Post
Marathon: First Impressions After 25 Hours of Gameplay
Travis Northup from IGN shares his initial impressions of Marathon after 25 hours of gameplay in the server slam. He highlights Bungie's gunplay, the interesting loot system, and the surprising story, but also points out issues with onboarding, environment geometry, and the stamina system. Despite these issues, the game looks promising, but long-term success will depend on the quality of the endgame.
1. 🎮 Introduction to the Preliminary Marathon Review
- ✅ Travis Northup, a Bungie reviewer with experience in shooters, is reviewing Marathon for IGN.
- ⚠️ This is not the final review, but an impression after more than 20 hours of gameplay in the server slam.
- ✅ The final review will be published at the end of March, after testing the full version of the game and the endgame updates.
00:00 - 00:51
1. 🎮 Introduction to the Preliminary Marathon Review
- ✅ Travis Northup, a Bungie reviewer with experience in shooters, is reviewing Marathon for IGN.
- ⚠️ This is not the final review, but an impression after more than 20 hours of gameplay in the server slam.
- ✅ The final review will be published at the end of March, after testing the full version of the game and the endgame updates.
00:52 - 02:49
2. 🤔 General Impressions of Marathon: A 'Sweaty' Extraction Shooter with Bungie Gunplay
- ✅ Marathon combines the tension of extraction shooters with Bungie's signature gunplay.
- ⚠️ The game has had a rocky development and is coming out at a turbulent time for service games.
- ✅ It is difficult to predict the long-term success of the game, even with a long-term support plan.
02:50 - 04:31
3. ✨ The Current State of Marathon: The Best Version to Date
- ✅ The current version of Marathon is the best so far, with impressive gunplay.
- ✅ The pace of obtaining new equipment, unlocking lore, and completing missions and factions is interesting.
- ✅ The amount of story in the game is surprising and encourages players to complete missions to discover more.
04:32 - 05:56
4. 🗺️ Server Slam vs. Launch Content: What to Expect?
- ✅ The server slam includes most of the full game.
- ⚠️ A character, a map (Outpost), and the endgame content (which will arrive in the second half of March with a fourth map) will be missing at launch.
- ✅ The server slam offers 75% of the full game experience, and most of that 75% is positive.
05:57 - 06:32
5. 🤔 Pending Questions: The Endgame and Long-Term Success
- ✅ Marathon's success will depend on the quality of the endgame and how the game feels after hundreds of hours.
- ✅ The reviewer is enjoying the game and wants to keep playing, but there are areas for improvement.
06:33 - 08:00
6. 🚧 Identified Problems: Onboarding, Geometry, and Movement
- ⚠️ Bungie has problems with onboarding, and Marathon is no exception. It is difficult to understand the advanced systems and what to do in the missions.
- ⚠️ The geometry of the environment is sometimes problematic, causing frustration when getting stuck.
- ⚠️ Movement can feel heavy and slow unless you play with the character whose special ability is speed.
08:01 - 09:27
7. 🥵 The 'Heat' System and Movement: A Delicate Balance
- ⚠️ The game includes a 'heat' system that limits movement when running, sliding, and jumping.
- ✅ The system has interesting elements, such as cooling by rain or water, but sometimes feels restrictive.
09:28 - 10:32
8. 🎒 Stamina and Inventory: Necessary Evil in Extraction Shooters
- ⚠️ The reviewer is not a fan of stamina meters or inventory management, but recognizes that they are central elements of extraction shooters.
- ✅ The game does a good job with stamina, and the inventory seems to be well balanced, although it is too early to judge it completely.
10:33 - 11:26
9. 🔫 Bungie Gunplay at its Finest
- ✅ The reviewer has no criticisms about the gunplay in the server slam.
- ✅ The gunplay is Bungie at the top of what they do well.
11:27 - 12:56
10. 🎁 Loot and Customization: Changing the Game
- ✅ The loot is good and allows you to change the way the character's class works.
- ✅ An example is a legendary backpack that makes the character completely invisible when interacting with lootable objects.
- ✅ Gunplay and loot are the two most important elements in an extraction shooter, and Marathon seems to be doing them well.
12:57 - 13:25
11. 🗓️ Next Steps: Final Review and More Content
- ✅ The reviewer will be back with a final review in a few weeks, after testing the endgame and the remaining content.