Last month during the PlayStation Showcase, Destiny developer Bungie unveiled its “new” shooter titled Marathon. For those unfamiliar, Marathon is actually a revival of Bungie’s older IP which was published in the 90s for Mac. Despite the original games being more traditional first-person shooters, new details about the upcoming live service game have leaked, suggesting some changes will be made to gameplay and progression.
The leak originates from reliable source Insider Gaming which has spilled the beans on what players can expect out of Marathon. According to the leaked details, Marathon will be a three-person extraction shooter that’s been compared to Escape from Tarkov. Players have a limited oxygen supply that acts as the match countdown timer – once the supply runs out, you begin to lose health. However, O2 cannisters can be found in each match or alternatively players can buy them.
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Furthermore, any injuries inflicted on the player will cause different effects. For example, being shot in the waist will damage your oxygen supply, leading you to lose oxygen more rapidly, or being concussed creates a blurry effect on the screen.
Marathon will also include an ability and perk system that players can work through. Permadeath will be a feature in the game, though players will only lose their loot (weapons, currency, etc.) acquired in the match. Perks will never be lost. There will be three different types of loot, implants, perks and items as well. Marathon will include three (presumably very large) maps, though it’s not known if all three will make it to launch.
The article also states that Bungie aims to make Marathon the “ultimate live service” game with minimal load times and map secrets. It’s unclear what “ultimate” means in this case, though the developer has had enough experience in the live service field to refine the formula.
Insider Gaming detailed the core gameplay loop of Marathon as:
- Chose your missions (to complete in the game)
- Buy / Chose your loadout/perks/abilities/gear
- Drop into a server
- Hunt for loot / Complete missions / Explore and find secrets
- Extract
- Spend XP on Updates
- Repeat
Marathon doesn’t have a release date yet but it’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Source: Insider Gaming
