The anticipated extraction shooter Marathon by Bungie gets a technical test, just stirring the pot in the game community. What the developers had announced was an NDA-required playtest scheduled for signups from October 22 to October 27, letting some players become literally the very first ones to lay hands upon the much-anticipated title.
And wow, the reactions have ranged from…well, to say the least, mixed. Really mixed. As soon as the official Marathon account posted about the test, the inbox just exploded with everything from begging to be let in to absolute curses telling them to scrap the whole project. Quite a scene for a game industry derby!
So, what is supposed to be the conduct of this playtest? It is described as a closed technical test where registration cannot guarantee acceptance. NDA angle? If you get selected, you don’t talk about what you saw or played. Nothing at all. Well, at least in my opinion, this sounds a whole lot bolder and fascinating. What could be so secretive that they have to make people sign off on legal secrecy?
The reactions in the comments ranged…all over the place. One user named monty pontius was basically begging, “PLEASE LET ME IN BRUH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE,” while another simply said, “nobody cares about this shit project.” Then we have the spectacle of a commentator pointing out all the drama that was unfolding with the scheduling: “notice how it’s now NA and EU, 1st time it was NA only now it’s EU too cuz too low player numbers.” Ouch.
Oh, what was I saying? Yeah, the mixed reactions. Other players even brought up past controversies: “Did y’all end up paying that artist you ripped every single graphic design asset from or not yet?” That’s… that’s a whole thing that apparently happened. Then there were the salty Destiny fans, one of whom declared, “You fucks genuinely killed Destiny.” Yeah, people seem to be holding onto quite some serious grudges.
But there are some who think otherwise! Some constructive feed would try to help, such as “Hope a good chunk of thi was moving it from ‘heroes’ to a more customizable class system.” See? There is a bit of constructive criticism muddying the waters.
The Arc Raiders comparisons keep popping up, too, from one user: “Odd of you to once again Schedule around ARC Raiders. Did you feel like getting Trounced again by it?” So, extraction shooter turf wars I didn’t even know about.
The money speaks- “For 500 bucks I’ll test it.” If Bunkie offers, I’m down as well! But realistically speaking, I think they’re not paying their testers, making the NDA even worse to buy for many.
Now, this grubbiest part is probably how many frankly wondered if Marathon has been canceled. That is, two or three comments basically asking if the game was canceled or suggesting they just give up. I mean, the game is very much alive, and the very existence of that playtest is proof of continued development.
Builds nicely into the bigger picture with Bungie, actually. Having been at Marathon for quite some time, the technical test indicates how they might be nearing a point in development where they feel ready to show off to anyone at all, albeit under heavy NDA restrictions. The extraction shooter market is quite crowded at the moment, however, with games like DMZ and Hunt: Showdown firmly established already, so Marathon needs something truly different to make it.
That whole discussion of “heroes versus customizable classes” from the comments is deeply insightful too. Gamers are clearly thinking about replayability for the long term and also how much they will be able to tailor their character. This is exactly the kind of feedback developers should listen to, even though it’s buried all-too deeply beneath the usual spate of “this game is DOA” comments.
Now where does it leave us? Marathon’s still on; they’re about to test it; and the gaming community has… opinions. So many opinions. Whether this will be the next big hit produced by Bungie or one more failed live service game is yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure: people are talking about it, in one way or another. And half of those opinions are absolutely begging Bungie to cancel it.
The signups for the playtest are now live over at their site, so if you find yourself curious under all the anticipation, you might as well throw your name in the hat. Only don’t even think about talking about it if you get in; maybe even stay away from the comment section unless you’re prepared for some serious toxicity from the gaming community. That’s really how ugly contemporary gaming discourse sounds-from one side of their mouth comes glamorous hype and hate straight from the very same mouth.
