Bungie’s reveal of Marathon had me excited for the game’s launch this September. As a Destiny 2 player for half a decade, I had never even heard of Marathon until they announced it a few years ago. Which got me wondering—why is everyone so hyped for this game, and why does it feel like everyone already knows about it?
Little did I know, it was one of Bungie’s earliest titles, a foundational piece that helped shape the studio’s future.
Naturally, I had to dive in. I did some digging to figure out how to play the old Marathon games, and I found them. They’re currently free on Steam and mobile devices. It’s the Aleph One version, which strips out many of the original’s frustrating limitations and adds several quality-of-life improvements.
Downloading the classic Marathon trilogy is no big deal—games back then were tiny, barely taking up 80MB of space. So I tried it. I played it. But the big question is: does it still hold up in 2025?
It’s a Very Old Game
Before you get too excited, keep in mind—this game isn’t running on Unreal Engine 5 or Bungie’s Tiger Engine. It’s a classic, built on the same foundational ideas that powered old-school shooters like Unreal Tournament, DOOM, and Quake.
Booting up the first Marathon game, I was hit with a wave of nausea. I’ve played the classic DOOM titles recently, but Marathon’s camera movement felt way more woozy. Adjusting the mouse sensitivity and tweaking the POV helped a lot. Once I had the settings dialed in, I dove into the UESC Marathon—the game’s titular ship, now overrun by aliens.
The Story So Far
If you’re reading this, you’re probably also wondering what Marathon is even about. No, it’s not a game about long-distance running.
It’s Bungie’s take on sci-fi space colonization, filled with weird alien races locked in endless war.
Without spoiling too much, here’s the gist: you play as a nameless soldier taking orders from three AIs on the UESC Marathon Ship: Leela, Tycho, and Durandal. These AIs act as your mission control, communicating with you via computer terminals scattered around the ship.
The first Marathon dropped in 1995. Your job? Blast through an alien race known as the P’fhor (and yeah, there are even harder-to-pronounce alien names later).
The second game sets the tone for what’s to come, even adding ancient alien lore that feels very Halo-esque. The AI Durandal goes rampant, and his ego-fueled behavior becomes the driving force of the series. As the unlucky grunt caught in his orbit, Durandal doesn’t hold back when flexing his god complex.
By Infinity, the plot gets wild. Best to check out lore deep dives from creators like MyNameIsByf or HiddenXperia if you want to stay sane.
The AI
Of all the AI characters, Durandal is easily my favorite. He’s basically a one-man army with a god complex and zero chill. One moment he’s talking about poetry, the next he’s initiating alien genocide like it’s a regular Tuesday.
Fittingly, he’s named after Charlemagne’s legendary sword. Bungie loves naming its AI after historical figures.
The trilogy's story revolves around these three core AIs—and honestly, without them, there wouldn’t be a Marathon (2025). They’re the ones responsible for steering the Marathon ship toward Tau Ceti IV.
You Don’t Have to Play the Classic Trilogy
Let’s keep it real: you don’t have to play the original Marathon trilogy to enjoy the 2025 version. It essentially serves as Bungie’s rebooted version of the franchise. The only downside is missing out on some cool lore and backstory.
Sure, you might not learn how to pronounce names like “S’pht” or “W'rkncacnter,” but if you’re just here to shoot stuff and look cool, you’re good.
Marathon (2025) takes place 99 years after the original trilogy ends. Spoiler: the Marathon ship is still there, floating around humanity’s first colony on Tau Ceti IV—abandoned and aimless.
That said, if you’re expecting a traditional single-player campaign, you might be disappointed. The new Marathon is built as an extraction shooter, with a mix of PvP and PvE gameplay. Bungie’s hinted at seasonal content down the line, but whether that includes full story missions or just scattered lore remains to be seen.
Ultimately, it’s up to you. There are tons of ways to access the original trilogy, and Bungie officially endorsed the free Aleph One versions. For me? The experience was okay—a bit too dated for my taste, but worth it for the lore and the history.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to preference. But if you want to know what Marathon is really about, you can start playing it now.