Support NeoGAF

[Loomy]

Hard to sell what makes their game unique when there's no gameplay to sell it.

He describes a tiny bit and broadly how the two characters shown play.

Honestly, I'd take this over a random CG trailer.

 

[usctrojan]

Or maybe if they didn't clarify it there would be 30 threads on the front page about how Bungie were dropping Xbox.

as much as I want to sarcastically respond about how sure "coming to xbox" is not enough validation you are probably still right

 

[clarky]

Comparing artwork to what Concord threw out is not really interesting. Concord was trash from day one. I would look at what Bungie has produced in the past. Is this better than ONI? I think it has a bit of an ONI vide.

The art style is absolute fire.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

A stylized dark/cybernetic world in space, hybrid PVE/PVP, loot, class based (not hero shooter) and intense action?

Sign me the fuck up Men_in_Boxes this sounds dope AF

Im sick of all these GaaS titles that look like a cartoony clown show

 

[LordOfChaos]

>Give update on a game after two years of radio silence
>No gameplay

What is this strategy called

 

[AJUMP23]

The art style is absolute fire.

Marathon or ONI?

 

[clarky]

Marathon or ONI?

Both tbh, but i meant Marathon.

 

[AJUMP23]

Both tbh, but i meant Marathon.

I agree.

 

[EN250]

In my mind, Sony felt pressure with that Activision purchase from MS and just went and buy anything that could help their cause, too bad they got scammed good, 3b for a dev with nothing but bad management and promises

 

[clarky]

In my mind, Sony felt pressure with that Activision purchase from MS and just went and buy anything that could help their cause, too bad they got scammed good, 3b for a dev with nothing but bad management and promises

Cool story. I've never heard that take before.

 

[Wimbledon]

He's doing his best to dance around whether or not we CREATE our characters or were CHOOSING a character and customizing from there.

This honestly should be an easy thing to answer and to dispel any doubts from the audience.

 

[Badlucktroll]

You can get the 3 original marathons here

Aleph One - Marathon Open Source

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

A stylized dark/cybernetic world in space, hybrid PVE/PVP, loot, class based (not hero shooter) and intense action?

Sign me the fuck up Men_in_Boxes this sounds dope AF

Im sick of all these GaaS titles that look like a cartoony clown show

I'm all in (but I was all in with Concord too lol). Only worry right now is the release date. This video makes me think 2026 is on the table.

He's doing his best to dance around whether or not we CREATE our characters or were CHOOSING a character and customizing from there.

This honestly should be an easy thing to answer and to dispel any doubts from the audience.

"Our goal with Runners is to give you a couple of base abilities to build your loadout around while still giving you lot of freedom to choose what weapons, implants, upgrades, and consumables you bring in. This won't feel like when you just choose a hero and then get whatever weapon/abilities are assigned to them."

 

[clarky]

He's doing his best to dance around whether or not we CREATE our characters or were CHOOSING a character and customizing from there.

This honestly should be an easy thing to answer and to dispel any doubts from the audience.

We already know that. You choose from a selection of characters with different base abilities then they are heavily customisable. Think destiny guardians but more choice.

I can't find the link.

 

[Branded]

Seems like this was announced far too early in advance.

 

[Ebrietas]

This game is going to blow people's minds, I can already feel it. The bungie purchase will end up being one of Sony's smartest decisions ever.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I'm all in (but I was all in with Concord too lol). Only worry right now is the release date. This video makes me think 2026 is on the table.

Maybe, I still think late 2025 is possible

It sounded like art assets and balancing were the main thing left to be tweaked

But I suspect after Concord’s flop Sony is going to be extra careful with the release of this one. Its too big to fail

This premise and art is way better than concord imho. Actual progression, customization, objectives, loot, etc….things a basic ass Concord gravely missed

 

[clarky]

I'm all in (but I was all in with Concord too lol). Only worry right now is the release date. This video makes me think 2026 is on the table.


"Our goal with Runners is to give you a couple of base abilities to build your loadout around while still giving you lot of freedom to choose what weapons, implants, upgrades, and consumables you bring in. This won't feel like when you just choose a hero and then get whatever weapon/abilities are assigned to them."

Sure sounded like 2026 to me. Maybe very late '25 but id rather them take their time, now it seems like everything is coming together and they know where they are headed with things.

 

[clarky]

Seems like this was announced far too early in advance.

Was only last year. Games like this need input and take multiple iterations to get right. I'm expecting at least a proper closed round of Alpha's and Beta's long before launch. They already been playtesting close groups for a year at least

Wolverine was announced 3 years ago, and this looks to be much more interesting and ambitious.

