Marathon Review: The Most Stylish and Polished Extraction Shooter You Can't Put Down

Marathon, the new project from the creators of Halo and Destiny, has faced harassment, criticism, and outright aggression from almost every other bystander since its first reveal and all the way up to release. Sony fans accused Bungie of influencing the cancellation of the multiplayer The Last of Us, the closure of Bluepoint Games, and other publisher missteps. Destiny fans wanted a new expansion or a third installment, not an extraction shooter. ARC Raiders fans couldn't imagine their favorite game getting a competitor. And of course, hordes of influencers and bloggers were gaining clout and views by senselessly hating on the game, predicting for Marathon the fate of Concord — a game that became a symbol of an expensive project doomed to fail.

However, all this informational mudslinging turned out to be nothing more than baseless bullying. Marathon turned out to be so cool, stylish, and engaging that it became the first true extraction shooter: no 20-minute match load times, no half-hour bush camping, no “don’t shoot” pacts in PvP, and no sterile AI-generated visuals.

It’s amazing how the extraction shooter genre, formed from Tom Clancy's The Division and Escape from Tarkov, has become so sought-after by audiences. Not so long ago, action games with evacuation mechanics were considered a niche pastime, but now such projects are popping up almost more often than racing games, strategy games, or fighters. Yes, many of these games are just Chinese Tarkov clones, but sometimes truly worthy releases come along that not only push the genre forward but also attract a diverse audience.

Despite the genre’s rapid growth and renaissance, the more familiar pillars are slowly fading due to developers’ poor decisions, unsuccessful updates, and attempts to cater to casual audiences. Escape from Tarkov, which released its latest update late last year, still hasn’t rid itself of bugs, a sluggish interface, and excessively long load times. At the same time, the game remains just as hardcore and inaccessible to newcomers due to the abundance of cheaters and hardcore fans with thousands of hours played. The updated version of Hunt: Showdown 1896, along with revamped graphics, has become more demanding on hardware, and its gameplay is becoming increasingly casual with each passing day, undermining not only the overall atmosphere but also turning the hardcore PvPvE shooter into a pitiful imitation of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege — with mines, beetle drones, and abilities implemented as playing cards.

Highly praised by our editorial team, ARC Raiders has transformed from an ambitious extraction shooter into a “chill game” with Hey! Don’t Shoot PvP, where duel enthusiasts are thrown onto separate servers, while the rest of the player base runs around the maps hand-in-hand, collecting junk and endlessly wiping out waves of drones that can’t put up any real resistance. Instead of developing the project in line with the genre’s traditions, the developers are wasting time degrading ARC Raiders’ potential, turning it into The Forever Winter — with useless loot, no threat from other players, pointless wipes, and a focus on cooperative PvE.

Because of all this, I, the author of these lines, find it hard to recall even a single evacuation-based game that has remained stable and consistent since launch. Even smaller indie extractions like Dark and Darker gradually “go downhill” and become a game design mess. That’s largely why I was looking forward to Marathon as a breath of fresh air — where all the key elements of the genre would finally work, and it could deliver the same emotions that Escape from Tarkov did in its early years.

It’s no coincidence that Bungie conducted countless tests to find the perfect extraction shooter formula and satisfy most players. Even after an unsuccessful first presentation — where the project lacked proximity chat and viewers started a wave of harassment — the developers didn’t abandon the project or throw it to the wolves like Highguard. Instead, they pulled themselves together and continued to actively improve the concept.

And you know what? After 35 hours in the release version and 15 in the Server Slam, I can say with full confidence that all these tweaks, constant improvements, and the search for the perfect formula helped Marathon become the best interpretation of the genre — with dopamine highs and an uncontrollable urge to jump into just one more match late at night.

However, despite countless positives and the overall high quality of execution, an unreal number of gamers, influencers, and even gaming outlets are wishing for Marathon to fail and for Bungie to be shut down. And this madness only grows stronger every day. Some people monitor the Steam player count every minute just to take a screenshot and try to prove the game is losing its audience. Websites are spreading misinformation about broken or missing features, which is, of course, untrue. It’s gotten to the point where popular streamers have to play Marathon in secret just to avoid angry comments and aggressive messages.

We, on the other hand, chose not to give in to all these provocations or react to the statements of the “close Concord” cultists, so we could evaluate Marathon as a game and as a representative of the extraction shooter genre.

