- Primary Subject: Marathon (2026) Post-Launch Review
- Key Update: Bungie has successfully pivoted the 90s cult classic into a high-stakes, multiplayer extraction shooter that prioritizes atmosphere and gunplay over its original single-player roots.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: March 26, 2026
- Quick Answer: Marathon is a visually striking, mechanically tight extraction shooter that rewards patience and tactical skill but struggles with a cluttered UI and a polarizing seasonal reset system.
The Marathon name actually goes back much further than the new release. The original games launched in the mid-1990s as traditional single-player sci-fi shooters that leaned heavily into storytelling and world-building.
The 2026 reboot brings a lot of that back, but in a slightly different way. Instead of a story-driven campaign, Bungie has reimagined the series as a multiplayer extraction shooter. The mysterious tone and science-fiction setting are still at the forefront of the experience, but the gameplay direction has changed significantly.
Here, the game takes place on Tau Ceti IV, a colony once home to a large human population before it went silent. The planet is abandoned, filled with valuable technology, scattered infrastructure, and unanswered questions. Players take on the role of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries sent to recover resources. You drop into dangerous zones, complete contracts, gather loot, and attempt to extract before other squads or hostile forces eliminate you.
“As skeptical as I was beforehand, I’m now more than ready to return to Tau Ceti IV.” They were my exact words as I concluded my final Marathon preview before its release on March 5, and having played for several more hours since launch, I’ve only been reminded as to why I was so keen to jump back in.
I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the game's menus during the Server Slam test, but to anyone jumping in fresh, the multiple options, icons, categories, and UI systems can soon make it a daunting first impression. On console, navigation is further complicated by a cursor-based system, meaning selection is sometimes slow and awkward rather than short and snappy.
Eventually, it does become second nature, and once you’re accustomed to the layout, I think you have to give the design team some credit. The aesthetics, the colors, the imagery, it all clicks together and fits the tone of Marathon perfectly. I wasn’t a fan to begin with; in fact, I hated it, but I ended up appreciating it more than I thought I would.
A large portion of your time between runs is spent managing gear, purchasing upgrades via the skill tree, and customizing items like weapons, profile emblems, and Runner Shells.
Before deploying, you can either choose to take in your own loadout, which consists of the weapons and equipment you’ve previously extracted with, or opt for a sponsored faction kit, which is essentially a free, pre-built loadout that typically includes a weapon, some basic gear, and consumables.
I found sponsored kits extremely helpful, especially in the early stages of the game when my only focus was leveling up, as they allowed me to play and progress without the fear of losing any valuable loot. The sponsored gear itself does not stay permanently, but the items you collect during a run do. Upon successfully extracting with a sponsored kit, anything I looted during the run went into my vault like normal.
If I died, then the sponsored gear would disappear, but again, I also didn’t lose anything of significant value from my personal stash, only the items I had picked up on that particular raid. Anything you successfully extract gets stored in your vault, which gradually fills up as you play. That vault becomes an important part of the overall loop, forcing you to decide what gear is worth keeping and what should be sold off for credits (and additional space!)
There’s also a decent amount of customization available. You can modify Runner Shells, adjust weapon setups, and apply cosmetic options to both characters and equipment. It never feels overwhelming and is pretty basic in the grand scheme of things, but there’s just enough to give your loadouts and Runners some personality.
Speaking of which, Runner Shells act as the game’s playable characters. There are six main Runner Shells available to choose from, each bringing something different to the table via their unique abilities and statistical strengths.
Some are clearly built for aggressive players who want to hunt down enemy squads and dominate PvPvE encounters, while others feel better suited for those who prefer operating quietly and avoiding unnecessary fights. For example, sometimes I would utilize Destroyer’s shoulder-mounted missiles when I wanted in on the action, but switched to Assassin if I wanted to go invisible and lie low.
The variety on offer prevents gameplay from becoming stale and repetitive. Instead of every game feeling identical, the Runner you choose can heavily influence how you approach each raid and the decisions you make.
Progression in Marathon is closely tied to its faction system. Several factions operate within the world of Tau Ceti IV, with each one offering contract objectives for you to fulfill during your runs.
The requests of these contracts and their difficulty can vary. Some involve retrieving specific items, eliminating targets, or visiting certain locations scattered across the map. Completing them rewards you with credits, inventory items, and faction reputation, which is particularly important for progression.
Interestingly, the factions themselves have distinct NPCs that appear in cutscenes. They aren’t just generic vendors handing out tasks; they’re characters within the world who each have their own motivations, backgrounds, and agendas.
Building a reputation with factions unlocks access to their skill trees. These upgrades provide passive bonuses that make life just that little bit easier. Some increase inventory capacity, others improve stamina efficiency, and a few speed up interactions like looting containers.
Individually, they might seem small, but once you start stacking several upgrades together, the improvements become noticeable. Your Runner gradually becomes more efficient, subsequently opening the door for longer, more ambitious runs.
Another side of Marathon that adds to the sense of progression is the structure of its challenges and unlockables. Alongside faction contracts, the game constantly tracks a wide range of objectives in the background, tied to cosmetic rewards, gear options, and much more. These challenges cover almost every aspect of Marathon, whether it’s getting kills, using specific weapon types, playing on certain maps, or completing faction-related tasks.
What makes the system work so well is how naturally it fits into the gameplay. Most of the objectives revolve around things you’re already doing during a typical run, so progress often happens without you actively prioritizing it. I regularly returned from a run to find multiple challenges completed and new rewards waiting to be claimed, simply from playing the game normally and experimenting with different weapons, shells, and objectives.
It also helps soften the sting of failed runs. Extraction shooters can be a pain when you lose your gear, but the challenge system ensures that you’re still moving forward in meaningful ways. Even if I didn’t make it out alive, I usually came back with progress toward several unlockables, which still managed to create a sense of reward and progression to keep the overall loop satisfying.
