Marathon

i love this game. I first heard about it and played it during the server slam. I enjoyed my time so much so i sold some CS skins to buy the game itself. The atmosphere and the actual environmental/ world design is impeccable, i could stare at the Deimos skybox in dire marsh for hours, it truly is beautiful. However, the PvP aspect completely ruins this game for me. Here i am having fun running around killing bots and doing my quests, just to have some nerd who is either sitting in some corner hearing everything i did for the past 10 minutes kill me for my sponsored kit or i get shot from across the map after killing 80% of the only exfil on the map which is the guarded exfil. What's funny is i was originally someone who thought PvP was needed for this game, 'play this game like ur playing a crazy mod on stalker, not like you're playing tarkov', is what i told everyone. But after experiencing the PvE mode, and then having that taken away from me, i realized i loved the PvE mode 10 times better than the main game, and in some sense it made the main game better because I knew that the things i lost i can grind back in the PvE mode. Although ziegler's vision for the game is something unmatched and something that sadly we cant see the full vision of, i have confidence that the new game director can breath some PvE fresh air into the game. There is also the chance that im playing the game wrong lmao. im a solo noob and im quite literally jumping/bhopping everywhere until i get into a building. I can definitely understand the fact that the PvP aspect gets less annoying and less serious once you include a party/friends into the game so there is a chance that i feel this way only because i play solo lol.

First of all, id like for all of us to forget about Bungie. Forget about Destiny 2 or even Destiny 3. Forget about price tags, about costs, margins, benefits or losses. This review is a token of respect and encouragement for this game and team. Marathon is not perfect -not close- but how many games can boast of such an achievement? Despite everything you might hear outside or within the Marathon community, I urge you to keep an open mind and save some room on your shelf for this game. At the time of review, Ive played nearly 350h. From day 1 to today, its been 6 months since release. [h2]VISUALS :[/h2] Marathon is a game with a peculiar esthetic, quite unique, especially in gaming. It can feel a bit unorthodox for anyone not accustomed with experimental or hyper stylized visuals. Some hate it the moment they look at it, some love it, and some remain open to being swayed. A big part of the respect I have for that game, is for it to be looking the way it is. In this current era, safe realistic and generic stylized games are often favored as their predecessors paved the way for most. Within the AAA industry, this artstyle isnt just a choice, its a statement, and the same way Sea of Thieves and Fornite are reference points on their own, so is now Marathon. It is not an easy feat, and you can clearly feel playing the game that the art team poured a lot in making the visuals a unique and recognizable experience. Yet it can feel repulsive for some, please spend some time in the world, immerse yourself and keep your mind open. In a world where everything goes so fast, its not so bad to take your time falling in love with something. [h2]GAMEPLAY: [/h2] Gunplay here is not a concern. Most reviews will mention: its clearly one of the highlights of that game. Every gun has its own specificities and animations. From the overheating mechanic for some, to the reloading, railgun system, etc ... Shooting feels good, killing feels great. The Shells (the class you choose) are visually unique and a pillar of the ability based combat system. Still super curious as to what would have been Marathon with shell customisation instead. Yet some guns are able to shift the metas, the shell roaster isnt clearly unbalanced. Depending on the context (Solo, Duos or Trios) some shells team composition will be favored. Only one shell has been mostly prevalent recently : Recon Being able to scan and locate ennemy position is a pretty interesting ability but Bungie didnt yet find the right tuning to it as it create frustrating stalemates that punish any team engaging, especially in high stakes maps (Cryo Archive, Outpost). Rook is not a shell i particularily enjoy, not in the way it plays, but conceptually. This class serves as a way for people to experience a low-stake game with no skin in the game. You have access to some of the highest value map in the game (Outpost) with nothing required and everything to gain. That in itself renders playing Solo all that less interesting (appart from completing contracts). Being able to join a Duo map as a Rook is a nonsense I never was able to understand. Yes you are technically a solo against duos, but as mentionned later, the TTK is so low that every encounter goes quickly from a 2v1 to a 1v1 -and may I say again- with 0 investment. Rooks should spawn way later, instead of 20-15 minute mark, down to 10 minute mark. Forbid Rooks from entering Duo queues, the concept of Rook is being a scavenger. The Cores and Implants are a good way to shift playstyles and offer new ranges of gameplay. Sadly the low rarity ones you will find are currently offering too little of a change, nothing that would make your run play significantly different. Only way for that to happend would be to get your hands on rarer cores and implants that significantly alter your abilities.. They are though much more complicated to find, and some players will sadly never experience them. The UESC (AI ennemies) can be somewhat of a threat if not kept in check, but you'll learn to deal with them at some point. In my opinion, the game could benefit from a few more different types to extend the strategic approaches you have to some situations. They may often feel like bullet sponges but I believe arent really designed to be ferocious ennemies, rather a way for players to engage in PvP easier. I said I wouldnt mention it but its crazy to me that the diversity is so low when you compare it to Destiny. The PvP itself makes or break that type of game, and Marathon lives on a peculiar thread. PvP is often an ever-evolving topic in most games, even more so in live-service games and so I believe balance is never fully achieved and is always meta driven. Thats just the way it is. On that point I wont digress (WSTR, Bubble Shield, MISRIAH, Circuit Breaker, etc ..) What is usually discussed is TTK (Time To Kill). The quite short TTK plays a massive role on player frustration level and shortens a lot the interest of some. Being tagged as a competitive extraction shooter means you will have various FPS players from different backgrounds. This mean onboarding is key to teach your players about restraint and tactical approach. Tactical & intense encounters are at the core of Marathon and bold/ impetuous decisions will be punished. Although this is theoretically a good thing, having a hero based ability game that doesnt allow you to react after being shot makes for a frustrating experience. Im wondering what a higher TTK experience would feel like. Being able to track damage source after dying is another feature that should be added to allow players understanding the impact some guns can have against them and their decisions. [h2]MAPS: [/h2] Marathon maps are located on the Tau Ceti IV planet and the UESC Marathon itself, they range from humble to highly complex: - Perimeter : Planned for a well needed revamp on Season 3. - Dire Marsh : Lockdown should honestly start earlier in the run so more teams get involved. - Outpost : ban Rooks from this map and duo queues - Cryo Archive : Highly competitive, loot is great and the threat even greater. At the time im writting this, Cryo Archive is a very complex PvP intense map that highlight your knowledge of your shell and the map itself. Vault Breaker is a nice addition and I noticed a surge in players understanding of Vaults and map rotation. Season 1 got me to level 100 ish. Ongoing Season 2 got me to level 170 so far. I consider myself an above average FPS player, took me a while to get my first compiler kill (Season2). For anyone one average or below, compiler is but a mirage that they will never see or experience. I find that idea interesting, but I dont know about everyone else. My thoughts on a few key points : I believe a lot of people arent sticking to the game because it struggle to clearly define the player objectives and motives. The stories and lore of Marathon exists, but its hidden behind subttle environment storytelling and pages upon pages of codex entries. Not fun. Story needs to be more intentionnal, it needs to take the player's hand and guide him. Marathon needs to explicitely let the player know of his overarching objectives and WHY he gets into a run. Extracting is cool, but no one wants to play JUST to extract. Players need the rampant obsession in their head. Get Vault Keys. Open Vaults. Kill Compiler. Last entry : Arc Raiders. Regrettably, the timing of this game's release is one of its biggest drawbacks. With the intense scrutiny it faced, it's hard to deny that releasing right after ARC Raiders this year worked against it due to the constant comparisons. I firmly believe that a healthier release and a more polished Beta with proper marketing would have done a lots of difference. (Lets not forget the dodgy art copyright drama the game faced weeks before release) The sauce is there, the team is experimenting and finding their balance. I will be there. BINGUS IS WATCHING

