Hands On: Marathon Is Dense, Demanding, and Drop Dead Gorgeous

by

Let’s be clear: Marathon isn‘t like the extraction shooter ARC Raiders. While ARC Raiders is immediately enjoyable for a wide range of players, Marathon is complex, very challenging, and designed for a dedicated, hardcore audience. We believe this focused approach is a strength.

Marathon isn’t a game for all players, and we’ve seen the usual complaints comparing it to ‘Concord 2,’ which frankly, are getting old. However, from what we’ve played so far, Bungie is intentionally creating a unique experience within the extraction genre, rather than simply copying what’s already out there.

Okay, so this game is totally for people like me who love building stuff, getting into intense PvE and PvP fights, and it’s all set in this really cool sci-fi world… but with a creepy, horror vibe. It’s a surprisingly awesome combo!

We spent the first few hours playing Marathon on PS5 – they’re currently offering a free Server Slam – and were really impressed. The game immediately draws you in with stunning cutscenes and animations, establishing a harsh and ruthless world dominated by powerful corporations.

After more than a century of silence, the colony ship Marathon has issued a distress call. Now, powerful corporations are rushing to recover their investment and anything else they can from the ship.

So, I’m a runner – basically, my mind’s been uploaded into a robot body. My job? Scavenging for anything I can find and figuring out what the heck happened to the Marathon spaceship and all its colonies on Tau Ceti IV. It’s a real mystery, and I’m trying to put the pieces together.

We understand why people are disappointed there isn’t a traditional story campaign. The game’s introduction, art, and world-building really drew us into its story and setting right away.

This game is a challenging extraction shooter where you collect gear, explore the environment, and try to survive against both computer-controlled enemies and other players. It’s designed for those who enjoy intense experiences like Escape from Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown, and might not be the best fit for fans of more straightforward games like ARC Raiders.

Okay, right away, you can tell this game was made by the people behind Destiny. Marathon just looks amazing. Seriously, I think it’s the best-looking FPS I’ve seen this generation, hands down.

Bungie has created a visually stunning game by blending vibrant colors and lighting with realistic details like wear and tear, clutter, and plants. The graphics are so impressive that we continued to admire the backgrounds even after playing for more than five hours.

When the action heats up, Bungie delivers the incredibly satisfying gunplay that made the original Destiny so popular. If you enjoyed landing headshots in Destiny 2, you’ll quickly feel comfortable here. The game also makes excellent use of the DualSense controller’s features, adding impactful feedback to every shot.

We were surprised by how challenging the Marathon game actually is. We mostly struggled against the computer-controlled enemies, not other players. The AI opponents are really aggressive, constantly moving to get behind you. You won’t find any easy targets just waiting to be shot!

Because ammunition and health are hard to come by, you’ll need to carefully consider each fight in Marathon. This makes the game slower and more tense than you might expect. Combined with its sound and graphics, the game can be surprisingly creepy, even hinting at a strange, unsettling cosmic horror.

We’ll cover everything in our complete review, but first, we want to share our initial concern about Marathon: it’s incredibly complex. Seriously, it’s very dense and packed with features.

Marathon’s Server Slam lets you advance with six different groups. Each one gives you missions, has unique ways to improve, and asks you to gather materials for upgrades. At first, you’ll get a lot of requests from these groups. While it looks good, it takes a little time to learn how the menus work.

Equipping your character involves a lot of different items – cores, shields, implants, weapon modifications, and various temporary boosts. They all have unique effects, but can be hard to tell apart. Plus, there are runner shells which add even more abilities, including passive, tactical, and prime skills.

ARC Raiders offered a simple introduction to the extraction shooter style, but Marathon is much more complex – which will likely appeal to experienced players. We’re enjoying the challenge of figuring it out, and we can see Marathon has a lot of depth in how you build and customize your character. However, we think the complexity might be off-putting for many players.

Okay, so Destiny 2 isn’t perfect when you first start, but it’s way easier to get into than Marathon. If you’re playing Marathon just because you love Bungie’s style, be warned – you’ll be spending some time digging through settings and menus to get things how you like them.

We’re also focused on player versus player (PvP) combat. When it does occur, it’s exciting, engaging, and can be very competitive. However, these encounters are infrequent. Eventually, it didn’t feel like other players were around much, as most matches ended up being intense battles against the game’s AI, with few opportunities to fight real people.

It’s possible we were playing against newer players, so matches felt a bit hesitant. The game might need some adjustments to how it matches people, to help create more action.

Based on what we’ve seen, Marathon isn’t a game that immediately grabs you – it’s a slower, more deliberate experience. That might turn some players off right away. However, for those of us who’ve spent a lot of time with ARC Raiders and are looking for a satisfying long-term goal, Marathon could finally deliver the deep, engaging extraction shooter we’ve been waiting for.

Read More

2026-02-27 20:08