 

[Astray]

Artstyle looks dope af but I wish this was singleplayer.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Like i said just a few posts up I really don't care how they got there. Mismanagement at Bungie has provided some excellent results.

I could (and did) play OG VOG all day. I've been a D1 & 2 player since the alpha so im aware of the ups and downs.

D2 was pump at launch i'll give you that but i still had fun for a month or so.

Maybe Marathon will launch barebones but if it provides something along the lines of a VOG experience with the potential to grow like D1 & 2 then I'm in.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully with you.
Despite mismanagement, I still think Bungie is a top-tier studio.

They just need proper management and I think Sony is a good match in that regard.

 

[clarky]

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully with you.
Despite mismanagement, I still think Bungie is a top-tier studio.

They just need proper management and I think Sony is a good match in that regard.

Yeah i think we might actually see the best out of them in a long time now they have someone to answer to again.

Fingers crossed.

 

[yurinka]

Looking good, nice to see they mention it isn't PvP only but PvEvP with also quests instead, and that it will feature many customization/upgrade options so won't be the typical hero shooter.

So it's a walking sim?

PvEvP extraction FPS.

No gameplay, what's the point then?

To update about the status of the game and share more details about it.

 

[clarky]

Looking good, nice to see they mention it isn't PvP only but PvEvP with also quests instead, and that it will feature many customization/upgrade options so won't be the typical hero shooter.

PvEvP extraction FPS.


To update about the status of the game and share more details about it.

To be honest sounds a lot closer to a Destiny sequel than I think they care to admit. Loot, quests, customisable avatars, abilities etc etc.

I fine with that as well.

 

[Mobilemofo]

Marathon, sponsored by snickers.

 

[simpatico]

Oh they scared. They shook. I wish Sony bought Bungie so they could force them into making a tight, 13-16hr cinematic shooter from heaven. With a basic barebones MP mode, Halo CE esque. It would sell so fucking well.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Maybe, I still think late 2025 is possible

It sounded like art assets and balancing were the main thing left to be tweaked

Definitely possible. The few red flags for a 2026 release are...

1) "...our enemy models are still kind of, a little bit in an early state" and "...a few of the items are still kind of coming online." I obviously know nothing about game dev but this sounds pre Alpha.

2) Joe didn't mention a single detail about anything in the game. Thief has some really cool abilities that provide for hilarious stories but I'm not going to tell you a single one? That strikes me as class abilities still being in flux. They may not be confident that Thief ships with the one hilarity causing ability. Plus, the content creators, with their "loosened NDA" also didn't feel comfortable to share absolutely anything either. This cement feels super super wet right now.

3) Joe says "So in 2025 we're going to be expanding our playtests wider and wider..." I'm almost certainly reading way too much into this but I didn't like how he attached a year onto "expanding playtests". If 2025 was a possible launch year, wouldn't he more likely say "Pretty soon we're going to be letting players get their hands on Marathon with more news to follow." The way he phrased it made me think they just have two or three public playtests planned for the entire year.

But I suspect after Concord’s flop Sony is going to be extra careful with the release of this one. Its too big to fail

This premise and art is way better than concord imho. Actual progression, customization, objectives, loot, etc….things a basic ass Concord gravely missed

I'm pumped. I like seeing a character like Thief as I'm big on PvP but don't actually love shooting other players. I get the vibe they're really going towards a variety of playstyles with these characters.

Here's another content creator who played it that says very little. His face is pretty expressive so you can try to read between the lines...

 

[ProtoByte]

"Send gameplay"

I'm not interested in what devs have to say if they don't have this.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Definitely possible. The few red flags for a 2026 release are...

1) "...our enemy models are still kind of, a little bit in an early state" and "...a few of the items are still kind of coming online." I obviously know nothing about game dev but this sounds pre Alpha.

2) Joe didn't mention a single detail about anything in the game. Thief has some really cool abilities that provide for hilarious stories but I'm not going to tell you a single one? That strikes me as class abilities still being in flux. They may not be confident that Thief ships with the one hilarity causing ability. Plus, the content creators, with their "loosened NDA" also didn't feel comfortable to share absolutely anything either. This cement feels super super wet right now.

3) Joe says "So in 2025 we're going to be expanding our playtests wider and wider..." I'm almost certainly reading way too much into this but I didn't like how he attached a year onto "expanding playtests". If 2025 was a possible launch year, wouldn't he more likely say "Pretty soon we're going to be letting players get their hands on Marathon with more news to follow." The way he phrased it made me think they just have two or three public playtests planned for the entire year.



I'm pumped. I like seeing a character like Thief as I'm big on PvP but don't actually love shooting other players. I get the vibe they're really going towards a variety of playstyles with these characters.