Although there are probably few people left at Bungie who worked on Halo and the first Destiny, Marathon clearly bears the studio’s genetic code. This is evident not only in its highly unconventional visuals for the industry, but also in the detailed world-building, shooter mechanics, and, of course, the brilliant AI that once became the hallmark of the original Halo trilogy.

The first thing that grabs you in Marathon is the detailed universe, lore, and storytelling — something rarely seen in extraction shooters before the release version of Escape from Tarkov. Interestingly, Bungie didn’t invent a new IP (intellectual property); instead, they dug up their own series of shooters that launched on Macintosh in the ’90s and continued its development. As a result, the developers already had a huge foundation of stories and a meticulously crafted universe in which to set the narrative of their extraction shooter. And despite the colorful visuals and unusual style, Marathon is actually a rather creepy, at times dark and depressive setting, where a failed colonization of a planet led to tragic events: the total annihilation of the population, a rebellious AI, and corporate wars.

While the modern Marathon isn’t a story-driven adventure like the original trilogy, it still does an excellent job of revealing its universe and lore through numerous secondary elements that players constantly encounter. The most prominent narrative drivers in the game are the local employers — think of them as the traders from Escape from Tarkov — who give out important story quests and interact with the main character.

Spoiler alert: these are the best quest-givers among all known extraction shooters — with an incredibly stylish presentation, interesting dialogue, and well-defined faction codes. Marathon currently features two types of quests: dailies, which let you build reputation with employers (unlocking new upgrades and goods), and story quests, which have a clear structure and reveal the mysteries surrounding the failed colonization.

For example, one faction is trying to figure out what’s wrong with the local fauna and asks you to collect samples and analyze them in laboratories. Another faction is a revolutionary cell opposing the corporations, asking the main character to engage in activities that are not entirely legal within the game’s universe.

Every element of the game — be it the codex with item descriptions, lore entries and achievements, location design, audio logs inside research stations, or even classic visual storytelling — not only fleshes out the setting but also pushes the story forward. Each new map and full season will reveal new mysteries from the overarching plot, and this is already happening even now. Through gameplay and passive storytelling, the writers are gradually preparing players for the fourth map, where, according to them, something major for the entire story will be revealed, setting the stage for all future updates.

The universe and lore are closely intertwined with the overall game design of Marathon, which makes it doubly interesting to start a new raid and, along with a dopamine rush, receive new pieces of the story that gradually come together into a complete picture. This is exactly what we missed in Hunt: Showdown, where, despite the amazing setting, the lore and stories were presented only as huge blocks of text in an encyclopedia — which, by the way, was completely removed after a global update. And yes, many well-known extraction shooters have their own unique universes and even some semblance of a story, but all of that often feels like an afterthought and certainly doesn’t work as an integral part of the core game design.

On social media, players often ask: what exactly has Marathon brought new to the genre? And the first thing that comes to mind is the careful integration of lore and story into the gameplay, as well as giving players a sense of participation in the development of the overall narrative.

Marathon’s gameplay is best described as the quintessence of everything great from both extraction shooters and Bungie games. Honestly, we don’t know how the studio manages to create such responsive, enjoyable, and meticulously crafted shooting mechanics year after year. In Marathon, it’s simply incredibly satisfying to shoot at anything that moves. Animations, recoil, sound design, and enemy reactions to being hit — all are done in the best Bungie traditions. The shooting feels both convenient and tactilely pleasant, just like in Halo and Destiny. For example, sniper rifle scopes don’t sway from side to side like in other games, and submachine gun fire is easily controlled even with the trigger fully pressed.

Unlike the recent ARC Raiders, where player-versus-player combat has become almost taboo, PvP in Marathon is the foundation of the project. It’s no coincidence that the value of in-game loot doubles when the whole server is after it at once. And since most of the items you find on the map affect your reputation with employers and are used directly for bartering, you’ll have to fight for your inventory and fend off crowds eager to peek into your backpack.

In Marathon, as in other extraction shooters, it’s important not only to aim accurately at your opponent’s head but also to “read the map,” listen to every footstep, and analyze the situation. If in Destiny’s PvP modes you can recklessly rush into the line of fire without fearing death, here the price of defeat is extremely high.

