Dariusz tested Marathon for MeinMMO and sees it as one of the best shooters of the year – regardless of what the internet might suggest.
With Marathon, Bungie tried something new. The studio, known primarily for Destiny in recent years, has now released an extraction shooter for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. The game was released on March 5, 2026, after being available for free testing for a few days as part of a server slam.
I have already played Marathon for over 20 hours, with nearly 19 hours during the server slam and another 4 hours for the official release. Now I want to introduce you to the shooter and then explain why Marathon already belongs to the best shooters we have in 2026.
Extraction Shooter redefined – Bungie takes the “Apex Legends approach”
As an extraction shooter, Marathon follows a gameplay principle that you might already know from games like Escape from Tarkov, Hunt: Showdown, or ARC Raiders:
- You accept a quest, assemble your gear, start a raid, and try to successfully extract at the end.
- Marathon is best played in a team. A squad consists of up to three players, but you can also hunt for loot solo.
- During a raid, you loot various items, fight NPCs and other players (PvEvP), and ideally fulfill the accepted mission to make gradual progress.
In Marathon, you are known as Runners. These are cybernetic mercenaries whose consciousness exists in a foreign place. So during a raid, you are not navigating in a human body, but in a Runner shell. The Runner shells also represent playable classes that come with unique abilities – such as a healer, a scout, and an invisible assassin. With the loot you find in a round, you can improve your Runner shell or your stash.
Bungie has opted for a game concept that I refer to as the “Apex Legends approach”: They took an existing game concept – in this case, that of an extraction shooter – and merged it with elements of a hero shooter. Similarly, Apex Legends did it in the battle royale genre and Valorant and Rainbow Six: Siege did with tactical shooters.
Tactical depth that many extraction shooters can’t offer
When I look at a new shooter, the most important question for me is always: Is the gameplay fun? Of course, that depends on various factors and personal tastes. Still, I have some clear impressions regarding specific aspects of the game:
- The gunplay is well done: The weapons feel good and play intuitively.
- The selection of weapons is solid, and there is something for every playstyle.
- Some weapons like sniper rifles or shotguns could sound more impactful, but it’s not bothersome enough to detract from the experience.
Overall, what I particularly enjoy is that every weapon has the potential to be good. In Marathon, the level of a weapon depends on the mods (i.e., attachments like sights and magazines). A simple, gray weapon can achieve higher tiers like blue or purple with better attachments.
The biggest strength of Marathon, however, is definitely the PvP. The PvE fights against the UESC robots are decent and sometimes tougher than you’d think. But the feeling of having eliminated an opposing team and gorging on their loot is simply fantastic – especially because the fights themselves are a lot of fun. The Runner shells give it a tactical depth that other extraction shooters can’t reach. The various class abilities add a gameplay layer that a shooter can’t have if it only relies on grenades and other gadgets.
Additionally, the Runner shells bring variety to the raids. You can play different builds and assemble your teams differently. An absurd example: Fighting against a team that only relies on assassins is entirely different from fighting against a team that only relies on destroyers.
However, the gameplay depth, the tactical approach of the teams, and the playful variety due to the different shells suffer significantly when you play solo matches.
Everything that characterizes team play is completely lost when you play alone. In duo or trio, Marathon is much more enjoyable than solo. This is, of course, a critique that many competitive shooters have, including popular titles like Counter-Strike, Valorant, Overwatch, or Rainbow Six: Siege. Just like the mentioned shooters, Marathon is primarily designed for team play. So that you don’t have to completely miss out on this gaming experience, you can at least form trios with random teammates as a compromise.
Nonetheless, the solo rounds are the biggest weakness of Marathon. It frustrates me when I shoot my opponent in a 1v1 at the exact same moment he shoots me. We both lie on the ground, look at each other, and know:
“Yep, we both lose our loot, and no one benefits.”
And yes, that happens often. In my last 9-10 solo runs, it happened 3 times! Nevertheless, I remain optimistic because the gameplay loop invites grinding and promises long-term motivation for PvP enthusiasts (like me).
Unique style with modest requirements
The graphic style of Marathon is special. Every gamer has their own taste in this regard. I like the style; others find it too colorful. But I also play Overwatch and Valorant – colorful, by my standards, is something entirely different.
The game world in Marathon does have colors that you won’t see in Battlefield or Escape from Tarkov, but the maps also feature dark and mysterious elements. It’s not as if you’re sliding over rainbows with the gummy bear gang in Marathon.
I commend Bungie for the innovative and unique graphic style – and ultimately, the style, alongside the classes, is the main reason why Marathon can stand out from many other extraction shooters. I don’t feel like I have played the same game multiple times while playing.
The sound design is also well done, although it definitely doesn’t match genre competitors like Hunt: Showdown or ARC Raiders. Nevertheless, Marathon manages to create an exciting atmosphere through music and background sounds. Meanwhile, the gameplay-important sounds don’t get lost, and steps and gunshots can usually be heard and located well.
It is all wrapped in truly humane system requirements, and even my aging system, built around an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, achieves good FPS in the triple digits even at high settings.
I haven’t encountered any bugs or technical issues, although game crashes definitely occurred during the server slam for some players.
On the technical side, you can tell that Marathon is developed by an experienced studio. Although Bungie is often criticized by the Destiny community for bugs and similar issues, particularly in the extraction shooter genre, I have had much worse experiences.
Marathon and the Bungie hate
A topic that stirs many emotions around Marathon is Bungie itself. The Destiny community will probably never forgive the studio for some of its decisions. This is also evident in Marathon. Many comments already say:
“Don’t give money to the studio known for removing purchased content from games.”
The critics refer to various contents that have disappeared into the so-called content vault in Destiny 2 and were completely removed from the game.
Additionally, the financing model of Marathon is being discussed. The shooter costs 40 euros, yet skins and a battle pass are offered for purchase using the premium currency “Lux”. When you buy, Marathon always „gifts“ you a few hundred Lux, meaning you have a bit too much for the intended skin.
I am aware of this criticism and don’t want to talk anyone out of it. It is justified. If you have lost trust in Bungie because of Destiny, I can’t change that.
However, the criticism sometimes veers into hate. Some gamers seemingly enjoy hating a game more than actually testing it. So the mood around Marathon on X.com and Reddit is notably more negative than among actual players in the reviews on Steam – which are 90% positive.
Setting aside the Bungie hate, Marathon is one of the best shooters of the year. Major releases from well-known franchises are scarce in 2026 according to the current status. Exciting titles like Beautiful Light, Judas, Cinder City, EVE Vanguard, Ashfall, Luna Abyss, and Den of Wolves have no fixed release date or have been postponed multiple times.
Marathon has set the bar and has the potential to be one of the top 5 shooters in 2026.
If you enjoy extraction shooters, you should give Marathon a chance – unless you belong to those who solo through the lobbies in ARC Raiders, wish for a PvE mode, and curse at every PvP contact. For you, Marathon is probably not suitable. But both games can coexist beautifully, and I will play both in the future.
So, I’ve said a lot about Marathon. If you’re still unsure whether Bungie’s new extraction shooter could appeal to you, I’ve put together a quiz for you on MeinMMO that ideally helps with the decision. You can find this quiz here: Is Marathon worth it for you? The quick check before release
