A Controversial 2025 Extraction Shooter Did Something That Marathon Could Benefit From

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Marathon is proving more popular than many expected. Even looking only at Steam player numbers – which aren’t a perfect measure – the game seems to be doing well. While it still has potential to grow its audience and improve the overall experience, Marathon is currently missing some important features that could cause problems for it in the future, despite its many strengths.

If Bungie wants to keep the Marathon series successful for years to come, it needs to find ways to make the game more welcoming to casual players. While many enjoy the challenging, fast-paced combat, the complex gameplay often discourages those who are drawn in by its unique look and interesting world. Surprisingly, the solution to this problem might be found in Synduality: Echo of Ada, a somewhat divisive extraction shooter from 2025.

Marathon Has An Inaccessibility Problem

I’ve often said that Marathon would benefit from a story mode, mainly because its interesting backstory isn’t well presented in the game. This idea also comes from Bungie’s history of creating fantastic single-player games with strong narratives – games that really set the standard for shooters. It’s disappointing that instead of revitalizing the classic linear single-player shooter format with something new and innovative, Bungie went in a different direction, creating a game that appeals to a dedicated, but small, group of players. It doesn’t seem to be reaching the broader audience that enjoyed games like Destiny and Halo.

I understand that a dedicated story mode wasn’t originally planned for Marathon, but I believe it could significantly broaden the game’s appeal without compromising what makes it special. Marathon’s challenging gameplay – particularly the smart and demanding AI enemies – is what truly distinguishes it. This difficulty means players need to be skilled from the start and often rely on teamwork. While playing Marathon alone is possible, it’s much harder, and the game is really designed for cooperative play.

This creates a problem for players who aren’t already fans of hardcore games. Marathon will likely only appeal to those who enjoy spending hours mastering difficult challenges, or those already familiar with this type of intense, extraction shooter gameplay. While there’s definitely an audience for that, Marathon being a high-budget game from a major studio means many new players will try it out. However, when they discover how difficult it is, they’ll probably switch to games that are easier to pick up and play.

The success of Helldivers 2 highlights a challenge for Marathon: attracting and retaining a large player base. While games like Arc Raiders offer cooperative play and features to ease frustration, Marathon‘s difficult gameplay might not appeal to casual players – and Sony needs a broad audience to justify its $3.6 billion investment in Bungie. To address this, Synduality: Echo of Ada offers a solution that could help Marathon broaden its appeal and keep players engaged.

Synduality: Echo of Ada’s Singleplayer Mode Would Fix Marathon’s Inaccessibility Problem

Let’s be clear: Synduality: Echo of Ada isn’t a top-tier extraction shooter. It has a lot of problems, and updates haven’t really fixed them. Player numbers are dropping, which highlights the challenges of creating live-service games, especially in a genre that’s still developing. However, the game does one thing well: its single-player mode. To make the game more sustainable and appeal to players who prefer a story-driven experience, Synduality: Echo of Ada offers solo missions against AI enemies in a brand-new setting.

While the game’s missions have a few frustrating issues – like needing to play online for a while before you can access them – it’s still great to see solo players being considered in a genre that often overlooks them. These missions also offer a good model for other similar games, including Marathon. Instead of creating a simpler version of the main game that could upset existing fans, a dedicated single-player mode could help new players learn the ropes and expand on the game’s interesting story. This would allow Bungie to appeal to all players without causing any major disruptions.

The single-player mode in Synduality: Echo of Ada eliminates the penalty of losing gear when you die, but also means you won’t be able to keep anything you find during a mission. This makes the game less punishing, helping players improve their skills without the stress of losing progress. This is especially good for newcomers to the ‘extraction shooter’ genre, encouraging them to keep playing and building a long-term player community. Plus, a dedicated story mode would likely convince more people to buy the game, which currently costs $40 – a price that might be holding some players back due to the game’s difficulty.

If Marathon were free to play, a story mode like the one in Synduality: Echo of Ada’s wouldn’t be necessary. A free game would attract more players to at least give it a try. However, Marathon costs $40, so Bungie should use its experience with story-driven single-player games to create a more engaging experience and introduce new players to the extraction shooter genre. While I can’t promise it would be a success, I believe a story mode would encourage many more people to play, without changing what makes Marathon unique.

Would adding a story mode to Marathon attract more players? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-03-16 21:14