Combat in Marathon is different from everything else in the genre. There’s no “bush camping” like in Hunt: Showdown. There’s no blatant gear advantage from Escape from Tarkov, nor are there random headshots out of nowhere. And, amusingly, there’s none of the long, tedious shield-chipping from ARC Raiders and Apex Legends. Yes, Marathon has a very satisfying TTK (time to kill) — a bit longer than Destiny’s, but nowhere near as drawn out as in arcade shooters. On top of that, the in-game weapon balance deserves special mention: every gun is deadly, so there isn’t a single “OP” weapon that 90% of teams gravitate toward.

Marathon’s game design gives players total freedom in how they approach each raid. You can easily set up at a vantage point with a sniper rifle and pick off enemies like peanuts. Or you can pick a character with an invisibility ability and literally knife down enemy teams. Or you can plan each raid tactically, studying the map for other teams’ activity and ambushing them. In short, everything fans love about the genre is fully realized here.

Marathon is best played with a coordinated team, since playing with randoms often means losing your entire inventory to failed runs. Solo play is possible, but very challenging due to aggressive AI opponents and frequent PvP encounters.

However, you can always choose a special class for solo runs — the Hand. These guys, much like “Scavs” in Tarkov, spawn on the map toward the end of the match and scavenge all the leftover loot and fallen players’ gear like vultures. Playing as the Hand feels completely different from the main raids. It’s a sort of atmospheric stealth horror, where you have to quietly move around the map, avoid enemy teams, and collect the most valuable items. Fortunately, this class has a mimic ability that lets you temporarily disguise yourself as an AI opponent and safely loot fallen players. The key is not to run or take any damage, or the hostile robots will immediately spot the trick.

By the way, PvE battles in Marathon are just as good as the PvP. The aforementioned brilliant enemy AI is so effective that, in the early days after release, many players simply died in fights with robots. They behave exactly like real people: if they see you’re out of ammo, they immediately close in for a melee attack; in danger, they retreat to recharge shields, flank you, throw grenades, hide in the most secluded spots, and even overwhelm you with sheer numbers.

Meanwhile, large locations constantly feature an alert system. If you wipe out all visible enemies, be prepared for reinforced opposition in the form of additional squads. The longer you stay on the map, the more powerful enemies will spawn, quickly draining your ammo and setting you up for a swift defeat at the hands of a suddenly appearing enemy team.

At the time of writing this review, Marathon features three maps, each distinct not only in appearance but also in gameplay. The first is a sort of training ground for newcomers, with open spaces, good visibility, several points of interest, and constantly changing weather conditions that directly affect gameplay. For example, during fog, even snipers can’t see beyond their noses, and during rain, character shells can run and jump for longer without overheating. Overheating works like a classic stamina system, preventing you from endlessly sprinting, sliding, and jumping during battles. The first map offers plenty of activities besides the selected contracts. There are challenging boss fights in the style of Hunt: Showdown, which are tough to complete even with good gear. There’s always the risk of attracting enemy teams eager to snatch the loot from the boss you just killed—a risky but lucrative challenge. There are also safes, stashes, and code-locked containers that require finding the right terminal. In short, newcomers will have plenty to do on the first map.

The second location is the overgrown “Creepy Swamps.” Here, looting — and especially surviving — is much harder. Turrets, bug nests, and poisonous plants are everywhere, making movement difficult. Fortunately, most open areas are covered in water, which cools your character’s shell and allows you to sprint faster.

This map’s unique feature is anomalies that spawn in certain spots and transform into artifacts. Players must carry the artifact to a stabilization unit and wait for the process to finish, all while fending off enemy teams. Additionally, the artifact leaves a zone under the player that explodes after a few seconds, so you can’t just hide in a corner with it for long.

Another distinctive trait of the Swamps is the blocking of entire map sections. Literally: a ship can suddenly arrive and deploy a dome that kills anyone inside in seconds. Needless to say, we lost the chance to complete a quest more than once when an area became inaccessible for the rest of the raid.

And the third, most interesting map is “Outpost.” It’s the perfect PvP arena, with a huge ship at the center containing the most valuable loot. But getting to it isn’t easy, as the doors are locked. In addition to standard extraction operations, you’ll have to search for keys around the map, loot the best ones from tough AI enemies, and, of course, other players. You simply can’t evacuate without a set of keys—unless you’re eager to fight hordes of robots for a single, unlocked tower.

There are several ways to infiltrate the ship, making every raid unique and memorable. The main thing on “Outpost” is not to stay out in the open, as the map frequently features firestorms that burn health and stamina for anyone caught without shelter in a building or under a canopy.

