Marathon Gets New Gameplay Footage & Impressions from Chinese Event; Bungie: “each Season Is Like a Roguelike Adventure”

New Footage of Marathon: Bungie’s Vision Unveiled

Recently, Bungie organized an exclusive hands-on event for the popular extraction shooter game, Marathon. The event was held in Shanghai earlier this month and marked the first time such a gathering took place outside North America.

A New World of Depth and Detail

The most impressive aspect of the new footage is the substantial expansion of worldbuilding and narrative depth. Attendees reported that the tutorial and faction introductions now provide clear origins and motivations for the playable characters, creating a more coherent story framework. This approach aims to connect players with multiple narrative threads from the original Marathon trilogy, enhancing their immersion in the game’s lore.

Challenging PvE Experience

The PvE experience of this Marathon build proved particularly challenging according to various impressions. AI enemies continuously call in reinforcements over time, and environmental hazards like poison gas vents, perimeter turrets, and landmines are scattered throughout the maps. Resource management adds an extra layer of difficulty as medical supplies and shields are expensive at vendors.

By the end of play sessions, some testers couldn’t afford these items without selling all their buffs.

The high-risk environment clearly discourages early combat or PvP engagements, typically resulting in net losses. Instead, players are encouraged to focus on missions to upgrade base stats and strengthen their positions within the game world.

Larger-Scale Multiplayer Events

One of the highlights was the 10-minute Lockdown event available on the Abyssal Swamp map. Around 15 minutes later, a Point of Interest (POI) may be locked down and surrounded by red bubbles. To trigger this event, players can use the ‘HEC’ consumable, entering the red bubble without taking damage for 45 seconds.

During this time, they can press a switch to close it, after which three waves of enemies will appear, culminating in a boss fight.

Defeating the boss provides loot and keycards, while the locked-down area moves to another area like ‘Algae Pool,’ ‘Isolation Zone,’ or ‘Comprehensive Facility.’ Each time, Marathon players need to use a keycard from the previous level to increase difficulty. This event promises an engaging mix of strategic planning and intense combat.

Seasonal Content and Player Growth

Bungie’s Game Director Joe Ziegler shared that each season in Marathon will be a fresh start, resembling a months-long “roguelike adventure.” Players will start with limited resources and must gradually grow stronger through various means. Each season incorporates new content and systems, substantially reshaping the gameplay experience. Despite some visual awkwardness in certain UI elements, skill distribution across classes appears well-balanced, allowing for flexible team compositions.

The launch date is set for March 5, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X.

With this release, Bungie hopes to turn around the mild reception of previous testing phases. Only time will tell if their vision transforms Marathon into a compelling and innovative title in the gaming world.

Stay tuned for more updates from Wccftech as we continue to follow Bungie’s journey with Marathon.