Marathon Reviews
Bungie successfully makes a grab at the extraction shooter crown with Marathon. Rook is a revelation for solos, and Cryo Archive is the best endgame experience in the genre. It is mean, yet fair, with more than ample flair. The biggest issue is that you're currently not playing it, hence my matchmaking woes.
A visually arresting, mechanically sharp extraction shooter that offers fun and rewards for those with the patience - and the time.
With spellbinding combat and high-concept maps, Marathon is far more than a cool aesthetic draped over the bones of an extraction shooter.
Marathon is a ruthless and unforgiving extraction shooter that’s worth every ounce of hell it puts you through.
Marathon is a brilliant distillation of what makes an excellent extraction shooter, and a glimpse at where they could go next.
Vandal's movement buffs are lethal in the hands of twitchier shooter fans.
Bungie's excellent audio design and gunplay, paired with increasingly complicated level design borrowing from over a decade of expertise designing Destiny raids coalesce into something special. Marathon is proof Bungie is still at the top of its game.
Even those frustrating losing streaks often just have me jumping back into another match, eager to replace the gear I've lost, and most battles are fun, tense, and tactical, pushing you to play smartly and work together with your teammates. How the developers support Marathon over the long term will determine whether it can sustain interest the way other successful live-service games have, but Bungie's fundamentals are incredibly strong, and Marathon is much richer and deeper than its 20-minute matches would suggest. Tau Ceti IV calls, and there are runs to complete.
Marathon is a shooter that gets better the more you play and the training wheels come off.
Marathon is revival of Bungie's dormant 30-year-old franchise. With excellent gunplay, stylish graphics and a thrilling gameplay loop Marathon is a welcome return. This despite confusing UI, frustrating runs and questions about its future.
The biggest issue the game will face is appealing to the less hardcore players and getting them to stick around, but with Bungie continuing to iterate on the game, things will likely work out just fine for this unbelievably fun extraction shooter.
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Marathon requires a lot of patience and time to begin enjoying, but as the hours pass, it becomes an obsession. Bungie's signature style is present in its gameplay, but also in the construction of its universe and its difficulty. It's unique among extraction shooters, but its high barrier to entry and the constant dedication it demands won't win everyone over.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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Review in Spanish | Read full review
Even as someone whose best multiplayer skill days are behind them, and with all of the plentiful suffering Marathon has to offer within, I find myself wanting to squeeze in one last run all the time lately.
After almost a month with Marathon, it feels safe to say that Bungie's new Sci-Fi extraction shooter should be considered a new multiplayer great.
Despite the tumultuous landscape of live-service games around it, Marathon firmly carves its own place in the extraction shooter genre with an unmatched presentation and breakneck rhythm.
For those that love the chase of loot and the thrill of a PvP fight then Marathon is probably for you. It feels like it’s a more hardcore version of the extraction shooter, at least in comparison to Arc Raiders. Don’t expect to have our hand held in this game, which is what a good hardcore experience should offer its players. If you like that type of experience, then Marathon is waiting for you.
Bungie's extraction shooter reboot of its classic Marathon series is easily one of the best releases in 2026. Its top-level gunplay and extremely rewarding gameplay loop that centers strong gameplay experiences over better loot, paired with an atmosphere and world design that does an incredible job of weaving narrative into a multiplayer PvPvE setting, make it a must-play for first-person shooter fans and anyone feeling tired of the current live service landscape. For all its rough edges, there's really nothing else that looks, sounds, or plays quite like Marathon, and it's all the better for it.
Marathon doesn't have that instant fun factor and casual appeal that an extraction shooter like ARC Raiders does. And for a lot of people, that likely means it isn't the game for them. But Marathon is a game that gives more to you the more you give to it. With impeccable Bungie gunplay, a gorgeous world and artstyle, and a gameplay loop much denser than its competition, we think Marathon is something special. The more we play, the more we love it.