Marathon still has work to do to become the ‘baby’s first extraction shooter’ it needs to be
It feels like Bungie's Marathon is facing an uphill battle if it wants to become the title that the studio and its owner at PlayStation thinks and wants it to be, which is a successful live-service game that brings in steady profits. Marathon doesn't seem to have much of an identity in the extraction shooter genre thus far, which is fine for now because it's just in its closed alpha test phase. But with the game launching in about five months, it needs to get a foothold to separate itself, and I think "baby's first extraction shooter" is what it needs to be. Screenshot by Destructoid It is me, I am the baby. I've never been a fan of the extraction mode, and I've tried it before. Escape From Tarkov is too campy and hardcore for my tastes, and Call of Duty's DMZ mode never really felt fun in my experience with it. And that's about where my history with the mode ended before I booted up Marathon yesterday. Within my first six hours of playing Marathon, I struggled to grasp exactly what the point of it all is, even though I know what the elevator pitch of a game like it is supposed to be when it comes to appeal. Load into an area, get cool loot, defend yourself from AI and real players, and then extract with the goods. At a certain point, after an exhilarating exfil after several teamfights and dealing with waves of robots, I felt a little bit of a tingle in my soul that told me "oh, I get it now." And I think it works, for me, because I'm a Destiny fan with thousands of hours in that franchise thanks to its gunplay, which also feels solid in Marathon so far, but also because it makes the genre a bit more accessible than some others. Grinding missions for different factions to unlock new upgrades to better enhance your chances of survival on future runs is a fun draw, I won't lie, and the risk of losing it all makes it an exciting yet scary prospect, so I do now understand the appeal. Don't get me wrong, the in-game menus featuring inventories, factions, and a seemingly neverending random pile of loot is still a mess to sort through when you're not used to it. I'm definitely not used to it, and I literally play video games for my job, so I can only imagine how daunting it is for a more casual player to be faced with. Screenshot by Destructoid There's a jarring variety of different weapons, weapon attachments, ammo, consumables, cores, implants, and sellable random junk that you can pick up and find in the world. It's...a lot. I'm not sure how to simplify this sort of aspect of extraction games because it seems like it's a staple, so on this subject I speak as an outsider. The hurdle of making extraction modes go further mainstream is just one obstacle for the game, of which its biggest is likely the $40 price tag in a world where free-to-play multiplayer games top the charts. Games like Fortnite, Warzone, Marvel Rivals, Counter-Strike 2, and others like it run the gamut of different shooter genres, but all have a free entry point for players to try it and get hooked. Marathon does not have that luxury, and it likely won't, as Sony looks to recoup some of its multi-billion dollar investment into Bungie. I'm genuinely not sure how the game will sell with a premium price when players can play what they know and what is free for way less of a risk. And even after playing for one day, there's a good amount of issues that need to be addressed before the game launches and even gets to the point of day one sales. One of the more controversial subjects is the "Mouse Magnetism" setting (aim assist, basically), that a lot of PC players have an issue with as it lessens the skill gap. I'm curious to see if Bungie addresses it, because this is another purposeful feature that seems to be looking to attract more casual players to keep them in the fight against the sweatier gamers among us. But in a mode that's inherently sweaty, it could alienate some of the potential player base. There's also a distinct lack of audio from enemy players up close, the PvE enemies feel like simple bullet sponges rather than a direct threat, movement feels clunky, and the process of looting isn't nearly as satisfying as it could or should be. These all feel like specific issues that alpha feedback could help if Bungie is willing to listen, though, so it's not all that urgent in comparison to some of the other glaring issues mentioned above. Screenshot by Destructoid As a Bungie game, I think another strength could be some high-end PvE dungeon stuff where there is a massive amount of risk with big rewards in hidden areas requiring rare keys, or something. That might be another selling point. I'm still not really sure how to feel about Marathon right now. I like it, I understand the appeal, but it feels lacking in a lot of ways. I am excited to see what Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate has to offer, though. Maybe that's more my speed. Either way, it kind of feels like it's getting late early for Marathon to figure out
It feels like Bungie's Marathon is facing an uphill battle if it wants to become the title that the studio and its owner at PlayStation thinks and wants it to be, which is a successful live-service game that brings in steady profits.
