After years of anticipation, Bungie gave players their first look at Marathon with a gameplay trailer released on April 12. The extraction shooter follows in the footsteps of Destiny 2 and has been in development since 2019. Despite all the hype, though, I can’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed by the reveal.
‘Marathon’ Is Stylish And Yet Feels Off At The Same Time
Okay, let’s chalk this one up to subjective opinion—because on a purely technical level, Marathon looks gorgeous, graphically speaking. In terms of style and aesthetic, Bungie really took a chance with its Cyberpunk-esque art direction. It’s genuinely visually striking. And yet, at the same time, for some reason, the game’s overall look just isn’t connecting with me.
At least in my opinion, what we’ve seen of Marathon so far pales in comparison to the incredibly imaginative world of Destiny 2. I still remember my first time exploring the Cosmodrome and being in awe of its gorgeous landscapes that stretched beyond the level’s horizon. Whatever flaws Destiny 2 had, getting lost in its beautiful worlds was never one of them. The futuristic, minimalist world of Marathon just feels off to me by comparison.
I’ve seen some fans even describe Marathon as looking similar to Sony’s failed 2024 shooter, Concord. I don’t know if I’d go that far—because again, the game technically looks incredible. But on the other hand, I kind of get where they’re coming from. Something in my gut just looks at Marathon and doesn’t fully connect with its hyper-realistic, clean art style. And similar to Concord, the characters aren’t jumping out at me like they did in previous Bungie titles.
Is ‘Marathon’ the Next ‘Concord’?
As I mentioned above, I’ve seen a lot of online discourse around Marathon, with detractors arguing it will be the next Concord. I don’t really agree with that. Although I wasn’t grabbed by Marathon’s story trailer, its battle mechanics look incredible! Not that it needs to be said, but Bungie has never had issues with gameplay. In fact, I’d argue they’re probably the best developer in the industry when it comes to making shooters.
So, regardless of any reservations I might be feeling right now, Bungie’s jump into the extraction shooter genre looks, at the very least, really fun. Based on that alone, I just don’t see how Marathon could end up being another Concord. Then again, I’m also a big believer that gameplay always wins out over graphics. Still, I can’t help but feel that some of Marathon’s design choices might lead it to being a more niche title compared to Destiny 2.
‘Marathon’ Might Just Not Be for Me
One of my biggest disappointments with Marathon is that it’s centered around three-player squads. Considering that most of my gaming friend groups have at least four people, this already presents a major hurdle to my potential interest in the game. Now, I’ll admit I’m not an expert in extraction shooters, so maybe this team size makes sense for the genre. But I imagine there are a lot of Destiny 2 raid groups (myself included) who are looking at that three-person limit and wondering whether this will really be their next social game.
But I think that’s kind of the point—Marathon isn’t meant to be a successor to Destiny 2. Bungie even said as much in a recent interview. It’s a completely different genre, a game aiming to fill an entirely different niche. I think my issue—one that many Bungie fans likely share—is that Destiny 2 has felt like it’s been dying over the last few years. While The Final Shape was brilliant, the game overall has felt stagnant. So this idea that players can just “keep playing Destiny 2” rings a little hollow. For fans of Bungie’s incredible gameplay, it just feels like Marathon is the future of the company.
To be clear, I hope Marathon succeeds. And I also think it’s way too early to count it out or be overly critical. But when I saw many players online not really feeling the gameplay trailer either, it struck a nerve. I’ve just come to accept that maybe Marathon isn’t for me—and that’s perfectly fine. However, I won’t lie: I’m still holding out hope that the “Bungie magic” proves my worries wrong and pulls me back in.
The post Bungie’s ‘Marathon’ Reveal Trailer Has Me More Worried Than Excited – Could This Be Concord All Over Again? appeared first on VICE.
