Marathon – 15 Essential Things to Know Before You Pick it Up

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Back in April, the initial closed-alpha of Marathon caused quite a stir. Now, with the game launching in less than a month, things are looking much more positive. The game has been significantly improved with revamped art, animations, and a better overall feel. However, some players are still understandably worried. An upcoming free stress test should help address major concerns. Whether you’re excited or hesitant, here are fifteen things you should know before you buy. Marathon is a game that deserves a close look.

It’s Bungie’s New Extraction Shooter Reboot

If you haven’t been following the news, or you’ve heard the early buzz and stayed away, here’s what you need to know. Marathon is a new online shooter from Bungie, the team behind Halo and Destiny. They originally created the single-player Marathon series for Mac in the 90s. This new version is a multiplayer game where you compete against other players and fight alongside them against AI enemies, all while collecting loot and joining different factions. While it’s quite different from the original, both games share the same sci-fi universe, filled with intricate stories, abandoned colonies, strange AI, and cybernetic enhancements. Basically, the new Marathon is a modern update that pays tribute to the original, offering the fast-paced action of today’s competitive shooters.

Your Role as a Runner

The Marathon project was a failed attempt to colonize a new planet. Now, the companies that invested in it are sending teams to Tau Ceti IV to recover their money, and they’re relying on mercenaries like you to do the dirty work. You’re a Runner – a cybernetically enhanced operative who gave up their humanity for a chance at wealth. Your mission is straightforward: infiltrate abandoned complexes, retrieve valuable items or information for your corporate employer, and escape. But you’re not alone. You’ll compete with rival crews and contend with dangerous robotic defenses. As you fight for survival, you’ll also uncover the truth behind what happened to the original colonists.

Factions Drive Progression

In Marathon, factions are central to the story and how the game unfolds. Each faction has its own unique goals, culture, and ambitions, and choosing to work with one will significantly affect your experience. They’re not just for show – the missions they give you directly shape your gameplay. For example, Traxus wants you to bring back rare and valuable materials, MIDA encourages chaos through explosions and hacking, and Arachne tasks you with eliminating other players. As you gain reputation with a faction, you’ll unlock upgrades, culminating in powerful Capstones – milestones that boost your stats and provide top-tier rewards throughout the season.

Three-squad Teamplay is the Focus

You’ll land on Tau Ceti IV in teams of three, whether you play with friends or are matched with random players. Each match can support up to eighteen players total. While playing with a partner or even solo is possible, you’ll have a harder time competing if you’re alone, depending on what you’re trying to achieve. If you start out solo, you can team up with other players you meet during the match, and voice chat will automatically connect you with nearby players.

Six Runner Shells (and One Scavenger) at Launch

Runner shells define your character class, and each one has a unique personality and set of skills. The Destroyer is a powerful fighter, Recon gathers information, the Assassin relies on stealth, Triage provides medical support, the Thief excels at collecting items, and the Vandal is a quick and disruptive force. Choosing a shell should fit both how you like to play and the goals of your mission. You can further customize each shell to maximize its effectiveness – we’ll cover that next – and the Rook is a basic, limited-gear outfit perfect for joining a run in progress. It’s ideal for quickly scavenging resources when you’re trying to recover from a losing streak.

Implants and Cores Mark the Game’s Customisation Tools

Player characters in Marathon are defined by their shells – essentially cybernetic bodies and armor. These shells aren’t fixed, though; you can customize them using implants and cores. Implants are like universal upgrades for specific body parts, boosting stats like speed or shield strength and offering special abilities. However, you can lose them if you die. Cores are more powerful modifications that change how a shell functions tactically, going beyond simple stat increases. By combining implants and cores, players have a lot of freedom to create unique builds tailored to their preferred strategies and playstyles.

Weapon Rarity Takes Influence from Destiny

Like the games Destiny and its sequel, Marathon will use a color-coded system to show how rare and valuable weapons are. From common gray weapons to prestigious gold items, you’ll quickly be able to tell how useful a weapon is. These weapons will also have different stats based on attachments, recoil, and reload speed, making the rarest guns the most desirable. However, remember that death carries a risk: taking powerful weapons into battle means you could lose them forever, which is a key part of the game’s challenge.

