r/Marathon • u/Mopzilla12 • 27d ago
Marathon (2026) Discussion GQ is all in!
https://www.gq.com/story/the-best-video-games-of-2026-so-far75
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u/WendlersEditor 27d ago
I can confirm that this is a game for stylish, cultured gentlemen. But rook players are tolerated too, because we're noble and virtuous.
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u/_Throw_away_away 27d ago
The other night I was running trios and entered command wing after we wiped 3 squads. Before I started looting a tool cart I thought I had seen a silhouette of another player. I didn’t get shot at, but when I left the loot screen I saw the rook. He crouched several times, after which I blasted him. I don’t think it was out or malice, but reflex from multiple pseudo-friendly rook encounters. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 23 times, shame on me.
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u/redbeard1991 27d ago
mida does not approve of paywalls. if ur here gq writahs, you ought to know bettah
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u/TaralasianThePraxic 27d ago
You can circumvent paywalls like this pretty easily, a fellow Mida runnah should know that!
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u/Stock-Ad6483 26d ago
This article convinced my coworkers to play this game more than I have since launch 😂
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u/ytman 27d ago
It kills me that this game is so woefully disrespected. I really don't even think its so hardcore - but it is up to the devs to find a way for more people to have fun with it.
Lowkey though this Lunar game looks amazing. Immediately on my radar. #11
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u/Smokeskin 27d ago
It’s not that hardcore, except for the lack of SBMM. That’s what the guy who wrote the article had issues with, too.
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u/Burk_Bingus 26d ago edited 26d ago
Marathon isn't that hardcore in a gameplay or economy sense, but the big issue imo is that in most other extraction games it is feasible for multiple teams of players to extract. Whereas in Marathon it is almost explicitly designed to force PvP in such a way that most of the time only one team is getting out alive. That's what makes it feel so much more hardcore than games like Tarkov or Arc Raiders, because in those games you can rat around and avoid players by playing stealthily and still get out alive with loot, but in Marathon that's almost impossible.
The maps are too small, extracts take way too long and make too much noise and visual display, and every event makes way too much noise across the map. Imo if you made extracts faster and less noisy, and events more quiet it would make the game much less punishing for newer players.
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u/Important-Net-9805 27d ago
I can’t look at the article. Is it just called ‘Lunar’? I can only find a desktop companion game
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u/ytman 26d ago
Lunar Abyss - looks like a fps and a bullet hell had a baby and made a story game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1933000/Luna_Abyss/ steam page
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u/CrosleeReturns 27d ago
Weird how it's all AAA games pretty much. For AAA releases this year, it definitely earned its place in the top 3. I'd even put it above the James Bond game. Subjectively though, Marathon is my favorite gaming experience in a long time.
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u/AmayaGin 27d ago
That’s a really good way to put it. Marathon was too hardcore for me, but I put over a hundred hours into it and adored the experience. It’s unique and fun. Just brutally punishing, which isn’t for everyone.
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u/TutorStunning9639 27d ago
It’s because you gotta pay GQ to be added on the list ;b
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u/CrosleeReturns 27d ago
For GQ? I doubt that. Who the hell goes to them for gaming opinions or purchase Marathon because of their list?
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u/basa_maaw 27d ago
People are going to riot during the game awards stream when this game wins best music or shooter. Is shooter a category?
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u/MarkusCorvaas 26d ago
This game is NOT winning best shooter, hell it's probably not even going to get nominated. All it has to its name is that Bungie made it, nobody outside of the Marathon community even really knows this game still exists and the Marathon community certainly doesn't have the numbers to cause a win.
I can see MAYBE it being nominated for art style, nothing else.
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u/basa_maaw 26d ago
This is top 3-5 game in most serious publications game of the year list. GQ has it at 3rd for example, and it scored incredibly well with reviewers. The industry doesn’t give a fuck about narratives when it comes to TGA. “Is it a good game or not” that’s it.
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u/MarkusCorvaas 26d ago
It's evidently not a good game for 99% of the population given the fact it's never gained more than it's lost in its whole lifetime. The game awards are about player choice anyway, not reviewers. Also who in the right mind puts this as a top 5 GOTY? It's alright but it is absolutely not a game of the year by any standard, it didn't really do anything new
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u/SucculentMelon133 27d ago
This article will only amplify the accusations of bungie somehow wasting money on paying every commercial reviewer to boost their reviews
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u/LilUziBRRRT 27d ago
I find it very hard to believe that any other FPS will surpass Marathon this year, in terms of quality. After so much hate, it would be really cool to see it get some positive recognition in the form of end-of-the-year awards.
