PlayStation 5 User Reviews

Now that there’s a PvE mode, I love this game and highly recommend it. The hate it gets online is unjustified.

One of the best games iv ever played. Thank you bungie. <3<3<3<3 <3<3<3<3 <3<3<3<3

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow fantastique

alot of reviews are based only on multiplayer, I was trying on solo, the game is miserable and unplayable no explanation how to get anywhere just huge messy menus and fumbling about looking for what the hell I need to do to get the game to click. The answer is you have to play with a group. The cool look does not match the abysmal gameplay.

live service slop. bad character design, boring style in general, no single player. why did this have to be Marathon? Sony spent a fortune to make an okay extraction shooter that could have done well if it wasn't related to Marathon. extraction shooters are kinda niche, Sony is chasing a trend that's already settled and established. Marathon should have been along the lines of Doom 2016. a single player revival of a classic treated with respect. the Marathon we got is meant to make Sony money and nothing more. I'm not a Destiny fan but I feel bad for them too. p.s. games reliant on online services have an expiration date and I can't recommend ever "purchasing" live service or DRM required content.

Just a hollow, cynical attempt to jump on a trend a decade too late. There's nothing unique or masterfully done in this game.

Rezension: Marathon – Sonys seelenloses Sci-Fi-Experiment kommt Jahre zu spät ​Das Live-Service-Dilemma: Ein Experiment zur falschen Zeit Dieses Spiel ist das Paradebeispiel für ein Experiment, das einfach viel zu spät kommt. Sony will seit Jahren krampfhaft ein Stück vom großen Live-Service-Kuchen abhaben, beweist dabei aber kein glückliches Händchen. Ihre Titel erscheinen gefühlt Jahre nach dem eigentlichen Hype, und es fehlt ihnen schlicht der nötige Reiz, um Spieler von den etablierten Platzhirschen des Genres wegzulocken. Dass das Projekt zudem von massiven internen Turbulenzen und Urheberrechts-Schlammschlachten hinter den Kulissen überschattet wurde, merkt man dem holprigen Endprodukt an jeder Ecke an. ​Kryptische Optik trifft auf leblose Inszenierung Rein visuell erwartet uns hier ein Extraction-Shooter im Sci-Fi-Stil, der auf eine sehr kryptische, extrem bunte Optik und eine gelinde gesagt „eigenwillige“ Inszenierung setzt. Gerade bei Letzterer reibt man sich verwundert die Augen: Es gibt kaum Videos, keine packenden Zwischensequenzen und keinerlei echte Charakterisierung der Figuren. Das lässt die Spielwelt und ihre Akteure völlig tot wirken. ​Man mag argumentieren, dass wir hier nur künstliche Körper steuern und das Spiel uns vermitteln will, dass wir austauschbare, seelenlose Killer sind – aber am Ende ist das (wie schon bei Titeln wie Overwatch) eine uninspirierte, komplett verpasste Chance, um überhaupt eine Bindung zur Spielwelt aufzubauen. ​Starkes Fundament, toxisches Erwachen Was bleibt, sind das Leveldesign und das Gameplay. Hier merkt man immerhin die gewohnte, starke Entwickler-DNA: Die Welt ist verschachtelt, clever designt und bietet abwechslungsreiche Biome. Über das Gunplay braucht man gar nicht erst reden – das ist wie gewohnt absolut über jeden Zweifel erhaben, knackig und präzise. ​Das größte Problem liegt jedoch im Einstieg und der Dynamik. Man wird knallhart in die Welt geworfen, und der Fokus liegt fast ausschließlich auf dem gnadenlosen gegenseitigen Töten. Die Hoffnung, dass man sich zu Beginn vielleicht auch mal begnügt und nicht sofort übereinander herfällt, wird direkt im Keim erstickt. Stattdessen wird man nach dem Ableben auch noch genüsslich „gebaggt“. Eine tolle Community, die hier aufgebaut wird! Aber dieses Problem kennt man ja leider schon aus Destiny: Wer ungeeignet für den harten Kern oder Raids war, wurde schnell gedisst. ​Der PvE-Modus als stumpfes Notpflaster Als Reaktion auf den Frust gibt es zwar einen reinen PvE-Modus gegen KI-Gegner, aber der macht das Spiel an sich auch nicht besser. Zum einen fehlt dadurch der für das Genre essenzielle Nervenkitzel komplett, zum anderen ändert der Modus rein gar nichts an der mangelhaften, emotionslosen Inszenierung. ​Fazit: Mechanisch hui, strategisch und atmosphärisch pfui. Tolles Gunplay rettet ein Spiel nicht, wenn ihm jegliche Seele fehlt und die Community neue Spieler sofort im Keim erstickt. Man darf extrem gespannt sein, wie lange Sony dieses verspätete Experiment noch künstlich am Leben hält.

