Marathon had been on my radar ever since the game was first announced. When I heard Bungie was working on a new project, I was instantly hooked, being a fan of Halo and Destiny 2. The former of the two was one of the earliest FPS games I ever played, and as a loyalist of the first-person shooter genre, I knew I had to get my hands on Marathon.

When I found out I would be reviewing Bungie’s new extraction shooter, I hopped on at the earliest chance I could get (that being the pre-release Server Slam) and worked my way through a beautifully put-together environment backed up by a lore that reminds me a little bit of Dune by Frank Herbert.

The premise of the game puts your consciousness in a Runner shell as you explore Tau Ceti IV, a planet roughly 12 light-years from Earth, where the colony ship UESC Marathon has sent its battalion.

Marathon has been out for a week now, and I have to say, it feels as fresh as if I were stepping onto a new planet and experiencing an alien biome for the first time. Having explored all the Tau Ceti maps, various factions, their leaders, and the usual gameplay elements, I have a good understanding of what Bungie has created so far.

That said, this isn’t the final review, as we’re waiting for a couple of important gameplay modes to unlock before delivering our final verdict.

Note: This review will be updated once the Cryo Archive and ranked game modes are rolled out.

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An overview of Marathon and its early impressions

As of writing, I have spent around 25 hours experiencing Tau Ceti through multiple gameplay sessions. These were spread across the Server Slam playtests and release weekend. While competitors are opening up the extraction shooter genre to a more casual player base, Marathon has found a recipe that makes the experience painfully addicting for veterans of the same.

Although the extraction playstyle is not my cup of tea, Marathon manages to keep me hooked just enough to prevent me from entering burnout territory. That said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, and we will dive deeper into that in a short while.

Regarding its gameplay, Marathon brings back memories of previous Bungie projects. The game’s Runner movement makes me unapologetically nostalgic about Destiny 2, while the weapon feedback and gunfights remind me of how shooting Grunts and Jackals felt in Halo.

Fighting hostile Runners and UESC guards in my early matches quickly taught me how ruthless the TTK is. That said, Marathon offers a breath of fresh air, albeit with a bold and subjective visual design.

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Marathon’s design aesthetic is bold, but it has one big flaw

From the initial cutscene that expounds on the game’s lore, to the first tutorial you are thrown into, Marathon spares no dime in showcasing its vibrant sci-fi design. As a fan of minimalism, the overworld textures, texts, design elements, and posters scattered throughout the map soothe an itch that I didn’t know existed for me.

Every single item in your vault is well designed to suit the sci-fi aesthetic Bungie was going for. Ranging from the blocky gun styles to the ridiculously simple scope designs, every element sits well together. This shows minimalism runs deep through Marathon’s veins.

The maps offer a contrasting blend of a faded atmosphere and vibrant buildings, creating an eerie ambiance. One can easily distinguish high-value areas from the map terrain, making player spotting quite easy. This provides a competitive advantage in certain scenarios where you are holed up in a building, and you spot another team trying to sneak up on you.

Marathon implements a weather system that heavily influences how the game works. As Runner Shells are mechanical bodies onto which your consciousness is injected, the cooling effect of water helps reduce the overheating mechanism. This opens up a multitude of possibilities where players can utilize the terrain to influence teamfights.

Now, coming back to the flaws that plague Marathon, the excessive use of glitches and flashing lights during cutscenes, particular map areas, and some parts of the main menu feels overwhelming. It’s as if Bungie is constantly trying to shove the sci-fi design elements down the throats of an unamused crowd.

The intensity of the vibrant colors caused some discomfort in a few situations, which discouraged me from spending more than a couple of hours at a stretch. There was one particular match where I spawned on Perimeter in a room with extremely bright red lights. I lost my way after feeling dizzy and was hoping how soon I could exit this area.

While this criticism is very subjective, it can pose major problems for those suffering from epilepsy. Thankfully, this issue can be bypassed by heavily tweaking the display and/or NVIDIA settings.

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Marathon has a noteworthy audio experience, but only if you are within a certain range

Throughout the initial Tau Ceti regions available post-release, in-game audio has been my best friend. When facing lobbies dominated by Assassins, you learn to adapt after getting outgunned by invisible Runners. Bungie has implemented a reliable audio engine that delivers clear, well-imaged hostile sound cues. After a day or two of playing, being able to pinpoint opponents became second nature.

I have to give my props to the audio team, as they have done a great job at capturing a unique essence with the Marathon soundtracks. There is something pleasantly unsettling in the main menu music, and I’m in love with it. Thankfully, the gameplay music does not overpower the natural sounds of the terrain, UESC patrol guards, or footsteps for that matter. Nevertheless, I found myself decreasing the gameplay music bar to half of its original value.

There is one particular aspect where I feel the game could use some improvement. Weapon firing sounds heard across longer distances seem to diminish drastically.

Currently, this threshold seems to come into play when crossing the 145-150m range. As an FPS aficionado with a fair share of time spent in PUBG and Rainbow Six Siege, I expect players to be able to identify and differentiate weapon sounds across all distances.