Speaking of maps, it’s also worth mentioning the less-than-ideal level geometry — a recurring issue for Bungie. You won’t get stuck in textures or fall through the ground like in Destiny, but failing to grab an obvious ledge or climb over an obstacle happens all the time in Marathon. At first, this is really annoying, since movement is the key to survival. You have to get used to these quirks and practically memorize the layout and its nuances.

Fall damage and constant overheating during sprinting act as deliberate limiters, intentionally slowing down the game’s pace and preventing teams from quickly grabbing valuable loot and avoiding PvP encounters. So don’t worry—no one’s going to snatch all the good stuff right from under your nose.

Speaking of valuables: thanks to PvP and tough fights with AI opponents, loot really feels meaningful, and having it in your backpack brings waves of anxiety and doubt. If you find an important keycard, should you head straight for extraction, or risk it all and check out one more location? These dilemmas will always be with you, and they’re exactly what makes extraction shooters so special.

Additionally, Marathon doesn’t have a “secure container” like other games, which would guarantee safety for select items. You can’t stash a valuable weapon attachment or an important upgrade resource somewhere safe. That’s why every victory over other players is extra satisfying—not only did you make it out alive, but you earned a valuable reward.

Unlike ARC Raiders, which for some reason is often compared to Marathon, this game doesn’t coddle players or offer the QoL (quality of life) conveniences many are used to. After a brief tutorial, you’re left to explore the world on your own. No one tells you where things are or what you should be doing on the maps. Marathon has so many mechanics that you have to learn to figure out for yourself, openly following in the footsteps of the genre’s pioneer — Escape from Tarkov.

First off, the game features six runner classes, each with its own skills and abilities. Every character has a set of stats that directly affect how they behave in raids. To tailor them to your playstyle, you need to select the right core boosters and modifications—of which there are plenty, given the color gradation system. At first, this is a complex process, since you constantly have to switch between two menus to see how you’ve set up your runner.

Despite concerns that heroes with abilities might not fit well in extraction shooters, their presence actually opens up more room for team build variety. For example, there’s a medic who can throw a healing drone and instantly revive a downed teammate with a single button. The fan-favorite assassin can turn invisible and toss smoke grenades, making him perfect for stealth scouting and silent kills. The thief, featured in every ad campaign, can grapple around the map and use a flying drone to literally pull items out of an enemy’s backpack.

There aren’t any overpowered classes, and every ability has a countermeasure you’ll need to prepare for during loadout. On top of that, abilities have long cooldowns, so you can’t rely on skills alone to carry you through.

Besides character setup, there’s a huge layer of weapon customization to master as well. Attachments really matter, boosting your weapon’s overall effectiveness. Many upgrades affect stats and handling, and some even grant special effects. For example, if you find a gold attachment, your revolver turns into an exotic gun from Destiny, restoring shield charge with every headshot. The base damage stays the same, but the modifier makes using the weapon much more fun. Simply put: a basic machine gun is trash, but with purple attachments, it becomes a killing machine.

There’s plenty of criticism online about the game’s interface, with people saying it’s overloaded, hard to learn, and needs a complete overhaul. But compared to Hunt and Escape from Tarkov, things in Marathon aren’t actually that bad. Yes, you need to read item descriptions by hovering over them, since many shields and attachments share the same icons. We don’t think giving every item a unique look is a good idea, since it would make sorting them take even longer — and that’s the last thing you want to deal with during a timed raid.

However, there are a few interface quirks that really are annoying, especially when playing on PC. For example, you can’t just remove attachments from a weapon — you first have to equip the gun, and only then can you detach the mods. This forces you to spend extra time in your inventory while in a hostile environment. Some items, when equipped, go to your backpack instead of being equipped directly. Sometimes loot just gets dropped on the floor, even if you didn’t mean to do that. In short, there are some rough edges, and the developers have already said they’re working on fixing these issues.

Because of all these challenges, Marathon is unlikely to become as wildly popular as ARC Raiders. But on the other hand, this deliberate complexity in mastering the mechanics is part of the genre’s DNA, so criticizing Bungie for this choice would be pointless.

It’s also important to note that, unlike Escape from Tarkov, Marathon actually has a lot of QoL improvements that many players simply overlook. For example, all loot that’s useless for progression is automatically sold. Items in your inventory are auto-sorted, so you don’t have to play “Tetris,” moving everything you found during a raid into free slots. All important key items are separated into their own tabs in the menu, so you’re not forced to dig through extra options to do anything, as you are in Hunt: Showdown.