Perfect game for the summer. MUST TRY. One of the best looking games of the year!

I’ve been adoring Bungie games for decades now. Unfortunately after a good few goes I found the visuals, gameplay & HUD quite traumatising. I stopped to avoid PTSD.

Marathon is a cynical, hollow corpse of a legacy franchise. Bungie has taken a legendary name and stripped it of its identity, forcing it into the soulless, hyper-competitive 'extraction shooter' mold that nobody asked for. With a player count cratering toward the floor and daily peaks barely **** by, it’s clear the community has already voted with their feet. It’s a tedious, grindy experience designed to extract your time and money, not to provide actual fun. Bungie’s 'modern vision' is just a glorified loot-treadmill that serves as a testament to how out of touch they’ve become

$ony and PlayStation represent the worst of gaming industry. They just want your money by any means, don’t trust them, this is the Concord company. Use you’re time and money on companies pro consumer Physical media will live forever.

Не фанат подобного жанра. Я пытался играть в Arc Raiders, но, честно говоря, в душу он не то чтобы прям запал. Лор не воодушевил, лут по ощущениям перегруженный, в вайпах не так много смысла. Да и из-за первого опыта в экстракшен-шутерах психологически не мог брать крутые вещи в рейд, потому что банально страшно с ними расставаться. По итогу я поставил крест на этом жанре.Но тут случился Marathon. Признаюсь, за игрой не следил с момента анонса. Единственное, что слышал, — альфа-тест был ужасным, и игру перенесли на полгода. «Ну и фиг с ней, — подумал я. — Всё равно не люблю полчаса сидеть в инвентаре и за минуту просирать все свои заслуги».В течение месяца после релиза игры я активно начал натыкаться на ролики, где люди рассказывали, почему никто не понял Marathon, и меня прям заинтриговала эта ситуация. И всё же я решил попробовать сыграть в этот ваш проект от компании Bungie под издательством PlayStation. Саму игру купил на PlayStation и запустил с мыслями: «Ну, дай бог, понравится». И на моё удивление, игра мне вкатила и забрала всё моё свободное время. Без иронии: я всё время думал, как бы поскорее сесть за свой любимый Marathon, — настолько он мне нравится.Наиграл я в Marathon, к сожалению, не так уж и много — всего лишь 70 часов на консоли. Но за это время я испытал все эмоции: от смерти от ботов до замеса с несколькими сквадами одновременно. Настолько мне понравилось, что решил проапгрейдиться до делюкс-версии с помощью ПК, заодно чтобы сыграть в игру, когда рядом будет компьютер, а PlayStation нет.Да, у игры есть свои проблемы: не самый понятный и удобный интерфейс; для кого-то спорный арт-дизайн (но лично мне прям очень зашёл); не самая быстрая прогрессия и, наверное, отсутствие социального взаимодействия — как в вышеупомянутом Arc Raiders. Большинство настроены агрессивно, но зачастую это происходит потому, что не знаешь, чего ожидать от противника. Голосовой чат в игре есть, но, по опыту могу сказать, им не так уж часто пользуются — и это не проблема консолей, на ПК такое тоже замечено.Но, несмотря на эти проблемы, игра мне запала в душу своим дизайном, историей и геймплеем. Здесь мне не страшно терять лут, а походы в крио-архив заставляют пересмотреть своё отношение к игре. В игре очень приятная стрельба, звукам — моё почтение, отлично понимаешь, что вокруг тебя происходит. Также заметил, что у игры большое сообщество из России, что не может не радовать. И помимо того, что я купил её два раза.Основной плюс игры заключается в том, что она не такая хардкорная и душная, как тот же «Тарков», и это подтвердили ветераны «побегов», которые попадались мне в матчах, но в то же время она не ощущается казуальной, как тот же Arc Raiders. Я думаю, игра сможет найти своих преданных фанатов, и надеюсь, что 2 июня с началом второго сезона появится приток новых геймеров, которые смогут распробовать Marathon.В целом могу сказать: игра — 12 из 10 на кончиках пальцев.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Sorry for my English, but this game not worse. Nothing everything affiliated with the Activision not good and Sony should know that bring back Destiny people begging you, please.

