When I started playing Marathon for my review, I had the same reaction that I usually have to this type of game: Apathy. I didn’t care for another online extraction shooter. Almost every month, there is a new one that wants to try to be the next Fortnite. However, after completing a few quests, I realised that Bungie’s new project was completely different. It made me want to go back to Tao Ceti again and again, even though my friends are still hesitant to adapt to the Runner lifestyle.
Timeless
Marathon is a new PvP first-person extraction shooter, published by Sony and developed by Bungie, the studio behind the original Halo and the Destiny games. Some may be surprised to learn that this isn’t the first game in the series, as Bungie already released three Marathon games throughout the nineties. Not only do this new game and the originals share the same name, they also share the same story. The 2026 release follows on from the story and describes the events of the Tau Ceti IV space colony ninety-nine years after the events of the other releases. The colony established by humanity with the Marathon ship has gone dark, and various factions are fighting the UESC for personal gain and to seek wealth in the remains of the old colony.
You play as a Runner: a human who has traded in their original body for an enhanced cybernetic one, known as a ‘shell’. These shells come in various shapes and sizes with different specialisations, but they all have one thing in common: they are expendable. Think of them as character classes. As of now, there are seven to choose from:
- Destroyer: A tanky shell that lets you enter a match guns blazing. It supports a riot shield to block incoming fire and offers extra movement options, as well as a Prime move that lets you shoot homing missiles.
- Recon: This shell is all about knowing your surroundings. You can send out an Echo Pulse to ping all enemies in the area and an automated drone to track and explode on contact. You will also be notified if someone else pings your location.
- Thief: Channel your inner looter with a recon drone and a grappling hook to reach high places. You also get an X-ray visor that highlights the rarest items in containers before you open them.
- Assassin: Use smoke and invisibility to take down enemies unseen.Triage: A healer shell that can deploy med drones to heal allies or use its special Prime ability to instantly heal downed allies.
- Vandal: A fast-paced Runner shell that increases movement and weapon handling speed with the Amplify Prime, as well as boosting the fast-paced feel with a power slide and double jump.
- Rook: This unique class shell can only set a free loadout and can only be played solo. It drops you into matches that are already in the heat of the moment: 10–15 minutes in. Rooks can blend in with the NPC robots on the map, making it easier to get the drop on your enemies.
These classes may look intimidating, but let me take the next logical step and explain what your contracting factions actually demand of you and how a match works. Once this becomes clear, you will see that it is not as difficult as it seems.
Running Wild
In Marathon, six teams are dropped on a map to fulfil a contract they accepted from one of the six in-game factions. Runners are hired to complete tasks so that their employers can gain control of specific areas or resources of the colony. You start with CyberAcme (CyAcs for short), which mostly involves extracting data from the surface. You will soon come into contact with the Arachne death cult, who want you to kill Runners; NuCaloric and Traxus, who are both involved in planetary resources and information extraction; the chaotic MIDA, who sow disorder; and Sekiguchi, the designers of the shells, who want you to push your body to its limits. All mandatory objectives are unique, expanding the story of what happened to the colony through environmental storytelling and data files. This unique gameplay loop broadens your view of the world.
Gaining favour with factions also gives you the option to purchase more powerful equipment from them and obtain upgrades through their skill trees. Aside from loot, there is therefore something to be gained by both parties.
What makes Marathon’s approach to objectives unique is that you don’t usually need to successfully complete a match to complete your objective. If you die while succeeding, it’s just part of the process: you lose your equipment, but you still get paid. Expanding shells might seem strange at first, but loot isn’t the only important thing. Your contractors can provide sponsored kits and resources to compensate for your loss. So, if you die within the first two minutes of the game because your team decides to enter a high-security building, don’t hold it against them. It’s quick, refreshing, and a nice change of pace from genre staples. Drop, die, or extract, then repeat. That is what Marathon is all about.
Data Immersion
Even though the Marathon gameplay loop might be fun. It pales in comparison to the look and feel of the entire project. Marathon has a unique look and sound, with its own take on dystopian sci-fi. Over the last few years, I have realised that there is more to the sci-fi genre than just Star Wars, and I have started to devour series. But from the classic Dune to Hyperion, I have never encountered anything quite like this. The shells, the world, the guns… Everything seems to have come straight out of an advanced 3D printer and has a plasticky finish. Combine this with the desolate state of the Tao Ceti colony, and the result is a unique blend that evokes both eeriness and a desire to explore. Whether you drop into the first map, Perimeter, or the newly added, much harder Cryo Archive, you will undoubtedly find something new every time.
The AI contractors are strange human-like beings, and there’s always something off about them. I can’t get over the creepy moth crawling over a face in the loading screen. It’s a bold design choice that not many games take.
The soundtrack by Ryan Lott just adds to the immersion. It’s one of the most fitting game soundtracks I’ve heard in the last year. Featuring strange piano sounds and vocal tones, it transports you from your sofa to the year 2893. Design like this deserves nothing but praise.
Aside from looking great, exploring and travelling through Tao Ceti also feels great. Marathon offers the excellent gunplay and fluidity we’ve come to expect from Bungie. Every weapon, from a simple pistol to a sniper rifle, feels great to handle, and I never felt ill-equipped in a firefight. As long as I used my head, I could kill opponents with superior weapons, even with only a pistol. Player skill is key, not the type of build. This is a great asset of any shooter.
Currently, there are four maps that can be explored. You start with Perimeter, the most open map. But each subsequent map is progressively more dense and secure. They all feel fun to play, but I would advise tackling the later maps, such as Cryo Archive, with a competent team. In my experience, when playing with random players, we only managed to succeed and complete the mission when we all worked together and fulfilled our roles.
Uplink online
I would like to conclude this review by addressing the elephant in the room: the multiplayer aspect of the game. Marathon is currently performing well, but I don’t think it’s the huge, earth-shattering success that Sony was expecting from a new Bungie project. It has great gameplay, strong design, and an engaging story that unfolds through gameplay. But is that good enough to stop Sony from pressing the big red termination? I have played this game almost daily for the past four weeks. From the server slam to the main release, I haven’t been able to put it down. Throughout this time, however, I haven’t been able to convince a single friend to play the game or even watch gameplay videos. In fact, I’ve even heard a few people say that this game will die within a few months, which is a shame because it’s one of the most unique games out there. The monetisation system after purchase doesn’t feel forced, as it does in some other games in this genre. The community is friendly, and everything this game does feels great, so why are we so reluctant to try games like this? I think it is all part of the culture surrounding this type of game, with studios trying to create a new cash cow or a new Fortnite. Even Sony is included in this discussion with Concord. This makes players hesitant to support projects like Marathon from the start. I even questioned whether I would have tried this game without a review copy, being wary of the possibility of making a bad purchase. So, in my limited capacity as a relatively new reviewer, I would like to encourage everyone to give Marathon a chance. Don’t let genre fatigue fool you, as it almost did me. This is worth your time. And if the content roadmap is to be believed, Tao Ceti has a lot more left in store for us.
Conclusion
The gaming landscape rarely sees a PvP first-person extraction shooter like Bungie’s new Marathon. It blends fun, engaging gameplay with fast-paced matches and smartly chosen mission structures. Tao Ceti IV feels like a vision of the future that we haven’t already encountered in sci-fi, boasting a unique visual design and a futuristic soundtrack that shapes the atmosphere like no other. I really hope this game finds a consistent player base, because I want Marathon to stick around and show me more of its world for years to come!