I can't recommend this game. It is cool, setting-wise, and the gameplay should be enticing to me, but the gameplay loop is boring and anemic. And the art is obnoxiously obtuse. I sincerely dislike the appearance of the Runners and the world is overly noisy with its visuals.

Undeniably a Bungie game "experience". And a full-on PVP extraction shooter as well. I don't really know why I bought this; I sold myself SciFi and playing with friends. I'm too old, and seriously allergic to overused dopamine hacking flashing neon light effects and dead end Sisyphus-ian sweaty crabs-in-bucket grind.

Cannot conect to marathon servers simulator

stopped playing the game for 2 weeks because i went on holiday and came back to the npcs having x20 more hp and just being pesky bullet sponges, artificial difficulty at its finest. Wanted to leave a good review bcz the art style is nice but the changes to npc health was 2 obnoxious to even keep this installed

Предостережение будущим покупателям - не покупать. Как минимум потому, что игра мертва и скоро станет F2P. Марафон - это худшая трата 1800р в моей жизни. Как идиот бегаешь собираешь карточки - ключики, открываешь комнатки с кнопочками по 200(как мать разраба) часовым гайдам что бы тебе потом лицо обдали плотной золотой струей. Объективно - игра для людей с расстройствами аутистического спектра. Хотя что еще можно было ожидать от разработчиков Destiny. Даже если что то выносишь, то делаешь это исключительно для того что бы тебя потом заперли в клетке 15м2 с 12 немытыми обрыганами 4000 часов под названием "КриоАрхив", ведь все здоровые игроки уже давно отсюда ливнули. Разработчик это называет "эндгейм контент" который почему то кидают тебе в лицо после 10 часов в игре... Какая только шваль не гавкнула что "марафон это эмоциональные качели, ты не понимаешь всего кайфа" - ну извините пожалуйста что мне не 12 лет и кукуха еще не настолько поехала что бы срать под себя от радости при виде пикселей золотой мизры в трупе типа. Коротко весь этот обзор можно сократить в : "Если ты и 2 твоих друга готовы делать круговой с проглотом 500 часов и только потом хоть что то начать понимать - то покупайте. Играть нужно именно пачкой из 3х сыгранных, ведь соло режим в этой игре мертв, а рандомные пати будут на 2 головы слабее среднестатистической пачки." А вообще это наверное единственный в Стиме шутер где ты платишь за то, что бы сидеть сутками на википедии.

This game honestly wasn't even that bad I actually enjoyed it. I wanted a game similar to arc raiders that had more of an emphasis on PvP balance and gunplay and that is what this game is, but the game suffers from an extremely fast TTK that just doesn't feel right for an extraction shooter. Especially coming from bungies gunplay which is very smooth and easy to control. I think the biggest reason this game failed was how hard it was for casuals to play as well as the loot and the images for the loot feeling and looking terrible. I did not care at all when I found good gear it just did not feel satisfying at all. In my opinion the graphics and animations in this game are top of the line, but the skins and characters they came out with are hilariously bad. The characters don't really look that cool and for the paid stuff they want you to pay $20 for the same skin but red, then all the other guns they just slap all sorts of laffy taffy colors on it. If you try to play this game now, it's really only going to be the people who live and breathe this game since the player count is so low.