I picked up Bungie's Marathon this past week. When I saw the first Marathon trailer, I was wowed by the look. Most people seem to be. It dropped off my radar as I'm not usually a FPS guy with the exception of Overwatch.
However, I was looking for something to rotate into my Overwatch play. Something new and a little difficult. Enter Marathon Steve, a supposedly real though possible urban legend, Steve was a man who came into Marathon with no real knowledge beyond the original game. A 1994 FPS where you shoot robots (from my understanding, I've never played it).
That's what he thought you were supposed to do. Shoot robots. He was playing it wrong in almost every way.
I read Aftermath's article, watched a few solo play videos, then bought the game. I quickly realized that ignorance is bliss. It was hard to have the kind of fun Marathon Steve was having when I knew more than he did about the game. And solo is nice, but the game was really built around squads.
The game loop was good though. Very roguelike/lite. I found myself returning to it just to try again. But I found myself wanting something else out of Marathon.
Listening to 404 Media their deep background in gaming gave better insight and appreciation into the complexities of Marathon's performance. Though it's clear that they come from a similar POV as a couple of older millennial dudes. They liked the game but didn't find fault in the game design, more in the current state of games, for its poor performance.1
They brought up the movie Moneyball and the scene where a bunch of old timers sat around, picking players based on gut instinct versus the numbers. That's how I felt. I was the old guy who saw potential and was ignoring what works in the industry now.
Despite my own lack of enthusiasm for the game, I found myself rooting for it.
Youtuber, Qrayon, believes this is Bungie's midlife crisis and they have fallen greatly from being titans of the industry. Maybe I'm biased. As someone in or approaching a midlife crisis, I don't see it. I think there is merit Qrayon's criticism of the game, but the framing is odd.
A bigger point for Qrayon is that it's Bungie chasing the "extraction shooter" trend that is at fault. Though I'm not convinced many people (even gamers) know what that is.
I think to Halo's release. This was after years of FPS games, and frankly, when I played it, I didn't think much of it. It was the early 2000s at a friend's birthday party. We all played a small tournament and while fun, it didn't feel revolutionary.
It felt like a FPS with army men and some new mechanics. Nothing special. In hindsight, very influential. In the moment, it was just a good way to play with a bunch of friends and was faster paced than Goldeneye.
At the center of his criticism is the same as 404 Media's. It's a good game. A great game! There's a lot there but something is missing. Maybe some new mechanic or some new way of looking at extractions. Or maybe what is there needs a minor tweak to finally click with players.
Qrayon wants a revolutionary extraction game while 404 Media sees a great game that moves genre forward. I think I need something more casual.
I found I was interested in the sneaking and collecting. I didn't need the gun fights or squads. They could stay, but I wanted a shell that's built for stealth and not for killing. Max out my stealth and non-lethal weapons that allow for escape. That's what I'm looking for.
I had a similar want in Monster Hunter: World. I was more interested in collecting monsters footprints, plants, etc. and avoiding the monsters than fighting them. It would be interesting. A game with lethal but non-stealthy players along side non-lethal and stealthy players, all vying for the same loot.
Maybe it's the moment. Games are saturated. Lifestyle gamers purchase less games. Extraction games are niche. Most people don't know what that is. Plus the gaming industry and economy as a whole. Marathon just looks like a failure.
Until then I'll keep following the story of Marathon. I have a feeling we'll look back and realize Marathon represented something else in the industry.