Absolutely awful game, i think the only time ive been more bored is watching paint dry, whoever was behind the decision to continue to support this game over destiny 2 must be recovering from a lobotomy, ill never buy a sony product again, i wont even go to watch any kind of sony film, Tom Hollands is the only spiderman ill ever acknowledge now simply because hes the only non sony spiderman, oh and i threw my playstation away yesterday and just got back from picking up an xbox because well **** you sony

Punishing but rewarding if you stick with it. Some of the most fun I've had in a multiplayer shooter in a long time. The hate for this game just feels so forced. Everything from the art direction, the guns, environments, and sound design is phenomenal. Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost are all great maps with plenty to do. The addition of Dire Marsh Night in S2 has been a welcome change of pace and adds a whole new layer to the gameplay. Its one of the only extraction shooters with an endgame map as well, Cryo Archive which is just oozing with sauce. Factions always make sure you have something to do with contracts that progress a story and add to the in-game lore. Give the game a chance before writing it off, its a rewarding experience if you give it time and learn its inner workings.

I tried marathon during the free to play days putting in about 9 hours before deciding I wasn't going to purchase the game. The game is extremely punishing to new players and it feels like the skill level and matchmaking between veterans and noobs is too vast to overcome. I was initially annoyed just in the tutorial because it fails to teach you anything about the game besides failure. I'm used to playing games that don't hold your hand but this game has me googling too much. More than I desire to. Im glad I didnt purchase the game. I only played it entirely on bungie's reputation with Halo and destiny (which I had 3000 hours in 1 and 2 combined) This game is barer than when destiny first launched. I expected more game modes, more fun content, maybe something to give me a break from the sweatiness of this game. If you don't have friends to play with you're basically screwed in this game. It's great they give you free kits to start out with, but its useless when I'm getting killed by snipers and people with Machineguns. I tried solos and I had an easier time doing contracts, but the fun is less. I found the game to be less fun with friends because I felt like we got wiped faster. I only exfilled like 7 times and that was only ok perimeter. My first game I was killed at exfil trying to leave the game and I got shot in the back. I had fun in the moments I was successful but I felt more frustration that far overshadowed any fun I had. I realized the next day I had zero interest in returning. Game seemed interesting but this was my first and last extraction shooter. I like games with story. You know what Bungie is really good at.

Don't waste your time. How this game ever got made is a mystery to me. There is absolutely no point in playing this.

435 hours in and I find myself giving a zero star review because of the maddening matchmaking bug that resets your map and mode preferences between matches. I've lost thousands of credits and loads of items this season by repeatedly loading into the wrong map and/or loading into a trios game as a solo. Why is that even an option? The UI/UX changes to the area of the lobby screen that displays this info are horrible. I had so much fun in season 1. Marathon was the best game I've played in a decade. Maybe the best shooter of all time. Destiny players reviewed bombed the game for no reason, so I was determined to recruit all my friends for season 2. Now I'm embarrassed I recommend the game to them! Losing my gear and credits over and over again ruins the game. The gameplay loop is already so sweaty. To lose gear in this fashion is a slap in the face. The fact that devs aren't prioritizing a fix to this is so frustrating

300hrs in and this game is phenomenal. The hate it gets is absolutely stupid. Finally something fresh and entertaining in the FPS world. Cryo archive (the last map) is soooo good. If you've already decided to hate it forget about it but if you want to try it, you should.. it's peak gaming. Also great community :)

i hate this i hate this i hate this i hate this i hate this i hate this i hate this

