As a longtime Bungie fan, Marathon was my final frontier in gauging whether the extraction shooter genre was right for me. From Helldivers II to Arc Raiders, my interest in the extraction shooter genre has always been a mild fascination, but one that quickly petered out after a few hours of engagement.
Since the days of Halo: Combat Evolved on my Windows XP install, I have been a massive fan of Bungie, all the way to the end of Halo: Reach and then again with a collective 2,000 hours in both Destiny games. It is safe to say that despite my hesitation about the extraction shooter genre, I had to give Bungie’s latest attempt at a Marathon reboot a fair shot.
For those unfamiliar with Marathon, this latest iteration of the title is a pseudo-sequel and soft reboot of the classic 1990s franchise that started it all for the studio behind Halo and Destiny. While the original Marathon trilogy was mostly a single-player affair set in an atmospheric sci-fi world, featuring tight corridors and intense encounters with xenos, Marathon (2026) is a three-player extraction shooter set in the larger setting of Tau Ceti IV.
“Marathon places emphasis on unique class abilities that distinguish each Runner.”
It has been decades since the rogue AI Durandal aboard the massive human colony ship, the titular Marathon, began its decline into rampancy. With powerful factions vying for control in deep space, Marathon takes place long after the dust has settled, after a war between aliens, AIs and humanity left the frontier of space a veritable Wild West.
Split between corporate greed, radical groups and other shadow organizations, players assume the role of a Runner. These cybernetically enhanced shells, free from the constraints of flesh and blood, are instead bound to the enigmatic factions that have ownership of your very consciousness. Forced to fight and loot in their proxy wars on Tau Ceti IV, players slowly accrue renown as they build up their relationship with the six available factions within Marathon. Playable shells, or classes, include Assassin, Destroyer, Recon, Thief, Triage, Vandal and Rook.
Bungie’s approach to Marathon’s class system is a smart one. Starting with the first six classes, instead of focusing on kitting out your Runner with gear tailor-made for them, Marathon places emphasis on unique class abilities that distinguish each Runner. Completing missions and collecting resources for the various factions, such as Cyberacme and Nucaloric, grants Runners additional (and permanent) perks that further augment and distinguish most of the playable character archetypes.
I say most, as unlike the other Runners, the Rook in Marathon is the odd one out, as it is designed for solo-play. In essence, the Rook is the carrion or vulture class of Marathon. Instead of starting from the get-go, Rooks instead get dropped into a game in progress, lacking any quests or special loadouts, with the only form of aid coming in the form of unique prime and tactical abilities.
Rooks are scavengers that give players something to do when playing alone, but more importantly, are key in replenishing resources after a streak of bad runs, making them an invaluable and unique asset for players to learn and master.
Starting Marathon for the first time, I recommend new players, particularly those coming off Destiny, try playing Destroyer. Similar to a Spartan or Titan, the Destroyer class in Marathon features a robust riot shield and homing missiles that can quickly add DPS to shred through tougher mobs or hostile Runners with ease. On the other side of the fence, classes like the Assassin, fittingly, operate best in the shadows, offering players abilities such as a smoke screen and camo that render the player invisible, making it possible to disorient enemies or make a quick escape in a pinch.
A great example of the Assassin coming in clutch for me was during an exfil when my squad became overwhelmed with both UESC hostiles and opposing Runners who took out my team just prior to the exfiltration point becoming active. Despite being further away from my fireteam, I was able to drop smokes and go invisible in order to make it out in time without getting killed (sadly, the same did not apply to the rest of my team).
Similarly, classes like Thief and Vandal focus on fast movement. With the former coming equipped with a deployable drone that can steal loot and a versatile grapple, the Thief adds a lot of verticality to Marathon, making it a worthy and unique addition for players who want to prioritize looting. The Vandal shell, instead, is all about speed and parkour, kitted out with a Mega Man-style buster cannon that can send enemies flying, a double jump and an ult that removes all cooldowns. The Vandal is great for creating chaos.
Finally, your squad of Runners would not be complete without the Triage shell. This designated healer comes equipped with a deployable healing drone, the ability to remotely revive downed Runners, a self-res (my favourite Warlock ability), and a trait that allows sharing the benefit of healing items with your fireteam.
“Going into Marathon with the mentality of a roguelike is the best way to experience the game.”
In essence, each of the playable shells in Marathon offers a unique and well-thought-out loadout that will fit your playstyle without worrying about building your kit around them. Of course, this does not mean it is not encouraged to get weapons you think are best suited for your shell, such as, for example, a sniper or DMR-style rifle for those who like playing as the Thief or Vandal, as they tend to have easier access to better vantage points and elevations.
On the topic of weapons and gear, Marathon features pistols, assault rifles, snipers, SMGs, machine guns, railguns and shotguns. Instead of weapon rarities tied to the weapons themselves, the number of mods and their levels determine the overall rarity of a gun, which, like Destiny, features white, green, blue, purple and yellow tiers that determine rarity. Mods are unique in that they can be removed from weapons, allowing players to attach them to other pieces of gear. This makes it possible to create some truly stacked loadouts that give Marathon the feel of a roguelike rather than an extraction shooter.
In fact, going into Marathon with the mentality of a roguelike is the best way to experience the game. Marathon is more about steady progress through building up your relationships with its factions rather than worrying about losing your gear. Weapons are ephemeral, Runners are forever. In terms of performance, Marathon runs like a dream on PlayStation 5 Pro, offering a pristine 4K image at a locked 60 fps. With PC performance unlocked, I do wish Bungie could perhaps try a 120 fps mode at a lower internal resolution sometime in the future.
“Marathon has the potential to be the premier extraction shooter experience.”
With four distinct and large maps currently available, including the just-released Cryo Archive map offering players an intense, high-stakes endgame goal reminiscent of the early days of Destiny raids, there is a lot for players to do as they loot and shoot their way toward notoriety. If Bungie can keep up the pace of content updates and hotfixes, Marathon has the potential to be the premier extraction shooter experience.
One of the more divisive elements of Marathon is its aesthetics. Although I do love its unapologetic reliance on a retro-futurist graphic look, some of the UI and UX elements, particularly in the menus, can feel jarring and hard to navigate, making the first couple of hours with the game unnecessarily tedious.
Still, even if you are new to the genre or are typically not a fan of extraction shooters, fans of Bungie’s legacy will love Marathon. In other words, Marathon feels like the best elements of Destiny distilled down to their core. If you know what Trials of Osiris is or are missing the thrill of a raid or win streak in the Crucible, Marathon is the neon-soaked bullet that will have you reliving the glory days of Bungie in a brand new light.
Even priced at the more reasonable $39.99 mark, Marathon perhaps leans a little too hard into its premium battle pass. On top of a menu that takes time to fully digest, the game is not without its flaws. Still, those who can stick with Marathon will find themselves with an immensely rewarding extraction shooter with the impeccable hallmark gunplay indicative of Bungie’s finest.
