Marathon Faces Player Division Amidst Extraction Shooter Launch
Bungie's new extraction shooter, Marathon, has launched to mixed reviews, praised for its solid gunplay and challenging loop. However, its steep learning curve and PvP focus have polarized players, leading to review bombing campaigns. Fans are actively defending the title, highlighting its potential despite genre competition and initial player friction.
Coverage across 24 outlets
Marathon review - ignore the noise, this game speaks for itself
Marathon is an extraction shooter that distinguishes itself with spellbinding combat and high-concept maps, moving beyond its aesthetic to offer a compelling gameplay experience. While the game presents high stakes and quick time-to-kill mechanics, its unique Shell abilities, diverse maps, and superb shooting mechanics provide a rewarding experience. Despite some minor UI and storytelling quibbles, Marathon's quality and style speak for themselves, making it a strong entry in the genre.
Marathon Review - IGN
The review describes Marathon as a ruthless and unapproachable extraction shooter that is ultimately rewarding despite its difficulty. The game is highlighted for its challenging gameplay loop.
Marathon Review - IGN
This article appears to be a review of the game Marathon, with user comments discussing expectations and comparisons to other titles like Concord and Crimson Desert. Some comments touch on market consolidation and game design criticisms.
Marathon Review
Marathon is a challenging extraction shooter that, despite its difficulty, offers a rewarding experience. The game demands significant player effort but ultimately proves worth the struggle.
Marathon final review – thrill of the exfil
Marathon, the new extraction shooter from Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment, offers a compelling experience despite its initial quirks and a steep learning curve. The game features excellent gunplay, a distinctive atmosphere, and rich progression systems, though its seasonal resets and limited access to endgame content may deter some players. It is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Marathon (2026) Review
Marathon is a compelling extraction shooter with exceptional gunplay and a satisfying gameplay loop, despite its punishing nature. Developed by Bungie, the game offers diverse player classes and engaging contracts across three distinct maps, culminating in challenging endgame content. The narrative explores themes of unchecked capitalism and artificial intelligence, complemented by a strong aesthetic and electronic score.
Marathon Review: A Brutal, But Enthralling Online FPS | Kotaku
Marathon is described as a brutal but enthralling online first-person shooter that leaves a lasting impression. Despite its quality, the article notes the common fate of many live-service games, suggesting Marathon might eventually fade away.
Marathon Review: A Brutal, But Enthralling Online FPS | Kotaku
GameSpot's review of Marathon highlights the game's incredible highs and painful lows, noting that its long-term success will depend on developer support. Despite its short match times, Marathon offers a rich and deep experience with strong fundamentals from Bungie.
Marathon Review - Bungie's Finest | TNS
Marathon is considered Bungie's finest work and a top-tier extraction shooter that sets a high bar for the genre. The game is praised for its quality and potential to be a market leader.
Marathon Review - Bungie's Finest | TNS
GameSpot's review of Marathon highlights its strong fundamentals and deep gameplay, despite potential long-term support concerns for its live-service model. The game offers more than its short matches suggest, with Bungie's core mechanics proving robust.
Game Reviews
The Marathon review describes the game as a brutal yet enthralling online first-person shooter. It highlights the intense gameplay and engaging multiplayer experience.
Marathon’s Review Scores vs. Fan Backlash: The Great Gaming Divide
The article analyzes the significant divide between professional game critics and the community regarding the upcoming game Marathon. While critics are awarding high scores and praising its depth, a vocal segment of the community expresses pre-launch controversy, suggesting a potential disconnect in expectations for the first-person shooter.
Marathon Review - Incredible Highs, Painful Lows | GameSpot
GameSpot's review of Marathon highlights its strong fundamentals and deep gameplay, suggesting it has the potential to succeed as a live-service game. While the core gameplay loop is rich, the long-term success will depend on Bungie's ongoing support and how it sustains player interest beyond the initial 20-minute matches.
Marathon Review - Gamer Social Club
This review from Gamer Social Club examines Bungie's extraction shooter, Marathon. It questions whether the game has the longevity to succeed in the competitive genre.
After 75 hours, Marathon is already one of my favorite shooters in years | GamesRadar
GamesRadar's review praises Marathon as an exceptional extraction shooter that excels in PvP encounters and world-building. After 75 hours, the publication considers it one of their favorite shooters in years, highlighting its intense gameplay and engaging setting.
Marathon Review - Gamer Social Club
Bungie's Marathon offers a tense PvPvE extraction experience on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Players act as cybernetic Runners on Tau Ceti IV, completing contracts and battling AI and other players while trying to successfully exfiltrate.
Marathon Review - Incredible Highs, Painful Lows | GameSpot
Marathon is an extraction shooter that emphasizes player choice and consequences within each run. Bungie's expertise is evident in its excellent audio design, gunplay, and intricate level design, drawing parallels to Destiny raids. The game is set to release in 2026 for PC.
After 75 hours, Marathon is already one of my favorite shooters in years | GamesRadar
Marathon is an extraction shooter that excels through Bungie's signature gunplay and audio design, combined with intricate level design. The game successfully blends choice and consequence within its runs, drawing on over a decade of experience from Destiny raids to create a special experience. Bungie proves its continued mastery of the shooter genre with this title.
Marathon Review - Actions Have Consequences | Game Informer
Marathon is an extraction shooter that emphasizes player choice and the consequences of each run, according to Game Informer. Bungie's expertise in audio design, gunplay, and raid-like level design from Destiny contributes to a special experience, proving the studio remains at the top of its game.
Marathon Review - Actions Have Consequences | Game Informer
This review of Marathon discusses the game's marketing and intellectual property. The author argues that all marketing is a form of pandering and questions the claim that the IP has been hijacked, noting the same developer still owns it. The piece expresses hope for the game's survival despite a perceived year-and-a-half-long hate campaign.