When survival is at stake, I want every piece of information that my team and I can use. If a rifle equipped with thermal scopes shoots in my direction, I would like to pinpoint where I am being shot from and what exact weapon I am up against.

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Marathon’s weapons seem to be in a good place; it’s the attachments that are concerning

Guns and TTK seem to be in an arguably good place in Marathon’s infantile life. Even the basic weapons you acquire during the early game feel strong enough to take down AI bots and hostile runners.

While costlier weapons do have an advantage of range and/or damage, I would argue that it’s the higher-tier shields that influence fights more than weapon tiers and rarity. My go-to loadout of a Retaliator and Magnum/Hardline was plenty strong to carry me through the early game onslaught.

That said, Bungie has been actively listening to feedback to ensure player concerns are being addressed. This spells good news, as adjusting Marathon’s direction early can help avoid a scenario where the game ends up as detached from the community as Battlefield 6.

Without diverting attention from weapons, my next major concern is regarding their attachments. Thermal sights are extremely good right now, especially on Dire Marsh, where heavy fog makes spotting Runners with your naked eyes a challenge in itself. Thermal scopes make me feel like I’m cheating since their visibility range seemingly has no limit.

Players will slowly adapt to using the consumable that scrambles a Runner’s visual profile and thermal output over the course of the game. Although this is a decent counter to being shot across the map, a drop-off that reduces thermal visibility at longer ranges might help balance out the attachment in question.

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Ranked and Cryo Archive are still a few weeks away

Marathon has been live for less than a week, and during this time, players have been exploring maps, discovering new Runner techs, and fighting for high-tier loot. However, the title’s endgame zone and ranked modes are earmarked to be released sometime during the second half of March 2026.

This review will be duly updated with the experience these two formats have in store for us. Until then, Runners can spend their time leveling the seasonal upgrade tree, so that when Cryo Archive arrives, they are ready to tackle the endgame content.

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Marathon is unforgiving, and the game proudly wears that as a badge of honor

Marathon is brutal in every possible way. From vanishing opponents who can backstab you, to sneaky Runners that steal your highest-value loot, Bungie has created a PvP experience that is frustrating just as much as it is exciting.

Picking up a weapon from a dead Runner’s container never serves any purpose other than helping you fight the next team that approaches. Gear fear is non-existent because nothing in Tau Ceti can be claimed as your own.

During an extraction teamfight as an Assassin, I had my Triage hook me up with a med-drone, and I only had the WSTR Combat Shotgun with a few rounds of ammo. Jumping from the roof, I was able to deploy Shadow Dive on the hostile trio we engaged and took them down inside the smoke cloud. This teamfight made me reconsider how heavily I stack ammo in my loadout, as fighting Runners and a never-ending army of bots can quickly deplete resources.

I had my fair share of skill-issue moments, and there’s nothing better than consecutive losses to open your eyes to what you’re doing wrong in Marathon. Putting it bluntly, spraying and praying will only get you so far. However, when you combine Runner shell abilities with said weapons, you have got yourself a game where players can showcase their skills brazenly and be rewarded for it.

Although repeatedly losing matches and all my gear felt frustrating at the start, I was able to complete contracts, acquire Agent rank rewards, and grab items from the Armory. This ensured that my vault never sat empty.

Another core element that showcases Marathon’s unforgiving nature is its UESC guards. Coming from ARC Raiders, I figured I could extract back to UESC Marathon without any risk, even in the downed state. Boy, was I wrong. UESC guards inject wires into your runner shells and deplete the survival timer, which ticks down when you are downed. This single incident was enough to make me realize that Marathon bots are not to be taken lightly.

Every match is a survival of the fittest, or in this case, survival of the smartest. Vandals can escape your field of vision with astonishing agility, an Assassin can kill you with absurd positioning, Destroyer’s rockets can decimate even your safest hiding spots, and Thief can loot your valuables in the blink of an eye.

I would argue that the difficulty level of Marathon PvP may be slightly exaggerated on social media, because throughout all of my gameplay sessions, I never felt like I was being overrun by a team using better gear. Being able to consistently put up a good fight, even with a basic tier loadout, makes every match exciting.

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Marathon feels like the beginning of something massive

While queuing for a match, I always try to experiment with different shell combinations. The primary motive behind this is to find out the best trio of Runners for every map. It’s always this sort of theorycrafting in new games that gets me hooked. And with the vast array of potential Runner interactions, environmental influence, and movement tech waiting to be uncovered, Marathon has provided a fun little playground in the soon-to-be-stagnant genre.

As the game’s roster slowly increases with seasonal updates, I can’t help but feel excited for everything Bungie has in store for us. If this game turns out to be half as successful as Destiny 2, it can stand proud in the fatigue-inducing extraction shooter category filled with games like Escape from Tarkov, Arena Breakout, Delta Force, and ARC Raiders.

We will revisit this review once the Cryo Archive alongside the anticipated ranked mode becomes available and take another crack at Tau Ceti and its budding new world.