It's an amazing game, fantastic gameplay with a really cool style. It has been a while since I've got into an online game this quick. The world that it is set in is really interesting I love the lore and imagination/design language. The score is also with bringing up as it has some really unique sounds. I would like to say though, that although I think it's amazing and definitely worth trying, the genre isn't for everyone. Extraction shooters are intense. But this one is a great place to start, I came on with the server slam played through s1 and now s2. S2 has made some brilliant changes. I hope this game lives for a long time so we can see what the Devs do next with this IP. (Also I think the controversy with this game and bunjie's previous title should be ignored when it comes to reviewing this game, however upsetting some may have found that.)

this my goty actually i was started to get bored of the gaming landscape but marathon is **** dope this only thing i didnt like was that its an hero shooter

This is the bar for multiplayer extraction! The gameplay is top knotch, very smooth, great weapon selection and very good pacing. It's constantly updated adding new improvements and I've had very little issues with performance. It plays like a Call of Duty, but in extraction style. It has a steep learning curve, but it's worth putting in the time as once you understand the levels and goals, it proves to be a very exciting PVP extraction shooter. I haven't enjoyed a multiplayer game in a long time as much as this one. I'm 160+ hours in.

Bungie’s Marathon revives a classic franchise as an extraction shooter rather than the story-driven experience of the original games. Its sci-fi art style, vibrant colors, and clean environments help it stand out within a niche but growing genre.Players enter matches to gather loot and extract safely while facing AI enemies and rival players. The risk of losing collected gear creates tension and makes every decision meaningful. Bungie’s shooter expertise is evident in the smooth movement, polished combat, and satisfying gunplay.Compared to ARC Raiders, Marathon places greater emphasis on fast-paced PvP combat. ARC Raiders focuses more on PvE encounters, survival, and scavenging, offering a slower, more methodical experience. While both use extraction mechanics, Marathon targets competitive players, whereas ARC Raiders may appeal more to those who enjoy exploration, teamwork, and environmental challenges.Some longtime fans may miss the original series’ story-driven focus, and Marathon will need strong progression, balance, and ongoing updates to succeed. Still, it has distinctive style and polished gameplay. Instead of Arc Raiders freedom of choice when it comes to wipes, Marathon wipes everyone back to the beginning each season. Which might frustrate some players. Its a great way to get rid of gear fear tho.

Gun play is fun. My eyes burn. Whoever chose this color palette should be fired. Items dont make much sense

Nothing matters. This game is built on collecting digital rewards, not the run and gun fun that Bungie has been known for since the 1990. Yet the first screen tells you that if your cyber self dies during a mission, you get nothing. Every few month the game launches a new season and you lose everything. Bungie sacrificed gameplay for built in frustrations and I’ll have none of it. First the good. The game world is gorgeous. The art style is hot: bold neon colors and lots of rounded edges. A video game world can look like anything and that is what Bungie has done here. Robot enemies have giant red lights on their heads. Bad design for them. Great accessibility for players. The shooting gameplay is classic Bungie, but in the decades since Halo, other games have caught up. It’s really nothing special anymore. Lots of developers now tune aim assist to make shooting feel good. Now the bad. Menus. This game is infected with them. You have to move items from here to there and then there to here. You have to move items around before beginning a match and after ending a match. You can’t simply go from match to match, enjoying your life. You also need to move around items during a match. So all that great Bungie gameplay you like halts dead while you dive into the menu screen to make space on your virtual backpack. Personally, I don’t enjoy inventory management as a gameplay element. The basic concept of the game is also quite niche and not something I find enjoyable at all. I can understand the appeal. Run in, grab what you can, and get out. Each match is a kind of a heist. Meanwhile, other players on the map are trying to ruin your experience. Or maybe you are trying to ruin theirs. When you die, you get nothing and have to wait for matchmaking again. There is a concept that games are more engaging when you pretend they matter. Bungie played with this idea in Destiny and Destiny 2, and generated a lot of badwill doing it. On the one hand, making an in game reward rare gives it some value, even as an ephemeral digital item. On the other hand, adding a lot of arbitrary barriers to gameplay makes a game less fun to play. Marathon is all of these systems tuned to the maximum degree. Collecting things is fun but dying and getting nothing. Shooting is fun but wandering for minutes with no enemies is not. Other players are fun but them camping at the extraction point is not. There are ways to maximize player fun instead of player manipulation. The worst of it is that this is the entire game. There is no campaign with handcrafted levels to play through. There is no arena death match. There is no cooperative strike mission. The entire game is this one game mode. Marathon is a shallow product. As good as this game looks, I cannot recommend it for anyone. I honestly believe you’ll have a better time with a different game including games in the same genre of extraction shooters. I would probably score this lower if I didn’t have a soft spot for Bungie.