Here's another content creator who played it that says very little. His face is pretty expressive so you can try to read between the lines...

Well one encouraging bit of information is that they recently had a massively long playtest with the community. To me that suggests it's far enough along to get a rather meaty vertical slice taste of the game.

Perhaps the ongoing playtests in 2025 are earlier in the year, and are more like "betas" that try and capture fan feedback and they want a lot of them before releasing the game. So depending on how those go, they may fully release the game if they are confident in what their audience has to play and feedback is good. If feedback is like Concord, where the general consensus is that it plays well but not much more than that, it's back to developing further. Again I think they will be taking a very conservative strategy with this game. If it needs to be delayed until 2026, it will. They want this to be the next big platform game just like Destiny, with content to feed it for years....they need to get the initial launch feeling good as a platform.

 

[Crayon]

Oh they scared. They shook. I wish Sony bought Bungie so they could force them into making a tight, 13-16hr cinematic shooter from heaven. With a basic barebones MP mode, Halo CE esque. It would sell so fucking well.

That probably would sell. It's more obvious, now. There's been big sp hits and mp bombs in the years since this game was greenlit. If they did what you're suggesting they'd probably clean up.

 

[Calico345]

13 seconds in and he's losing me. The vocal fry is obnoxious. "YOOO!" isn't an appealing way to start off a video, and then the "uh, umms" and then uncertainty in half of everything he says... Is he asking me or telling me about who he is and what he's doing? I'd honestly they rather write something on a teleprompter. Maybe this game is going to be for the Xbro crowd, in which case the start of the video is not only acceptable, it is probably deliberate.

Shit, I'm sorry, I'm just in a really cynical mood. The state of video games in the last 10 years has been disastrous. Add people to that, too.

EDIT: Extraction Shooter. I'm out.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Definitely possible. The few red flags for a 2026 release are...

1) "...our enemy models are still kind of, a little bit in an early state" and "...a few of the items are still kind of coming online." I obviously know nothing about game dev but this sounds pre Alpha.

2) Joe didn't mention a single detail about anything in the game. Thief has some really cool abilities that provide for hilarious stories but I'm not going to tell you a single one? That strikes me as class abilities still being in flux. They may not be confident that Thief ships with the one hilarity causing ability. Plus, the content creators, with their "loosened NDA" also didn't feel comfortable to share absolutely anything either. This cement feels super super wet right now.

3) Joe says "So in 2025 we're going to be expanding our playtests wider and wider..." I'm almost certainly reading way too much into this but I didn't like how he attached a year onto "expanding playtests". If 2025 was a possible launch year, wouldn't he more likely say "Pretty soon we're going to be letting players get their hands on Marathon with more news to follow." The way he phrased it made me think they just have two or three public playtests planned for the entire year.



I'm pumped. I like seeing a character like Thief as I'm big on PvP but don't actually love shooting other players. I get the vibe they're really going towards a variety of playstyles with these characters.

Here's another content creator who played it that says very little. His face is pretty expressive so you can try to read between the lines...

He claims Bungie was very adamant about receiving negative feedback in their play sessions

So it’s good that they aren’t about “toxic positivity” and are receptive to criticism

He also confirms the environments are beautiful

 

[Wimbledon]

We already know that. You choose from a selection of characters with different base abilities then they are heavily customisable. Think destiny guardians but more choice.

I can't find the link.

Id like to see that link because if it is just like building our guardian in destiny then im all for that

 

[clarky]

Id like to see that link because if it is just like building our guardian in destiny then im all for that

This is from an article yesterday but its been known for a while, ill see if i can dig out last years quotes if this doesn't quell your fears

Marathon Won't Follow Traditional Hero-Shooter Format, Bungie Confirms

Bungie has officially addressed the rumors about Marathon being a hero-shooter

thegamepost.com

Is Marathon Going To Be A Hero Shooter?

The short answer? No, not in the traditional sense. Responding to a YouTube comment regarding the hero-shooter rumors, Bungie emphasized that Marathon’s Runners will have a “couple of base abilities” with a focus on player freedom and individuality, where each player can fine-tune their loadouts and abilities instead of picking from preset “hero” characters with assigned abilities

From the same source, different article:

"However, multiple sources have confirmed to The Game Post that Marathon is not “hero-focused” which is what many seem to believe. The “heroes” in Marathon are classes, each with its own set of abilities (along with a “special” ability), and very different playstyle compared to others"

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

I preferred the stylized look of the reveal trailer over these more realistic proportioned characters.

It leaning more into "hero" classes is also a turn off for me.