developed by Bungie, set in a futuristic science fiction world with mechanics heavily focused on survival. Unlike many other titles in this genre that allow for easier gear recovery, Marathon distinguishes itself by being utterly relentless. In Bungie's new game, the loss of resources after death is a constant threat. In this review, we’ll explore everything Bungie’s latest offering brings to its fans.

An Accessible Storyline

The narrative of Marathon places the player in a world where humanity is on a colonization mission aboard the UESC Marathon vessel. After losing contact, the ship mysteriously arrives at its destination, Tau Ceti IV, engulfed in an unsettling silence. Here, players assume the role of a "Runner," a digitized consciousness inhabiting a synthetic, expendable body known as a "hull."

Players uncover Marathon’s story by undertaking missions for various factions operating within the colony's remnants. Factions like NuCaloric, MIDA, and Arachne represent conflicting ideologies—ranging from cold humanism to revolutionary chaos or the direct hunting of other Runners. It’s important to note that this narrative structure is not linear; instead, it unfolds through audio logs, codex entries, and, occasionally, brief cinematic scenes unlocked upon completing objectives.

But is it necessary to know the original trilogy's lore to understand this new game? While Marathon’s underlying narrative builds upon the universe of the original 90s trilogy, the game, fortunately, does not require prior knowledge for players to fully grasp its story.

A True Bungie Game

Marathon’s gameplay loop revolves around expeditions where players deploy into maps with pre-selected gear—either their own custom kit or a faction-sponsored one if resources are scarce. Matches typically last 15 to 25 minutes, during which "Runners" must complete contracts, gather loot, and locate an extraction point. All this must be done while avoiding elimination by both AI enemies and rival Runners in the area.

To tackle Marathon’s diverse challenges, players can choose from seven specialized classes: Destroyer (offense), Vandal (movement), Recon (intelligence), Assassin (invisibility), Triage (healing), Thief (looting/stealth), and Rook (specialized for solo play). Each class possesses powerful ultimate abilities with prolonged cooldowns.

Marathon's maps feature a design structure that balances the exploration of ruins and industrial facilities with dangerous open spaces. Initially, players can explore The Perimeter, which serves as the standard entry point for Runners. Dread Swamp offers a fog-covered wetland environment, heightening tension and making PvP encounters utterly unpredictable. Next, players can explore The Outpost, an intricate and claustrophobic complex that integrates environmental hazards and light puzzles, rewarding players with loot of varying rarity. Finally, players can explore Cryoarchive, the endgame map which operates under an extreme-risk logic similar to a raid. This map is specifically designed to force confrontations between squads as they navigate the game's most perilous zone.

Once on a Mission, Marathon’s World Shows No Mercy

Once players enter a zone, Marathon’s experience is fundamentally based on a PvEvP model. AI-controlled enemies (UESC bots) often act as "bullet sponges" or simple distractions, frequently alerting other players to someone's position. With the exception of the map boss, the Warden, enemy behavior variety is limited, allowing players to exploit their predictable patterns after several visits.

In contrast, the PvP aspect is the central pillar of the experience Bungie has crafted. While proximity chat for cooperation is infrequent—which can be frustrating initially—direct confrontation is the norm. The game allows sharing contract progress with teammates, encouraging collaboration to mitigate the frustration of losing equipment after death. However, a design flaw exists in matchmaking, as players risking valuable gear are often grouped with teammates using sponsor kits. These players, having no tangible loss, tend to play more aggressively and selfishly, creating an imbalanced experience.

Adding to this, Marathon does not scale its difficulty to the player's skill level. For less skilled or more casual players, this can represent a significant barrier to entry. This is because progress in faction skill trees, as well as story progression, stagnates without consistent successful extractions.

Weapons for Every Taste

Marathon’s gunplay is truly worthy of Bungie’s reputation, offering a solid and precise shooting feel. Weapons, including assault rifles like the Overrun AR and scout rifles such as the Stryder M1T, stand out for their rapid and fluid animations. This is complemented by a color-coded rarity system for items, where high-level attachments can improve the effectiveness of even basic weaponry, ensuring that found loot remains useful even if not of exceptional grade. However, Marathon is also marred by a deficient user interface (UI). This makes it difficult for players to directly compare weapon statistics and visually distinguish between icons for different equipment components during a match.

The game employs a "retro-futuristic" aesthetic with a vibrant color palette and blocky designs that create a distinct visual contrast. Furthermore, the quality of cinematics and voice acting is outstanding. Technically, the game's optimization is robust, allowing for fluid performance even on mid-range PCs with significant environmental loads. The audio department excels, featuring a soundtrack that reinforces the atmosphere of desolation and a sound design that makes it possible to identify distant footsteps or gunshots.

Another Bungie Game with Controversial Monetization

Despite its technical strengths, a critical flaw lies in the user interface (UI), which is consistently described as "clunky" and intuitively deficient. Operational issues include an inability to directly compare items or weapons in the inventory, forcing players to memorize statistics before making changes. This lack of clarity is exacerbated by the use of nearly identical icons for items of different functions or levels, compelling Runners to individually hover over each element to discern its utility—a dangerous process in the middle of a raid.

Additionally, inconsistencies exist in keyboard commands between the personal inventory and the stash—where actions like transferring items vary without unified logic—compounded by the lack of basic filters for backpacks and a tagging system for necessary contract materials. Finally, the absence of detailed post-match statistics and an informative death camera hinders game analysis. Players must assess details like the causes of defeat or the performance of weapons used to determine their worth during missions, rather than receiving a comprehensive overview afterward. These shortcomings also extend to the monetization system, specifically the "reward pass," which offers insufficient value to incentivize its completion. Moreover, Marathon controversially reintroduces the infamous single-use shaders, a feature that sparked considerable debate in its time with Destiny 2.