Getting ready for a raid doesn’t take as long as it does in Escape from Tarkov, and matches are found very quickly. Sure, the game could use loadout presets to speed up prep even more, but even as it is, the process is fast. Like in ARC Raiders, players can grab a basic sponsor kit from a vendor if they suddenly run out of supplies or, for some reason, want to troll their teammates with a bad loadout (don’t do that!). The developers have said they plan to remove free kits to cut down on “scavs” in raids, but even after server tests, they’re still available in unlimited quantities.

Most importantly, and worth emphasizing again: Marathon is a proper shooter with extraction elements that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Whether your raid is a failure or a success, you’ll want to queue up for another match and try something new. In Marathon, you don’t have to wander the map for ages to find something interesting. 90% of the matches we played were pure adrenaline — intense PvP, sniper duels, stealth flanking, boss fights, losing valuable loot, and shouting at enemy teams through proximity chat, which Bungie added right after the first showcase.

It’s hard to predict exactly what the future holds for Marathon or what it’ll look like after a few dozen updates. At the very least, we’re already expecting a fourth map with a massive raid and a ranked mode, after which we’ll definitely update our review. But even in its current state, Marathon is a complete game with tons of content and addictive gameplay that’s hard to put down.

Hopefully, Bungie will fix the obvious rough edges and won’t try to “dumb down” the gameplay for a casual audience. It’s encouraging that the developers listen to players and respond quickly to criticism. For example, the lackluster seasonal pass — with nothing but recolored weapons and no unique items—will soon get additional character skins.

The style and visuals of Marathon are one of the project’s main highlights. This is a true work of art — something rarely seen in today’s gaming industry. Unusual geometry, vibrant colors, and low-poly designs immediately catch the eye and create a distinct, recognizable style. Of course, this approach won’t appeal to everyone, but for us, it’s simply incredible. Every graphical element is pure art, and this applies not just to the location design, but also to decorative items. Exploring the game world is just more interesting when it’s not rendered in the usual pseudo-realism of Unreal Engine 5.

On the technical side, everything is top-notch as well. Since the first reveal, Bungie has pushed the engine to its limits, and Marathon no longer looks dull or washed-out. Lighting and shading are done at the highest level. Weather effects look every bit as good as in Hunt: Showdown. Just a single rainstorm can completely change the look and mood of an entire map. Menu elements, loading screens, the appearance of employers, and intro cutscenes — all of it is pure art. You rarely see this kind of attention to visual detail in other games.

Character models fit the style and look interesting. They’re fairly easy to read, but because some abilities and design elements are similar to those of the local robots, it’s easy to mistake an AI opponent for a player at first. You just have to get used to it. By our tenth hour, we’d already stopped noticing this problem and could easily tell who was who.

Paid skins, on the other hand, are rather dull — sometimes even less appealing than the free ones you get for achievements. But Bungie is aware of this and plans to fix it.

The soundtrack, like the visuals, is absolutely stunning. Ryan Lott really went all out, creating a cold, yet captivating ambient score with vocal accents that give you goosebumps. The soundtrack never gets annoying in the menus and sets the mood for the coming match. During raids, the music creates just the right atmosphere, but never overpowers the core game sounds, so you can always hear enemy footsteps.

Optimization-wise, everything is excellent. On our setup, there were no issues with lag, stuttering, or FPS drops on max settings. The framerate was almost always stable. On PS5, the game looks just as crisp and pleasant — no blurring or visual artifacts.

We didn’t encounter any major bugs: once, a quest item fell through the map; another time, a story trigger failed to activate, forcing us to make an emergency extraction; the Hand wasn’t showing up on the map (already fixed in a patch); and there were occasional crashes when opening the Steam tray. Otherwise, everything worked great.\

Marathon is one of the best extraction shooters (if not the best) currently on the market. Bungie has taken all the coolest elements from across the genre, added their signature touches — excellent gunplay, story, and visual style — and created a “dopamine needle” that’s hard to quit. Sure, there are some QoL issues, but they’re so minor compared to the overall quality that you quickly get used to them.

Engaging PvP, tough fights with AI enemies, deep customization, painstakingly built lore, gorgeous visuals, and addictive core gameplay — what more do the haters need before they stop posting memes about falling Steam player numbers during maintenance? If you love extraction shooters and have three friends ready to dive into a dangerous adventure on Tau Ceti IV, Marathon is the game for you. We’re already hooked and have no desire to evacuate.