If there was one game over the past few years that got battered from every corner of the gaming sphere before it even launched, it was Bungie’s reboot of Marathon, their classic MacOS Doom clone reimagined as a futuristic extraction shooter in the mold of Escape from Tarkov. First came the immediate backlash of, “Why are they making another live-service game? Don’t they already have Destiny?” Then that turned into, “Oh no, Destiny has dropped off in quality,” as the game entered a kind of free fall, with players steadily jumping ship. Then came the big controversy: Bungie forgot to remove test textures from the alpha, opening the door for accusations that the studio had lifted work from artists. That, in turn, gave people who already hated the game a very real reason to channel that resentment into something louder. While all of this was happening, Arc Raiders stepped in and stole the thunder and spotlight that should have belonged to Marathon, especially once Bungie delayed the game to weather the storm. Now, Marathon doesn’t just have to prove itself on its own terms; it has to win over players who already picked a side in the extraction shooter race. So, after spending two weeks with the game, plus some time with its first post-launch update, I’m honestly shocked by how much fun I had. In fact, I enjoyed it more than Arc Raiders. I wasn’t even much of an Extraction Shooter fan when that game launched last fall, but Marathon might end up being the gateway game for a lot of people, myself included.
The biggest reason for that is how approachable Bungie has made the core loop. Extraction shooters have always had this reputation of being brutally punishing, borderline hostile to newcomers, where a single bad run can wipe out hours of progress and leave you wondering why you even booted the game up in the first place. Marathon still has that tension, but it smooths out the roughest edges. Matches feel faster, objectives are clearer, and the onboarding process does a much better job of teaching you how to survive without throwing you into the deep end immediately. There’s still that adrenaline rush when you’re sprinting toward extraction with a full inventory, hearing gunfire behind you, but it never feels like the game is actively trying to push you away. A big part of that comes down to Bungie’s gunplay, which continues to be one of the best in the industry. No matter how many times they iterate on it, they just understand how to make weapons feel good. Every shot has weight, every reload has intention, and the moment-to-moment combat feels smooth in a way that most extraction shooters simply don’t. Compared to Arc Raiders, which leans more into slower, methodical engagements, Marathon feels more fluid and reactive. It almost tricks you into playing more aggressively than you should, creating chaotic, unscripted moments where everything can fall apart in seconds.
The game’s visual style also deserves a lot of credit. Instead of going for the typical gritty, hyper-realistic look that dominates the genre, Marathon leans into a clean, almost sterile sci-fi aesthetic with bold colors and sharp contrasts. It gives the game a distinct identity that sets it apart immediately, even if some players might initially find it a bit too minimal or “clinical.” Over time, though, that clarity becomes a strength. It’s easier to read environments, spot enemies, and navigate spaces without the visual clutter that can sometimes overwhelm other games in the genre. That said, the game isn’t without its issues. The live-service structure is still very much present, and depending on your tolerance for battle passes, seasonal resets, and ongoing content drops, that could be a reason to stick around or check out early. The progression system, while more forgiving than some of its competitors, can still feel a bit grindy, especially once you hit the mid-game and start chasing higher-tier gear. There’s also the lingering question of long-term support. Bungie has a lot riding on this, and given the current state of Destiny, there’s a level of skepticism that feels completely justified.
The first post-launch update does a decent job of addressing some early concerns, adding quality-of-life improvements and balancing tweaks that show Bungie is at least paying attention. But it’s also clear that Marathon will live or die on how consistently the studio can deliver meaningful updates. In a genre that thrives on player retention, momentum is everything, and losing that early could be difficult to recover from. What surprised me the most, though, is how Marathon changes your mindset over time. At first, I played cautiously, almost nervously, treating every encounter like it could be my last. But as I got more comfortable with the systems and mechanics, I started taking more risks, chasing fights instead of avoiding them, and leaning into the unpredictability that makes these games so compelling. That shift, from hesitation to confidence, is where Marathon really clicked for me.
It’s not a perfect game, and it probably won’t win over everyone who wrote it off months ago. But there’s something undeniably compelling about it once you actually get your hands on it. It feels like Bungie took a genre that can often feel impenetrable and made it just accessible enough without stripping away what makes it exciting.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5