Played during the free trial the game lagged like crazy making it impossible to win since failing means you lose your gear thought it was my internet but my connection was fine and other games like destiny 2 and final fantasy 14 gave me no issues online was also given an error code when getting disconnected but bungie's official site claims that code does not exist it just baffles me that this game was released in this state as it's impossible to progress I get gear in the solo area and as soon as you jump to the next area you have to fight lag, enemies that seem to spawn infinitely meaning you can't search for gear on them cause as soon as you do more spawn and shoot you down, and of course other players that are on other squads will instantly shoot you on sight if you can't win will you lose your gear and your back at the beginniner solo area with the starter gear to grab better gear and hope for a better run to make progress. I think the idea for this game is interesting and could work they just need to tune it better make the online actually work have items that could protect your gear from being lost so you at least get a 2nd chance before having to start over and personally I think a PvE only area could be nice to help players progress and at least see more of the game rather than focusing solely on the PvPvE aspect where players that are just better or have stronger gear will crush you in seconds if you aren't prepared.

Game has a lot of potential. Shooting feels amazing, graphics are amazing, but the UI is basically rocket science and matchmaking is absolutely awful. I get matched with Turkish and Russian speakers all the time, why? Its so annoying. Also, there is no way to save loadouts... And there is no safe pocket for valueable items at all. I wish this game was better because i was 50% having REAL FUN but also 50% of total frustration.

Not developed enough. Crashes ever 3rd game and have long loading times. Loading screens can be irritating stroboscopic. When its playable maybe a 5. ****.more than that. Dont believe the hype.

It is absolutely baffling that Bungie killed off the live-service future of Destiny 2 just to give us Marathon. They abandoned a legendary, high-octane universe to pivot to a slow-paced, frustratingly sluggish extraction shooter that misses the mark entirely. Trading the incredible power fantasies and fluid gunplay of Guardians for these slow, rigid Runner shells feels like one of the worst studio decisions in recent gaming **** you are going into this expecting the tense, fast-flowing tactical adrenaline of the original king of the casual extraction genre, Call of Duty: Warzone’s DMZ mode, you are going to be deeply disappointed. Instead of the smooth, rapid-deployment pacing that made DMZ a masterpiece, Marathon bogs you down with a punishing stamina mechanic and a brutal time-to-kill that forces you to crawl through the map. It feels more like a survival-horror sneaker than a high-stakes competitive shooter.Ultimately, Marathon does not have the content to justify the grind, it does not have the pacing to keep you hooked, and it does not even come close to touching the legacy of the OG DMZ. It is an incredibly disappointing, slow-paced misfire from a studio that used to define the entire first-person shooter genre.

Best fps feel ever, do to the high tick count servers. Shooting feels great with no noticeable hit detection errors. Hit detection feels great. Where i aim is where it shots. Game could use more content. Feels like tdm loot shooter. Can avoid conflict and feels like stealth game. Playing since launch still play. Looking forward to pve content. PvP is great do to servers. Best feeling shooter i have played. Past games cod. D1. D2. Too much hate for this game. Been waiting for a fps with great servers. Needs more content but still fun for me . Give it a try

I love shooting games, usually i find something I enjoy in all of them. Marathon seems to be all over the place, The menus, the objectives and graphics are very confusing. I played it for a few hours but couldn't find a way to enjoy it. I really don't understand what people see in this game..

Menus and inventory are convoluted. I don't care for the art style. Gun play is ok. Absolutely ridiculous amount of hacking/cheating on pc, like the worst ive ever seen in any fps. Overall giant disappointment ****. Bungie is DEAD. You guys killed Destiny so that Marathon could also die.

