For years, the name Bungie has been synonymous with first-person shooters that take place in outer space. In the 2000s, Bungie became a household name due to the massive success of the original Halo games. After the mixed reception of Halo Reach, many started to wonder what was next for Bungie. In 2014, they released Destiny, and that franchise took them into the 2020s. In 2023, with Destiny‘s fan base dwindling, Bungie announced that it would be rebooting its forgotten 90s franchise, Marathon.
Now that it has been out for a bit, I decided to give Marathon a try. As a lover of the original Halo games and someone who occasionally enjoyed Destiny, I wanted to see if Bungie’s latest title could live up to the expectations and reputation that they had garnered. So, how is Marathon? Find out in our Marathon review!
Game: Marathon
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Bungie
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: March 5th, 2026
Players: 1 to 3
Price: Base: $39.99 USD
First off, I will note that I am not a massive fan of extraction shooters. Since the rise in popularity of the genre, I have attempted to get into multiple extraction shooters such as Escape from Tarkov, Delta Force, Arena Break, and Ark Raiders. While each of these games was fun with a group, they got old fast, especially when having to grind for gear after a failed run.
In fact, the only PVPVE experience I have ever been able to play consistently and enjoy was Old School Runescape. While some may enjoy the idea of grinding for loot or gear, after failing a run, personally, I do not see the appeal. If you wanted to have limited items and have to search for gear each time, why not just play a battle royale game?
When you dive into Marathon, you are introduced to the game’s very basic mechanics. While the initial tutorial explains the importance of looting objects, it feels like it only scratches the core gameplay elements; it does not go over what happens when your Runner dies on an expedition.
Now, the results do become obvious after the first time, but it becomes more about trial and error rather than the game guiding you. Even the game’s story is locked behind faction levels, so you only learn a little bit about Tau Ceti IV (the world) and the other factions a little bit at a time.
While each faction seems like it has an interesting background or origin story, it will take most players weeks, if not months, to experience the different narrative aspects. Even if you do level up your status with the different factions by completing their contracts, most players will still miss the interactions due to wanting to deploy again.
In a way, it feels like Marathon‘s narrative was an afterthought meant to give players something else to look at, rather than giving them the chance to learn about the overarching story. Some players have stated that they didn’t even know that there was a story, because they were just pressing the next button to move to the next screen.
While Marathon‘s gameplay loop is not ideal for players with limited time schedules, it can provide hours of gameplay to those who have limited options. The core gameplay is meant to have you come back with each run, potentially offering better gear. During each run, Runners will need to face off against UESC forces, the weather, aliens, and other runners. While other runners may be a potential threat, they are also a potential source of getting better gear.
At the moment, Marathon feels rather limited with its overall gameplay. The game currently offers fewer than a handful of maps to explore and loot and could definitely benefit from more map variety. Yes, the weather and settings on each map can change, but the core layout remains the same.
When taking on contracts, the game will tell you which sector you will need to go to complete them, but it does not give you a clear indicator of where you will need to go when in them. This can lead to you or your team running around searching for the mission objective until you get close enough to finally get a marker. With each run lasting at most thirty minutes, this can eat up a ton of time, making fewer options to look for loot or gear.
The longer players stay on the map, the more hazardous it becomes. Enemies will spawn and become more difficult as time goes on. Even the extraction points on the map can change as time progresses, which can make it difficult for some teams to extract if they are further away. With extracting, you are not only having to face off against the game’s enemies, but also other players and sometimes the server itself.
While playing Marathon, about a quarter of my dives were ruined due to the server lagging. In half of the dives, my team and I experienced some kind of lag that led one of us to get downed or even die. You would think that after their years of online multiplayer experience, Bungie would be able to have servers that could handle the key gameplay.
While Marathon’s gunplay is fairly solid (basically a modified version of Destiny), the game’s artwork and visual aesthetics are more of an acquired taste. At first, the neon colors within the world can be overwhelming and a bit of an eyesore. After diving a few more times, it just becomes a more colorful piece of the background.
I honestly would have liked to see the neon colors used to represent different factions’ territory or something of more significance. Beyond the neon colors, the rest of the environment is well-crafted and designed with care.
The weapons, runners, and objects in the game could use a bit of love or some alteration. All the gear in the game felt blocky and, in a way, reminded us of floppy disks. The weapons are blocky and don’t really have much visual appeal. This feels like a massive swing in artistic direction compared to Destiny.
The weapon, loot, and runners design could have been designed to feel like an updated version of the 90s Marathon games, but it seems like a step in the wrong direction.
As the game is now, Marathon will be something that gamers visit from time to time when they are looking for a change of pace, but compared to other games in the market, it feels like it will get lost in the shuffle. While the gunplay and level design may be well done, there is nothing that truly makes Bungie’s latest game unique as it is now.
Bungie could update the game to make the story more prevalent, add more maps, or make interesting weapons, but as it is now, it is a game that will be likely forgotten about before the end of 2026. Marathon (2026) captures the original idea of the series, but fails to create an experience that will make it memorable for years to come.
Marathon was reviewed on an Xbox Series X using a copy provided by Bungie. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Marathon is now available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
