Importance Score: 45 / 100 🔵
Marathon, the upcoming game from Bungie, appears to be a vibrant, cybernetic take on the extraction shooter genre, reminiscent of Escape from Tarkov. However, it promises a unique approach from the studio renowned for Halo and Destiny, with potential surprises in store. Today’s reveal offered substantial details about this highly anticipated title, confirming its release later this year. The question remains: Will Marathon simply be a reskinned, more intense version of Destiny PvP, or will it deliver a genuinely innovative and accessible experience within the PvPvE extraction shooter landscape? Here’s a comprehensive overview of what we now know about Marathon.
Marathon: A Deep Dive into Bungie’s New Extraction Shooter
A recent Bungie livestream provided a detailed look at Marathon, showcasing a new gameplay trailer, an extended explanation of the game mechanics, and a cinematic short film. This short, directed by Alberto Mielgo of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse fame, hinted at the intriguing premise of Marathon: corporations cloning workers for perilous scavenging missions, subjecting them to repeated combat for minimal gains. The presentation, narrated with considerable seriousness by Ben Starr of Balatro, culminated in the announcement of a September 23 launch date. Marathon will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, featuring full cross-play capability. Notably, its release places it in direct competition with Borderlands 4.
Gameplay and Mechanics: What to Expect in Marathon
Core Premise: Cybernetic Mercenaries and Lost Colonies
The central concept of Marathon is that players assume the role of cybernetic mercenaries, known as Runners. These Runners accept contracts to salvage resources from the remnants of a lost colony on Tau Ceti IV. Embracing a PvPvE format, players will engage in combat with each other, AI-controlled UESC security forces, and mysterious “otherworldly threats.” The objective involves looting facilities and completing mission goals. Successful extraction leads to character progression and the acquisition of new gear, stored in a vault for future missions. However, failure to extract results in the loss of all collected items. A further element teased is high-stakes gameplay aboard the derelict Marathon vessel orbiting the planet, potentially serving as endgame content. This may hold connections to Bungie’s original trilogy of the same name, possibly offering intriguing links for long-time fans to discover.
Familiar Extraction Shooter Structure with Unique Elements
The overall structure of Marathon shares similarities with Escape from Tarkov and other extraction shooters, while introducing its own distinctive elements. Players will typically form squads of three, but solo play is also an option. Up to 18 players can be present on a map simultaneously. Matches are time-limited, compelling player engagement, and dynamic weather effects and random events will introduce unpredictable challenges. Loot successfully extracted is added to a vault for subsequent runs, but items lost during team wipes are permanently gone.
Combat and Tactical Depth
The moment-to-moment gameplay in Marathon will likely hinge on Bungie’s signature responsive and impactful combat mechanics. Drawing comparisons to Destiny 2, the first-person shooter experience is expected to be of high quality, but enhanced with new tactical and strategic considerations given the battle-royale-inspired encounters. Players enter a downed state instead of immediate death, and a revive system provides opportunities for team recovery. Bungie has also indicated that “sponsored packages” from various corporate factions will provide players with starting equipment to ensure competitiveness.
Character Customization and Progression
Runner Characters and Abilities
Character customization and unique abilities will be integral to Marathon. Four distinct Runner characters – Locus, Blackbird, Glitch, and Void – were showcased, each featuring unique visual styles, playstyles, and abilities that can confer strategic advantages. Characters will possess unique attributes, and customization options extend to implants, cores, weapons, and weapon attachments. Examples include toxin upgrades to poison enemies or equipment to enhance resistance to toxins. Marathon will also incorporate its version of Destiny‘s highly sought-after Exotic loot, offering enhanced versions of specific weapon types.
Team Composition and Playstyles
Gameplay footage demonstrated a sniper character utilizing invisibility, similar to Hunters in Destiny 2. Equipment such as grenades, shields, and medkits will facilitate diverse support roles. According to the narrator, players are encouraged to experiment with team compositions, with player choice limited only by “loot and imagination.” The effectiveness of player experimentation and the potential for the game to evolve into rigid, optimized team compositions will be key aspects to observe.
Progression and Seasonal Resets
Player progression in Marathon will primarily be account-wide rather than character-specific. Faction ranks will unlock access to upgrades and black market items (purchased with in-game currency), while contract completion will expand vault storage. Beyond standard matches, Marathon will feature endgame challenges, ranked modes, community events, and seasonal narrative content. A significant aspect of Marathon is the planned seasonal vault resets. At the end of each season, player vaults will be largely reset, aiming to create a more balanced starting point for each new season. While intended to promote fair play, this approach could potentially deter more casual players.
Marathon’s Challenge and Potential
Marathon marks Bungie’s first entirely new project in over a decade and their initial major release as part of PlayStation. Coming after reported underperformance of Destiny 2 and subsequent staff reductions, Marathon faces a considerable challenge. The competitive landscape for multiplayer games was underscored by the underwhelming performance of Sony’s Concord. However, Marathon’s focused, hardcore gameplay loop could potentially emulate the success of Helldivers 2, achieving widespread player engagement. Marathon certainly exhibits strong potential. Whether the actual gameplay experience lives up to this promise remains to be seen. A closed alpha test is scheduled to commence on April 23.