Ignore the hate, most of it is unrelated to the actual game. It's fantastic if you like extraction shooters - it would have done fantastic if arc weren't so similar, but this game is much more PvP oriented until the next update, anyway. Big, bright and varied maps The combat is well balanced though nothing especially innovative - but the skills make for some good variation between fast and slow combat. I've dumped a hundred hours into it within a month and will easily do it again next month for the second season when we start fresh.

Awful game, do your self a favor and play Arc Raiders instead. Marathon is like a pineapple pizza bought at a gas station.

If you are looking for an extraction shooter that gets your heart rate spiking and keeps you coming back for "just one more run," Bungie's Marathon on PS5 is it. The core loop of dropping in, coordinating flawlessly with your squad, and successfully exfilling with a backpack full of hard-earned loot delivers a thrill that is honestly incomparable to anything else on the market right now. Here is what makes this game an absolute standout: Unmatched Gunplay: Let’s face it, nobody does first-person shooting like Bungie. The gunplay is incredibly crisp, responsive, and tactile. Every weapon has a distinct personality and weight, making every firefight feel intense and rewarding. Immersive Setting & Vibe: The world-building is phenomenal. The visual style, the eerie sci-fi atmosphere, and the pulsing, atmospheric music pull you right into the universe. It creates this constant, beautiful tension while you explore. The Power of Teamwork: This game truly shines when you work together. Executing a plan with your team and barely making it out alive is where the magic happens. The Catch: It’s worth mentioning that the game can be quite brutal and hard to get into, especially for newcomers to the genre. The learning curve is steep, and the universe doesn't hold your hand. Looking Ahead: The future is bright, though. Bungie is actively working on fresh PvE content to expand the universe, which should give everyone—both veterans and new players—even more ways to tackle the world. With Season 2 just around the corner, it is the perfect time to jump in. If you’ve been on the fence, gear up and join the fray when the next season drops. You won't regret it!

Honestly the best game I have played in years. Mechanics are amazing, visuals are stunning, plenty of progression to keep you busy. Ignore all of the salty destiny player reviews.

I played this game at launch and found it to be soulless, boring, and aesthetically appalling. I didn't bother reviewing because it wasn't worth it. But now that Marathon effectively destroyed Destiny 2, one of my favorite games of all time, I came especially to give this abomination its due.

The game is slop that feels like it couldn't possibly be made be the same team as Halo and Destiny it's a soulless cash grab and a failed one at that. The game play, art, and music are terrible. You couldn't pay me to play it again

Le jeux est nul sans intérêt un gamplay qui fonctionne pas une DA qui ressemble a rien . Pas d'histoire un menu confu un jeux pas fini .un contenu qui existe pas. A fuir au plus vite!

I played it for a while. Its pretty and it moves well, but it is devastatingly boring.. I cant imagine how brain dead id need to be to be entertained by this garbage. Wish I could get my money back. This is not the reason for a zero. This game is an obvious cash grab. Sony had Bungie build a 1/4 **** and slapped battlepass and microtransactions all over it. Ignore and repudiate this farce ****.

The critics love it the players hate it. Wonder who actually matters there. I've put more than my fair share of hours across all maps and wow this game is incredibly bad, I really wanted to like this game but between the community ui long que times and never stable servers I just can't anymore I've seen small dev teams put out games put out higher quality products with significantly smaller budgets. The only redeeming quality this game has is its gunplay and that is ripped straight out of destiny.

Overrated my Sony. It’s just a cash grab. Sony doesn’t care about the fans.

Terrible graphics. Looks like some one vomited on ****. The PVE makes arc raiders look hard and the PVP is full of cheaters. It gets a one instead of zero because the gunplay is decent. I am surprised there is a few people still playing. Don't let them glaze you, this game is not worth a dollar forget about $40.

This game has a definite barrier to entry but if you put in the time it’s so rewarding, I love the world, I love the lore, and the gameplay loop is satisfying.

Slow, needlessly hard at some points. Can’t trust a company that let Destiny die for this.

I bought this game to play on launch with my buddy within three weeks it was already 20% off which means I paid in additional $10 than all new players had to pay during that. Also the balance is really bad in this game if you see a single guy with a purple or a gold shield just don't even ******* bother just run

Great atmosphere, gameplay, and player base. Can’t wait to see where it goes next!

