From ARC Raiders to Escape From Duckov, extraction shooters seem to be enjoying something of a renaissance right now, to the delight of shooter fans like myself. But of all the newcomers to that space, none have captured my attention more than Marathon since I first played its early alpha over a year ago. Even through some of Bungie’s recent lows, the idea of taking the high-stakes looting deathmatch that is an extraction shooter and combining it with the unparalleled shooting for which the studio is known has always been an awesome idea. Now, after playing Marathon for the better part of a day as it kicks off its server slam ahead of launch next week, that rad concept seems to have turned out about as well as I was hoping it would, with absolutely stellar gunplay, some interesting characters and lore, ands a a loot grind that’s made it hard to step away long enough to even write this initial review. It’s still way too early for me to say if any of this will have staying power all the way through my 100th run, but it’s left a very strong first impression.
I’ve always had a difficult time describing exactly what makes a Bungie gun feel so damn good, but whatever it is, Marathon’s got it. Maybe it’s the deliberate musicality to weapons, like that crisp snap from a rifle report, the metallic clink of a trigger, or those amazing hollow thuds when you land a shot. Maybe it’s the way recoil feels rhythmic, with pulse rifles kicking like a heartbeat and handcannons bucking theatrically. Maybe it’s the way the world reacts to your shots, with shields crackling and splintering, and enemy NPCs staggering in place as you riddle them full of holes. Maybe it’s invisible qualities, like the almost perfectly tuned bullet magnetism and finessed projectile speeds, all working together to make you feel slightly better than you actually are. An old Bungie dev once told me that the secret to making a great shooter is in making four seconds of gameplay that feel perfect, then repeating those four seconds as many times as you can. I don’t know if this remains a guiding philosophy of the current team, but in any case, they really seem to have nailed just that.
As someone who adores PvP, one massively refreshing aspect of Marathon so far is how far it deviates from the group hug energy of ARC Raiders’ PvE-friendly community. Don’t get me wrong, cooperating with other players can be a hell of a time, but one of the major drawbacks is that you don’t get to see the PvP shine when it rarely happens. In a game like Marathon, with Bungie’s legendary FPS chops on full display, I’d be pretty disappointed if PvP encounters were as rare as they’ve become in ARC Raiders, because those gunfights are without question the best part of any match. The pressure of two teams squaring off in claustrophobic, dark hallways as you try to outmaneuver one another makes for some of the most tense encounters I’ve ever had, and the loot reward you get for winning those firefights is worth the stress (after all, the best way to loot is to let someone else do it for you and take it from their cold, dead hands).
The mark of a great extraction shooter is that “one more run” feeling, and a big part of that lies in how fun the long-term loot game is. That relies on both the badass weapons and gadgets you’ll find, as well as the quest items you’re asked to collect if you want to unlock an upgrade or complete a mission you’ve been given. In the early hours, I’ve been completely glued to my screen, poring over dense menus and trees to figure out which map I’ll need to play to complete this quest or loot that item, then going into battle with a specific set of objectives in mind – only for it to all go to hell when I run into a rival gang and the shrapnel starts flying. I’m really impressed by how fast the progression feels so far, and even during failed runs, I’ve seemed to make at least some kind of progress despite losing valuable loot along the way.
Obviously, acquiring a new weapon on the battlefield, like a long-distance rifle capable of one-shotting poorly-armored characters, then customizing said weapon with neat mods you’ve found along the way feels awesome. But there’s also little ways you can progress, like unlocking the ability to buy a larger backpack if you’ve lost all of yours in the battlefield, or gaining access to better shields in the store instead of having to rely purely on your ability to loot them out in the world. So far I’ve never felt like any of the progress lost on failed runs has hindered my desire to immediately jump back in, even when a particularly devastating loss left me with only white-rarity weapons.
It’s also been great to see the story play a larger role than I expected it to. After each mission, I’ve had some new faction to meet, a few quick lines of dialogue thrown my way, or some lore unlock for me to read, and I find myself really interested in learning more about this world and its inhabitants. I haven’t had nearly enough time to actually dive in here, as it can be tough to find reading time when your crewmates are waiting on you to launch the next match, but the vibe of these cutscenes and the spooky cyberpunk aesthetic is so damn interesting. I’m eager to know more. Here’s hoping the pace of lore continues as strongly as the first day has, and that it actually leads to some kind of payoff, since Bungie notably isn’t always great at this.
The Server Slam alone doesn’t paint a full picture, but it has got me excited to play more as we approach the full launch next week. I’ll be diving deep into every aspect of Marathon and be back with a final review once I’ve fully put it through its paces.
