With Marathon approaching its March 5 release date, developer Bungie has continued to hype up the extraction shooter through a number of events, trailers and showcases. According to WCCFTech, a recent hands-on event was held for Chinese media, resulting in gameplay footage and first impressions being published.
Members of the Chinese media praised the tutorial and faction introductions in the hands-on demo, with some noting that Marathon has seen significant expansions to many of its narrative aspects and worldbuilding. They also described players getting a more coherent story as they progress through the various missions in the extraction shooter.
When it comes to core gameplay, they noted that PvE combat was challenging, with AI enemies being quite proactive in calling for reinforcements. Along with this, they also had to deal with different kinds of environmental hazards, like landmines, turrets, and poison gas. The difficulty was then compounded thanks to the need for resource management, with some impressions noting that shields and healing items are quite expensive at vendors.
They noted that this level of difficulty discouraged getting into too many fights early on, be it with AI-controlled enemies or against other players. Instead, a bigger emphasis was placed on completing missions through which players can start building their own stockpiles of readily-available supplies. The maps also seemingly supported a varying number of players; while one could feature 18 players divided into six squads of three, there were also smaller ones that could only support 12 players.
Other aspects of Marathon that were praised include the visuals, which have seen a major uplift since its alpha tests, UI/UX, which has been overhauled, and skill distribution across the Shells, which impressions described as appearing to be well-balanced. They also noted that many of the Shells offered their own movement abilities. These abilities will go hand-in-hand with the gunplay, which was described as being good.
A 10-minute-long video was uploaded on to Chinese media site bilibili. The video showcased a PvE event in the Abyssal Swamp map, which featured several gameplay aspects, from puzzle-solving to surviving waves of enemies. Eventually, the event culminated in a boss battle that rewarded players with loot and a keycard, the latter of which can then be used to partake in the next phase of the event. Unfortunately, this video has since been taken down.
Speaking to Ali123, game director Joe Ziegler revealed details about the seasonal content model of Marathon, and how it will resemble “a months-long ‘roguelike adventure’. These seasons will see players gradually growing stronger by getting their hands on more resources. Along the way, they will also need to interact with new season-reshaping systems and other content.
“Each season in Marathon will be a fresh start. We envision each season as a months-long ‘roguelike adventure,'” he explained. “Each season, players will start with limited resources and must gradually grow stronger through various means, forging their own unique path to growth. To implement this concept, each season will incorporate new content and systems, substantially reshaping the seasonal gameplay. That said, some content will be retained at the player account level. For example, cosmetic items acquired through unlocking or purchasing will continue to be retained across seasons.”
For more details on Marathon, check out trailers showcasing the Assassin and the Destroyer. The extaction shooter is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