At launch, Marathon featured three different maps, and each one brought its own challenges. The environments vary in terms of layout, enemy difficulty, and the type of loot you’re likely to find. Some areas feel relatively manageable, especially when you’re still learning the game. Others are far more dangerous, with stronger AI enemies and a higher chance of encountering heavily geared players.
The faction system ties directly into the map rotation as well. Certain contracts require you to deploy into specific locations to complete objectives, which means you can’t simply stick to the same map forever. That occasionally leads to brutal runs where you’re forced into a much tougher environment than you’d prefer. At the same time, though, it ensures players experience all of the game’s content rather than settling into a single safe zone.
What about the Cryo Archive? I hear you ask. Well, I’ll be honest - I just don't meet the demands for that right now, and I know a lot of players find themselves in the same boat. It’s a shame, because it looks awesome, but as someone who grew up in a time when single-player campaigns and 6v6 lobbies were the pinnacle of the FPS genre, I’m simply not used to this level of restriction and skill requirement.
Thankfully, it does seem like Bungie is taking feedback on board to make the limited-time access slightly easier, but it’s going to take a lot more than just a schedule rearrangement for me to even have a shot at experiencing Cryo Archive. Reaching season level 25, having all factions unlocked, and going in with a loadout value of $5k credits or higher is a tall order for the casuals out there.
Any long-term, hardcore Bungie fan will probably read that and think ‘what else did you expect?’ The honest answer is, I don’t know. I went into Marathon completely blind and without any background knowledge of the classic games. I hadn’t played them, I didn’t follow the development of the reboot closely, and my experience with previous Bungie titles was extremely limited. For me, it’s only ever been PlayStation, so until Halo: Campaign Evolved arrives, Master Chief will remain a stranger. Meanwhile, my time with Destiny was short and sweet, so again, I didn’t really have anything substantial to prepare me for what awaits.
Once you actually load into a run, one thing becomes immediately clear: Marathon is a very good-looking game. Bright, bold colors pop off the screen, while neon lighting, futuristic surroundings, and a vibrant atmosphere provide maps with personality and a distinctive identity. There’s also a nice balance between bright areas and darker spaces, which keeps the environments visually interesting as you move around.
What stood out in particular was just how carefully constructed everything was to match the game's vision. It’s clear that a lot of time and thought went into building every single inch of every single map, something I appreciated a lot.
As for gameplay, Marathon absolutely delivers where it matters most. While it has several layers attached, this is ultimately a shooter, so you at least want gunfights to feel good, right? Well, thankfully, it does. Gunplay is responsive, satisfying, and punchy, which was actually a bigger relief to me than I thought it would be.
Combat encounters can become incredibly intense, especially when multiple squads meet in the same area. Getting the first shot off, holding a better vantage point, or timing abilities correctly can easily swing a battle in your favor. There’s also a nice mix when it comes to how and where encounters take place. One minute, I’d run into another player in a tight corridor; the next, I was engaging in long-range firefights across the map.
In general, performance on PS5 was very smooth and well-polished. I did notice the occasional small stutter here and there, but they were brief enough that they never impacted the overall experience. Audio design was also generally solid throughout. I never ran into any major issues, although one notable challenge was distinguishing between AI enemies and real players, but I guess that’s just part of the fun! A special mention for the soundtrack, by the way, which is eerie and terrifying in all the right ways.
Let's get one thing straight: Marathon is unapologetically brutal by design. One wrong move or a lack of concentration, and that’s it. Your gear? Lost. Your loot? Gone. There were many occasions where I was killed for several consecutive runs and nearly called it a night. It can be incredibly frustrating to feel like you're making zero progress and back to square one.
But that's exactly why successful extractions feel so good. Coming out of a raid alive with a backpack full of high-tier gear after a 20-minute stealth mission, downing anything in your path is a dopamine hit that I’ll never grow tired of.
That said, one aspect of the game that I’m personally not a huge fan of is the seasonal reset system. At the start of each new season, a large portion of your progress is wiped. Your stored gear disappears, your vault inventory resets, your faction reputation is cleared, and your skill tree upgrades are removed.
From a balancing perspective, I can see why this idea makes sense. It prevents those who play 24/7 from building an overwhelming advantage and keeps the playing field relatively even. But as a casual player, it’s hard not to feel like a large part of the grind becomes pointless. During a season, you spend hard-earned credits unlocking upgrades and improving your Runner Shells, only for that progress to disappear later.
In the moment, it feels great. But long-term, I worry that it will start to feel a little hollow and discourage me from coming back. It’s a cycle I’m just not sure I’d want to go round time and time again.
In the end, Marathon is a game that left me pleasantly surprised. What initially felt like an overwhelming, unfamiliar experience gradually revealed itself to be a deeply rewarding and well-crafted extraction shooter. Looking back, I suppose going in without any expectations ended up being the best possible way to approach it.
Its striking visual identity, satisfying gunplay, and layered progression systems come together to create a gameplay loop that is both intense and addictive. Even as someone who typically leans toward more grounded, traditional shooters, I found myself fully immersed in the chaos and unpredictability of Tau Ceti IV.
That’s not to say it’s without its flaws. The steep learning curve, cluttered early UI, and punishing core gameplay will undoubtedly push some players away. The seasonal reset system, in particular, stands out as a divisive feature that may dwindle long-term motivation, especially for more casual players like me who value a lasting sense of progression.
However, for those willing to embrace its brutality and invest the time to learn its systems, Marathon offers something special. It captures the thrill and tension that define the extraction genre while providing its own unique identity through style, atmosphere, and design. It may not convert every skeptic, but in my case, it’s done exactly that.
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