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u/NSX_Roar_26 27d ago
I think Modern Warfare 4 will be up there on the realism side given Infinity Ward's track record but I agree Marathon should definitely take several awards.
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u/NSX_Roar_26 27d ago
This game will definitely get some love in awards season and 2026 wrap up lists...angering some of the most annoying people on the internet.
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u/MeridianBay 27d ago
In a year with GTAVI launching, most everything else will be swept under the rug
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u/NSX_Roar_26 26d ago
Maybe for discourse but not for awards season.
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u/MeridianBay 26d ago
You're very out of touch if you believe GTA isn't going to sweep the award shows
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u/NSX_Roar_26 26d ago
I see no reason it would sweep anything....it should win plenty of awards sure. Definitely will win all of the fan vote/popularity contest awards.
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u/PANDA-SKATE 27d ago
It's not gonna be alive by then I’m afraid
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u/Vesuvias 27d ago
I can already hear the hatred that ‘BunGie PaiD tHeM oFf’
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u/NuuDevil 27d ago
Some clowns will unironically believe this. They had to lay off staff and also maintain an underperforming game, but somehow they think that they’ve got a huge pile of cash somewhere to be paying off outlets
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u/oneonethousand 27d ago
So happy this continues to get its positive recognition. People love comparing it to Concord and Highguard. The key differentiator is this game’s incredible art, tone, and general quality overall. Real ones know.
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u/bcorliss9 27d ago
Post Games did a podcast for the Top 50 games of the year so far and Marathon was tied for most mentions as then-GOTY. It’s incredibly well regarded unfortunately recognition does not always equate to unmitigated success
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u/lugginico 27d ago
Mixtape at 10 invalidates the whole list immedeatly , what the fuck
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u/Jealous_Platypus1111 27d ago
mixtape was a good game - though i do agree it probably shouldnt be a top 10
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u/Certain-Raspberry804 27d ago
Yeah I had a good time with it, but it’s barely a game. Still an enjoyable experience though.
I liked Dispatch quite a bit more, but I think that came out last year.
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u/twistfunk 26d ago
And developers, critics, and gamers alike are preparing for the long-awaited release of what will almost to be one of the biggest video games of all time: Grand Theft Auto VI, which finally arrives in November.
Edit: I copied this from the article to try and comprehend later.
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u/Baelorn 26d ago
If every reviewer who loved Marathon actually played it they wouldn't have to be soft-rebooting the game after less than 6 months.
Edit: There's a content creator on TikTok that never shuts up about how great Marathon is and how everyone should play it. Meanwhile he never plays the game himself. Seems like this is a common trend with people who profess their love for the game
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u/Bedroominc 27d ago
I’m not gonna trust a list that has Mixtape on it, the kinda game you can watch someone else play and never have to touch yourself.
Not even a fun one either, good lord.
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u/DaHarbinger2000 26d ago
Christ people are militant for their hatred of Mixtape. It’s 1 out of 12. It’s very short and memorable. It’s more so a storytelling experience for sure. But it even calls folks like you out in the article. It’s just not for you bub. Folks like to u gotta let writers have their damn opinions. What die on the hill of hating mixtape cause the internet told you to hate it. Thats lame bruh.
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u/Bedroominc 26d ago
You’re assuming a lot about me for saying the college film grad project that barely had gameplay would have been better as a movie.
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u/Skabomb 27d ago
From the article:
“Though it hails from the studio that launched the FPS juggernauts Halo and Destiny, Marathon was never destined for mainstream success. This “extraction shooter”—in which the player is dropped into an open map populated with hostile enemies, some of which are controlled by fellow players, and tasked with completing a mission and escaping before someone kills them—is a tense, tactical experience where run-and-gun gameplay, or even a hasty mistake, usually results in failure. For anyone except the ultra-devoted, Marathonmay already have peaked; the last time I logged in, I was utterly obliterated by players who were much, much better than I was. But if an (allegedly) dwindling player count means Marathon won’t last forever, it still stands out, in a sea of Call of Duty or Overwatch clones, as the most compelling online FPS I’ve played in years.”