Marathon doesn't seem to have much of an identity in the extraction shooter genre thus far, which is fine for now because it's just in its closed alpha test phase. But with the game launching in about five months, it needs to get a foothold to separate itself, and I think "baby's first extraction shooter" is what it needs to be.
It is me, I am the baby. I've never been a fan of the extraction mode, and I've tried it before. Escape From Tarkov is too campy and hardcore for my tastes, and Call of Duty's DMZ mode never really felt fun in my experience with it. And that's about where my history with the mode ended before I booted up Marathon yesterday.
Within my first six hours of playing Marathon, I struggled to grasp exactly what the point of it all is, even though I know what the elevator pitch of a game like it is supposed to be when it comes to appeal. Load into an area, get cool loot, defend yourself from AI and real players, and then extract with the goods.
At a certain point, after an exhilarating exfil after several teamfights and dealing with waves of robots, I felt a little bit of a tingle in my soul that told me "oh, I get it now." And I think it works, for me, because I'm a Destiny fan with thousands of hours in that franchise thanks to its gunplay, which also feels solid in Marathon so far, but also because it makes the genre a bit more accessible than some others.
Grinding missions for different factions to unlock new upgrades to better enhance your chances of survival on future runs is a fun draw, I won't lie, and the risk of losing it all makes it an exciting yet scary prospect, so I do now understand the appeal.
Don't get me wrong, the in-game menus featuring inventories, factions, and a seemingly neverending random pile of loot is still a mess to sort through when you're not used to it. I'm definitely not used to it, and I literally play video games for my job, so I can only imagine how daunting it is for a more casual player to be faced with.
There's a jarring variety of different weapons, weapon attachments, ammo, consumables, cores, implants, and sellable random junk that you can pick up and find in the world. It's...a lot. I'm not sure how to simplify this sort of aspect of extraction games because it seems like it's a staple, so on this subject I speak as an outsider.
The hurdle of making extraction modes go further mainstream is just one obstacle for the game, of which its biggest is likely the $40 price tag in a world where free-to-play multiplayer games top the charts. Games like Fortnite, Warzone, Marvel Rivals, Counter-Strike 2, and others like it run the gamut of different shooter genres, but all have a free entry point for players to try it and get hooked.
Marathon does not have that luxury, and it likely won't, as Sony looks to recoup some of its multi-billion dollar investment into Bungie. I'm genuinely not sure how the game will sell with a premium price when players can play what they know and what is free for way less of a risk.
And even after playing for one day, there's a good amount of issues that need to be addressed before the game launches and even gets to the point of day one sales. One of the more controversial subjects is the "Mouse Magnetism" setting (aim assist, basically), that a lot of PC players have an issue with as it lessens the skill gap. I'm curious to see if Bungie addresses it, because this is another purposeful feature that seems to be looking to attract more casual players to keep them in the fight against the sweatier gamers among us. But in a mode that's inherently sweaty, it could alienate some of the potential player base.
There's also a distinct lack of audio from enemy players up close, the PvE enemies feel like simple bullet sponges rather than a direct threat, movement feels clunky, and the process of looting isn't nearly as satisfying as it could or should be. These all feel like specific issues that alpha feedback could help if Bungie is willing to listen, though, so it's not all that urgent in comparison to some of the other glaring issues mentioned above.
As a Bungie game, I think another strength could be some high-end PvE dungeon stuff where there is a massive amount of risk with big rewards in hidden areas requiring rare keys, or something. That might be another selling point.
I'm still not really sure how to feel about Marathon right now. I like it, I understand the appeal, but it feels lacking in a lot of ways. I am excited to see what Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate has to offer, though. Maybe that's more my speed. Either way, it kind of feels like it's getting late early for Marathon to figure out what it wants to be and if that's good enough to find success in 2025.
The post Marathon still has work to do to become the ‘baby’s first extraction shooter’ it needs to be appeared first on Destructoid.