Bungie didn’t just lose the plot with Marathon, they lost their identity. After spending time with Marathon, I honestly believe this game is going to be remembered less as Bungie’s “next big thing” and more as the moment people finally realized the studio they once loved is gone. Completely gone. This is not the Bungie that made Halo. This barely even feels like the Bungie that made early Destiny. This feels like a studio creatively hollowed out, desperately chasing trends while Sony squeezes every last dollar out of what remains. And the worst part is that Marathon is not simply disappointing, it’s exhausting. The first thing that hits you is the presentation, and not in a good way. The entire game looks like visual noise. Menus are overloaded with random fonts, awkward spacing, tiny unreadable elements, and enough UI clutter to make your eyes hurt after ten minutes. It feels less like a professional AAA interface and more like a graphic design student trying to show off every font pack they downloaded overnight. Nothing is intuitive, nothing flows naturally, and the constant visual overload becomes genuinely irritating. Then you get into the actual gameplay and realize there’s barely anything here worth tolerating all that for. The gunplay feels like recycled Destiny 2 leftovers stitched together into an extraction shooter nobody asked for. Even some of the files and mechanics feel suspiciously similar. The movement is fine, the shooting is technically competent, but Bungie has been recycling this exact formula for years now. There is no innovation, no excitement, no personality. Marathon feels assembled in a corporate boardroom by people analyzing engagement charts instead of making a videogame. And the balancing is awful. The TTK is absurdly sweaty, clearly designed only for hardcore streamers and unemployed PvP addicts who treat every match like an esports tournament. Casual players are absolutely not welcome here. Every fight feels like getting lasered instantly by people who already memorized every angle and movement exploit during the beta. Add in suspicious aiming behavior and constant complaints about aim assist and possible cheating problems, and PvP quickly becomes miserable. But naturally, Bungie made sure the monetization systems work perfectly. The MTX situation is disgusting. This is a paid game filled with premium currencies, expensive skins, battle pass nonsense, bundles, and artificial pricing designed so you never have the exact amount needed. You buy one pack, then realize you’re slightly short, so you need another. Classic manipulative live service garbage. Bungie somehow managed to make Destiny 2’s monetization look restrained by comparison, which is honestly impressive in the worst possible way. And speaking of Destiny 2, Marathon becomes even more frustrating when you remember what Bungie sacrificed to make this thing. Destiny 2 was already collapsing under ridiculous grinding, repetitive weekly chores, cut content, terrible PvP balance, and some of the dumbest decisions in modern gaming history, including vaulting entire campaigns and DLC people actually paid for. Imagine deleting the original main story from your game and acting like that’s normal. The best parts of Destiny’s lore were hidden inside lore tabs, documents, and voice recordings instead of real playable content, and now Marathon somehow doubles down on that same sterile design philosophy. Honestly, I’m happy I quit Destiny 2 after The Witch Queen. Watching Bungie abandon that game to chase this extraction shooter trend feels pathetic. Marathon money should have gone toward fixing Destiny 2 instead of funding another live-service experiment nobody wanted. The art direction is another disaster. Character designs are ugly, lifeless, and weirdly sterile. The game tries so hard to look “stylish” and “futuristic” that it loops around into complete visual nonsense. Weapons look generic, environments blend together, and nothing has a memorable identity. It constantly feels like AI-generated sci-fi aesthetics glued together without any understanding of what made Bungie worlds iconic in the first place. Even the atmosphere feels dead. Marathon lacks soul. There’s no mystery pulling you in, no emotional hook, no sense of adventure. It’s just queue, loot, extract, repeat. Over and over. Another live service treadmill pretending to be a meaningful experience. And maybe that’s the saddest part. Bungie sold its soul to Sony, and now both Marathon and Destiny 2 feel like casualties of corporate obsession with engagement metrics, battle passes, and monetization. Sony didn’t save Bungie, they accelerated its collapse. Marathon is not the future of shooters. It’s a warning sign. And when this thing inevitably flops hard a few months after launch, Bungie will have nobody to blame except themselves.