Bungie’s extraction shooter isn’t about making friends.
The release of Marathon is around the corner, and after putting 31 hours into the Server Slam that just concluded, I’ve decided to purchase the game on release. It wasn’t a frictionless experience, and Marathon clearly isn’t a game made for the Arc Raiders crowd. As someone with over 250 hours in Arc Raiders, Marathon has put the lax nature of last year’s surprise holiday hit into sharper focus and exposed the fat that still clings to its bones. While it was an absolute blast to get lost in the hype these past few months, Arc Raiders simply can’t compete with the lean and focused extraction experience that is Marathon. Even so, I suspect most players will stick with Arc Raiders.
Messy PvP encounters and hunting the robotic Arc menace with friends are undeniably fun experiences. However, it’s the opportunity for meaningful social interactions with other players that sells the fantasy of Arc Raiders. With its high time-to-kill, slippery ground movement and suite of largely uniform weapons that offer little meaningful variation, the game is tailored for those looking for the most straightforward extraction experience possible — and it hits its mark every time.
I never did take to the impromptu musical pow-wows or heavy roleplaying because I was attracted to the extraction-style gameplay loop. This made items such as the Guitar or Recorder little more than vendor trash or something I would use to deliberately draw enemies towards my position. Jumping into the wasteland became less of an atmospheric adventure and more of a slot machine experience while looking for items that were simply worth a lot of coins due to the Expedition system. Those levers would eventually change to “spare/cooperate” or “kill” when encountering another player — a far cry from the tension I once felt at the beginning of my Arc Raiders experience. Squad-based PvP also feels unsatisfying with such slippery controls when paired with various glitches and terrain inconsistencies.
Marathon rewards strategy and planning over pure profit
That slot machine effect is far less pronounced in Marathon. While you’re always looking for a better weapon or an upgrade to something you already have, you will rarely want to gather “junk” items to simply turn a profit — even in your earliest runs. The Runner Shells you control function like character classes, giving you a clear purpose and playstyle that broadens as you find augments and equipment that can be specific to your type of Shell. This naturally lends itself to a more focused style of play and shows off the modular nature of the game as you begin to piece together interesting builds mid-run and discover even deeper ones as you extract with more loot from extractions. Since Marathon defaults the player into filling a 3-man squad, taking risks like this can yield high reward. This adds a hidden tension and allows players to show off unique play styles within the same Runner Shell. While Arc Raiders is about mastering the fundamentals, Marathon is all about finding unique ways to play.
Limiting bag space reinforces this philosophy. Even after acquiring a basic backpack augment, inventory management is tight and forces you to prioritize essentials and track down other mission-specific miscellanea. The result is less of a “treasure hunter” experience and more of a true looter-shooter backed up by the factions in the game and the upgrades they offer. These empower your stats across shells and expands access to the faction shops, making jumping into future runs feel less daunting. It’s a tight and focused experience — far removed from any form of Concord-level misfire.
Marathon Will Find Its Audience.
That said, Marathon isn’t perfect. UI navigation on a controller is clumsy and slow, with the movement lacking the fluid momentum seen in other modern shooters. Solo play — particularly outside using the restrictive Rook shell — feels like an afterthought and even though I personally love Marathon’s flavor of neon cyberpunk, others will bounce off of it.
Marathon knows exactly what it is. It understands that not everyone will connect with its vision and that its competitors have already staked their claim in the genre. However, in a market that often demands mass appeal above all else, Bungie is admirable in its commitment to the identity of Marathon.
