Marathon Review - Only Fun With Friends
Trying to survive on Tau Ceti IV is tough. It takes stealth, skill, and a bit of luck to get out of a map in Bungie's newest extraction shooter. I have been playing Marathon ever since the Server Slam, and as of writing I have put about 70 hours into the game. Almost every night some of my friends and I set aside time to load into a map in search of great loot. Overall my experience with the game has been extremely positive with only a few drawbacks; for me, the biggest of these drawbacks is how much less enjoyable the game is when playing it by yourself.
The More the Merrier
The game seems to have been designed with the idea that players will be loading into maps, fighting UESC bots, and trying to take out other teams in 3 person crews. They do have queues for solo players as well as a game mode for entering midway through a match by yourself with semi-random gear. However, neither the number of AI enemies nor their health scales based on the team sizes, and the recently released Cryo Archive map requires you to play with a crew of 3 people with no options for solo play.
When I'm playing Marathon with two of my friends the game is at its best. Whether you're sniping teams together in Dire Marsh or escaping the Pinwheel with high-value loot, playing with your friends will always be more fun (and more rewarding). If one of you, typically me, tends to be worse at the PVP encounters, your crew-mates can make up for your mistakes. And once you finally step aboard the UESC Marathon itself, having someone watch your back is necessary. Playing Marathon has given me some of the most high-intensity moments in a game in a long time, and having close friends to play it with has been a major reason for these experiences. Playing by myself? Now that's another story.
The Lone and Level Tau Ceti IV
Playing this game by yourself changes the genre. With a crew you're always listening, sneaking around, and trying to figure out if anyone is nearby, but you have the safety blanket of your crew to be your extra pairs of eyes. When raiding by yourself, there are no second chances. My teammates have saved us from defeat so many times, resurrecting me and killing the opposing team. That cannot happen when there's no one there to back you up. There's no opportunity to be revived and a single well-placed sniper shot can end your run. On top of this, your senses have to be turned up to 11, causing the game to feel more like a horror game than a competitive shooter.
Entering a match partway through using the Rook is a slightly different story. Rather than having the option to bring in your gear to fight other solo Runners, as a Rook you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Currently, this is the best way to play by yourself in this game. A talented Rook player can 1v3 a well-equipped team and earn themselves a massive payday. Unfortunately, Rook runs have several drawbacks that hold them back from being just as fun as playing with a crew.
Playing as a Rook you cannot complete contracts (or quests). These are one of the main ways to progress in the game and how you learn about the events of the story. I feel that disabling these was a misstep. Rook runs tend to be more difficult as the teams are larger, so why not let players try to complete contracts? Another unfortunate fact about Rooks is that you cannot load into the Cryo Archive. This is an extremely difficult map and while I would be extremely upset if a Rook took out my crew on the map, if you want to play solo then you simply can't access a quarter of the game. You're forced to join a crew, and if you don't have friends who play, you'll just have to matchmake. Yes you can go find a Discord channel or post on social media looking for people to play with, but if you only have an hour or two to play then you don't want to spend that time trying to find someone to play with—you just want to play!
How to Fix This
I'm no game designer. There's no easy fix to this problem because if there was there wouldn't be a problem. Marathon is a game with a fantastic art style, great gunplay, and incredibly paced matches. However, the fun factor of this game is divided by a factor of 10 when playing by yourself. Some have found it enjoyable to play solo, but I doubt those same people enjoy not being able to access part of the game without finding 2 other people to play with. In an ideal world, I think I would see some sort of PVE only experience in the game. Perhaps a permadeath campaign-style mission where you have to survive waves of UESC on Outpost in order to unlock the Cryo Archive. Or instead difficulty-scaled versions of the maps with loot scaled appropriately for solo players.
I have loved my many hours with Marathon so far, and as a former Destiny player I have a hard time seeing me stopping anytime soon. My only wish is that my time alone with the game can be as intense, as fun, and as rewarding as when I play with my friends.
See you on Tau Ceti, Runnah
