Benni

I have played no other extraction shooters, so I don't have any baggage from earlier entries to the genre. Marathon's aesthetics are polished, disorientating and very stylish. Once you've adjusted to the art style, it works very well for the game's theme, supporting the digital consciousness narrative (similar to Altered Carbon or Neuromancer). Gameplay is equal parts frustrating and exciting. Often you can play for 20 minutes and leave a run with nothing. Other times you can be in and out, leaving your opponents in tatters after you've robbed them of everything. I do find the numerous passives and buffs on every equippable quite overwhelming. Most of the time I equip stuff without looking too hard at what it does. However the weapons feel good, the level designs are filled with hazards and interest. Overall, I think this an accomplished game and I've enjoyed the 20ish hours I've played so far. I can see myself playing it for a while.

I've edited this from a 7. It's become a staple in our house and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes fighting games in general. It's really stylish, and the sword/gun/jumping interactions are so well balanced that fighting people really feels like exciting and skillful. It hides a lot of depth too, not just in the inputs but in the level mechanics and hidden features. All of the above relates to playing this game with others. This game is sweet when you're playing with friends, but not so much when you're on your own. I regret my early review of the game, I don't think it was fair, because this is an exceptional local multiplayer game.