The first players are already playing Marathon but many of them are still struggling with the UI of the new extraction shooter. Meanwhile, ARC Raiders, the current biggest competitor of Marathon, has shown how it’s done.
What problem do players have with Marathon? One criticism that players have repeatedly pointed out since earlier tests is the user interface (UI). Many had hoped it would improve by the release, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.
In the currently ongoing open beta, the UI is still fundamentally the same as in earlier tests. However, players are now saying that it is far too unintuitive.
Here you can see the launch trailer for Marathon:
Much too confusing and nested
What exactly is the criticism? In a post on r/Marathon, the largest subreddit for the game, a user named ceniack opens the discussion about the user interface. He asks the developers to rethink the UI.
“It is not intuitive at all. It feels both cluttered, and sparse at the same time and is difficult to navigate,” writes the Reddit user in his post. He also notes that it’s not clear where certain functions like creating loadouts are located.
Other players agree with him in this post:
- “I was hoping they improved this from the tests. I will say it gets more intuitive the more you use it, but it is not beginner friendly at all,” says shortstopryan (on Reddit)
- “Having to go back to the menu because the ready up menus are like 6 menus in? What?” asks another user (on Reddit), who is upset about the complicated UI.
- Another user adds: “Dont forget the buttons where you need to press and hold to get to another menu. One of the most annoying things games do these days.” (on Reddit)
There is also complaining about too small icons. SuppressExpress writes: “It is extremely hard to tell what these small, pixelated icons represent – especially when coming from ARC.” (on Reddit).
ARC is already the keyword here, as the game is highlighted several times as a positive example of an intuitive UI (at least on PC).
- “Good UIs aren’t supposed to have a learning curve,” says AbanaClara (on Reddit). “It took me all 2 minutes to understand Arc’s UI lol”
- “Compared to other games like Apex and Arc Raiders, looking through my inventory in Marathon is a headache,” finds LivinOnBorrowedTime (on Reddit)
Others think the UI isn’t that bad, at least after a short adaptation period. And it’s something new.
- “It’s fine. Just takes a minute to get used to. I’d rather have that than LIVE SERVICE GAME UI #737282,” writes Defiant-Record-9158 (on Reddit)
- “People cry when every game has the same mobile game UI and then cry when a game releases that has something different,” says Aegiiisss (on Reddit)
Have you played Marathon yet? If so, what do you think of the UI? Feel free to share your impressions in the comments. MeinMMO shooter expert Dariusz Müller has also played Marathon, his opinion on the game can be found here: After 3 rounds in Marathon, I’m sure: We’re getting a strong game that’s perfect for everyone who just gets insulted in ARC Raiders
