After what felt like a thousand years of complete radio silence—seriously, we thought they lost the source code or something—Bungie has finally penciled a date in on the calendar for its long-teased reboot of Marathon. Yes, the extraction shooter with the aesthetic of an acid trip through a synthwave music video inspired by Tron and what appears to be a giant electronic milk bath. You know, the one with the trailer that looked like it was made by a sentient Lisa Frank binder drenched in the stuff that blinded Matt Murdock?
Anyway, over the past 24 hours, Bungie decided to open the floodgates with a deluge of content: lore tidbits, game mechanics, and a full-blown ARG (that’s Alternate Reality Game, not Aggressively Ridiculous Gimmick—though that also fits). This puzzle-laden rabbit hole included strange images, game details, and more cryptic nonsense than a QAnon subreddit. But what’s really got everyone talking is the teaser trailer for the upcoming gameplay reveal happening this Saturday, April 12th.
That’s right. Actual gameplay. Not pre-rendered cinematics. Real, honest-to-God, hands-on footage. Bungie fans, at least a few, have been foaming at the mouth for this since the first teaser aired during the Triassic period, and now it’s finally happening. Now let’s talk about that trailer.
https://twitter.com/MarathonTheGame/status/1909021981275533601
Hoo boy, that is weird even by Bungie standards. As you can see, assuming you watched it, this thing opens with chaotic gunfire and then what appears to be a playable character getting straight-up stomped in the chest. Like, not “respawn in five seconds” stomped. We’re talking “blue goo bleeding out into a swamp while a robot cat comes to cuddle your corpse” levels of dead. It’s oddly poetic and disturbingly on-brand. This is the kind of energy Bungie is bringing into 2025: gorgeous visuals, existential dread, and pink feline grief counselors.
To be fair, the vibes are strong. Bungie continues to nail the presentation: jaw-dropping visuals? Check. Eargasm-inducing sound design? Yup. Music that makes you want to install LED lights in your bathroom? Also yes. But that’s all icing. What we really need to see is whether the gameplay cake underneath is delicious or just another overpriced slab of genre fatigue.
Because, let’s be honest, the extraction shooter market is oversaturated to the point that most of these games burn out faster than a FalconX rocket during an “oopsie” test flight. Bungie is basically showing up to a party that’s already dead, wearing two popped-collared Hollister Polos, aviators, and a Live Strong wrist band asking where the beer pong is.
And let’s not forget: Bungie’s been having a rough go of it lately. The last couple of years, in fact. Leadership decisions that make your office’s worst manager look like Sun Tzu, waves of layoffs that gutted their creative core, and a Destiny 2 player base that’s practically a ghost town at this point (get it, ghost town?). And that’s after a multi-billion dollar purchase from papa Sony. It’s a miracle they’re still functioning, let alone launching a new IP in a genre most players are sick of.
So now the big question: does Bungie have any magic left in the tank? Or did it all get traded in for Pete Parsons’ third Audi?
We’ll find out soon. Until then, keep your expectations cautiously optimistic—and maybe start emotionally preparing for another trailer that hype’s you up only to inevitably let you down. That is the Bungie way, after all.
