After years of waiting, Bungie's Marathon finally got its highly anticipated reveal, but the reception has been mixed. Being a reboot of the incredibly influential PC game of the same name from the 1990s, Marathon shares very few similarities with its progenitor, aside from offering a fresh experience for their respective genres. While there's plenty of potential for a game like Marathon to perform well over time, it has to stick with its strengths if it wants to survive in the competitive market.

Despite making a strong first impression with its initial reveal trailers that even included an ARG event, Marathon's recent gameplay trailers have faced a fair share of criticism. Ranging from in-game visual choices, similarities to other franchises, or simply the nature of yet another live service PvP game, Marathon will have a long way to go to prove it's a worthy competitor in the shooter market. Thankfully, while Marathon does share similarities with games like Apex Legends and Destiny, it still has one strength that is hard to come by these days.

Marathon's Visual Identity Is Incredibly Unique

Setting Itself Apart From The Crowd Through Visuals Alone

Despite not revealing much about the actual gameplay that would come in the future, even the first trailer for Marathon was dripping with a unique style that left a lasting impression on first viewing. Taking place in an exotic sci-fi setting with aliens, robots, and barely recognizable humanoids, it's hard to draw direct comparisons to Marathon outside of games like Destiny. Bungie even took Marathon's unique style to the next level by collaborating with the incredibly talented Love, Death, and Robots director Alberto Mielgo to create a cinematic short on YouTube introducing several characters and the strange world they inhabit.

Although Marathon's cinematic trailer left me with more questions than answers over what to expect from the game in the future, they're questions I'm looking forward to seeing answered through its development. Marathon's developers have already promised seasonal storytelling and a focus on worldbuilding in trailers, but it's far easier said than done in today's gaming landscape.

Long-lived service games often have trouble delivering satisfying storylines or consistent worldbuilding, with even games like Overwatch or Apex Legends struggling to keep up over time. While there are plenty of reasons behind scrapped storylines or abandoned concepts, one of the biggest is likely that it simply conflicts with the actual moment-to-moment gameplay, with player experience taking priority over an overarching narrative. It's far too early to tell for sure, but Marathon has already done a better job of piquing player interest in its live-service world than most games have in the past, offering a great foundation to build upon.

Bungie Can't Afford To Deliver A Familiar Experience

Easy Comparisons Could Hurt Marathon's Image

Rather than being an excuse to throw zany characters at each other in a battle royale, Marathon seems to take a more direct approach with its worldbuilding, as evidenced in its cinematic short. Even if the gameplay footage doesn't quite match up with the otherworldly tension and borderline psychological horror elements of the cinematic, Marathon's world and contrasting visual design still feel utterly distinct from most games I'm used to.

Unlike most free-to-play shooters on the market, Marathon will also be a paid title on release, with some already making comparisons that Marathon may eventually end up like the infamously short lifespan of Concord. Thanks to Bungie's success with Destiny 2, however, Marathon has significantly more backing it than PlayStation's latest attempt at a breakout hit, which could give it much more room to stand on as an independent title.

Marathon Could Become A Serious Contender In The Extraction Shooter Genre

Introducing The Genre To A New Audience Of Players

Marathon's initial gameplay reveal seemed like something you would more expect from a battle royale like Apex Legends or even the oversaturated hero shooter genre rather than the tension-filled extraction shooter genre, but it might not be representative of everything Marathon has to offer. Following its initial gameplay reveal, Marathon 's deep dive offered a closer look into what the actual gameplay mechanics will look like, with an emphasis on exploring the world and skill-based gameplay over powerful abilities.

Thankfully, it won't be long until we can see if Marathon can keep up its promises, with a closed alpha test beginning in a few days.

Despite criticism that Marathon is adding to an oversaturated market, the extraction shooter genre is far from the most common style of PvP game out there. Aside from games like Hunt: Showdown, the semi-recent Delta Force, and the infamous Escape from Tarkov, there aren't that many options to experience the tension-filled gameplay, especially with a sci-fi twist. With the resources and history of a studio like Bungie behind it, Marathon could very well pave the way forward for the extraction shooter genre, so long as it's able to retain the core identity that the advertising so strongly conveys.

Source: Marathon/YouTube