Each Zone Demands Specific Approaches

Marathon will launch with four different maps, each offering a unique experience. They all feature different items to find, environmental dangers, and numbers of enemies. Each map is also designed in a distinct way. Perimeter, located on the edge of an abandoned base, is open and spacious, offering both long views and places to take cover. The developers at Bungie call this map the most beginner-friendly. Dire Marsh is a foggy, swampy area filled with strange alien structures and research facilities. This is where players will uncover the story of what happened to the expedition. Outpost is a small, still-active UESC base with a complex, multi-level layout. It’s guarded by powerful machines, but also contains some of the game’s best rewards.

The final map takes place on the UESC Marathon itself, called Cryo Chamber. It’s the ultimate challenge, pushing your survival skills to the limit. This is the most difficult and dangerous map in the game, making missions feel like carefully planned heists. Success here – with good planning, equipment, and a bit of luck – yields the greatest rewards and finally reveals the core mystery of the game.

Bungie Insists Marathon Isn’t Pay-to-Win

The amount of effort required to succeed in competitive shooter games is always a big discussion, and players are understandably curious about how much extra they might need to spend in Marathon to be competitive. Bungie says you won’t need to spend a lot of extra money to win. While completing the game’s in-game encyclopedia will unlock cosmetic items and rewards, other upgrades – like faction progress, core enhancements, and level boosts – will be available for purchase separately. Ultimately, we’ll need to play the game to see how quickly you can progress without spending additional money.

You’ll Need a Bungie.net Account to Play

To play Marathon, you’ll need a Bungie.net account. PlayStation players will also need a PSN account, but PC and Xbox players won’t. Unlike Helldivers 2, which initially required a PSN account for PC players before that requirement was removed, Marathon won’t have this stipulation.

What’s Working Post-Alpha

The initial reaction to the first playable version of Marathon last April was underwhelming, and nearly derailed the project. However, Bungie listened to player feedback, particularly regarding the game’s environment. Players found the original world lacked a sense of danger and felt too clean and artificial. Now, the world of Marathon feels much more realistic, with noticeable wear and tear, and dynamic weather effects. Sunlight now harshly illuminates colors, while strong winds and rain create a truly imposing atmosphere. Tau Ceti IV is now filled with striking contrasts, and this realism enhances the feeling of danger. Beyond the improved environment, Marathon still boasts excellent gunplay, with refined animations that help it stand apart from Destiny. The new corpse decay system isn’t just immersive—it provides a clear indication of how close enemies might be. Finally, the sound design is crisp and informative, using material-specific sounds to help players detect nearby threats.

What’s Still a Concern   

Despite a lot of recent promotion, it’s still hard to get a clear sense of how challenging Marathon will be. Experienced players of similar games might find it too easy, while newcomers could struggle with its complexity. The game’s price, which is boosted by in-game purchases, is also a concern. Adding to this is the huge amount Sony spent to acquire Bungie – while ‘value’ is subjective, many worry this large investment will lead to a cautious, uninspired game. Essentially, beneath the impressive graphics and shooting mechanics, Marathon might end up feeling like a typical shooter.

Release Date, Platforms, and Price

Marathon will launch on March 5th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam. It’s not a free game; the Standard Edition costs £34.99 or $39.99. Players on all platforms will be able to play together and save their progress across different systems from the very beginning.

Three Editions – Standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s

If you’re interested in the core game and future updates without extra cosmetic items, the Standard Edition is the best choice. The Deluxe Edition includes cosmetic items like Midnight Decay weapon and Runner styles, plus 200 SILK tokens and a premium rewards pass, and costs $59.99 or £49.99. The Collector’s Edition comes in two versions: one with a game code for $229.99 that also includes everything from the Deluxe Edition, and one without a game code for $169.99 or £164.99. Both Collector’s Editions include a collectible Sekiguchi WEAVEworm, postcards, and an embroidered patch. As a bonus, all pre-orders came with extra cosmetics and rewards for the game Destiny 2.

PC Requirementsa

So, I’m really excited to try out Marathon, and I checked out what kind of hardware you’ll need. If you want to just get it running at the lowest settings, you’re looking at needing at least an Intel Core i5-6600 or Ryzen 5 2600, a GTX 1050 Ti, RX 5500 XT, or Intel Arc A580 with 8GB of memory, and make sure ReBAR is turned on for your graphics card. But if you want a smoother experience, the Steam page recommends an Intel Core i5-10400 or Ryzen 5 3500, a GTX 2060, RX 5700 XT, or Arc A770 with 16GB of memory, and again, ReBAR enabled on your GPU. You’ll also want at least 8GB of RAM for the minimum specs, but 16GB is recommended.

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2026-02-27 17:43