Marathon

bruh

+ aesthetics + atmosphere + lore + maps + missions/contracts + factions/leveling + controller support + performance + inventory management + sponsored kits + still fun even though I’m a casual player and prefer playing solo + community (I get a kick out of Destiny players’ blind hate) - long-term support is uncertain - queue times are slow but acceptable - occasional high-ping matches - high CPU utilization in the menus… like, why?

Very enjoyable for the time that I played. The PvE is actually challenging. Winning a fight feels very rewarding. The story and characters are also super fun.

Had a lot of fun with this on release but struggled to stick with it. If you like extraction games, you are going to like Marathon, and in that case I recommend the game. However, while the extraction aspects are appealing and the narrative elements are good, Marathon fails to keep me gripped by not catering well to the games I typically like to play - games I can play with my friends, without sweating my balls off that some stacked-up rando is trying to dome me from halfway across the map. Marathon is a far cry from what Bungie is known for, and I'd like to have seen more of that. More PvP aspects or game modes, a singleplayer or co-op campaign, and a stronger central narrative, would have done well to keep me engaged with Marathon far longer than I was. I would have liked to have seen more of a Halo approach to the game overall, instead of something firmly held back by its genre. Extraction is a genre I like to dip my toes into with friends while we do other things - in the same way that one might jump into Slayer in Halo every so often, taking a break from their Reach campaign run-through. I don't really want to play a game where the only thing I can do is repeat something I've done hundreds of times already, in the same environments, against people with more time on their hands to excel. It's not for me - but it's still a solid game, so it might be for you.

Genuinely a blast of fun to play. I've had some experience with extraction shooters, mostly with Tarkov. Marathon seems more light and just fun to play around since the gunplay feels extremely good. Dying doesn't feel that bad comparatively to other games, back to lobby grab a sponsored kit and go back in simple as. Craziest runs have been with a free sponsored kit, it's just all about the chance encounters. Have had friendly encounters and shoot on sight encounters, tight encounters and one-sided encounters. ALSO the level up system is the absolutely amazing, an incredible way to use and sacrifice items for permanent bonuses. Surprisingly fun even to solo, with my playstyle I actually prefer to go solo in trios, there is a high chance of rat and rat related gameplay. Finding bodies and looting them then scurrying away with the left overs, top find was a 3k worth kitted out sniper. Other than fun gameplay the setting of the game is quite something, lore is perhaps even too strong in places. Maps differ greatly in how they look and play, my favourite is Dire Marsh at night. Incredibly spooky and atmospheric with some hallucations thrown in. Also extremely limited visibility is top tier for rat gameplay to scurry in the dark. So even if you are Solo, Duo or Trio I can recommend Marathon to any who like fps and extraction shooter elements. A banger of a game, thanks to Bungie for making it.

Great gunplay, looks great and the maps are very good. You shouldn't buy it. It's incredibly punishing and not fun. People with 200 hours in the game will get the drop on you, you'll fight back only to see they have a gold or purple shield and then your dead teammates will call you names.

Great game you'll never play