Go the Distance: Marathon Starts March 5th

The mission to colonize Tau Ceti IV has failed. All contact was lost with the 30,000 brave souls who set out to build a new world… until now. Responding to a mysterious signal across the galaxy, you’ve given up your human body to become a cybernetic mercenary (Runner) and scavenge the remains of the lost colony. Your chance to unbury the secrets of the past starts with Marathon’s release on March 5th, so now’s the time to hot foot it over to Intel Gaming Access and get some tips on survival from Bungie studio’s own Marathon man, game director Joe Ziegler.

No Walk in the Park

Marathon is all about survival; as a Runner you navigate rival factions and strategic alliances as well as locate resources. “As a survival PvPvE experience, we’ve built it for players and crews of players who are looking for the thrill of surviving the unknown and adapting to the challenges that come their way. The stakes are high and the challenge to survive is real, so be prepared to learn from your experiences, and experiment with new strategies,” says Joe. As the title suggests, this isn’t one run and done. And every challenge has the potential to redefine the outcome of the entire action.

“Quiet moments of tense exploration can turn into explosive engagements where everything is on the line,” Joe affirms. “Marathon is unpredictable. Picking the right Runner shell from the six archetypes you have, investing in and using powerful loot that can mold or augment the playstyle you feel most natural playing, and even finding the right crewmate or two can go a long way to helping you achieve great success. Ultimately, however, Marathon is you experiencing the thrill of survival in your own way, experiencing your own stories both of death-defying highs and crushing, heartbreaking losses.”

Footsteps to Follow

Some of you may recall the 1990s Marathon, and it’s not forgotten here. “Marathon draws from a wide range of influences, including Bungie’s own legacy with the original trilogy,” Joe explains. “It’s a tense and twisted universe that is rich with paranoia, which makes the perfect setting for the survival experience we wanted to create: one that puts players in the center of a danger-filled environment where information is power, and it’s hard to tell what information you can trust.”

There’s little nostalgia at play here, however; it’s a tense up-to-the minute extraction experience that Joe’s team have brought their own flavor to. “Many other games in the genre are often steeped in the traditional military simulation,” Joe explains, “which has its own appeal, but can be constricting when you’re thinking about how mechanics can expand and build on interactions in a PvP and PvE space. In Marathon, a lot of the journey of growing over the season is getting into Runner shells, which are sort of like classes with abilities that are customizable via items we call implants and cores. In our extraction experience, you can equip a lot of different items that increase your combat potential, alter some of the capabilities you have with your shell, and amplify stats and actions. We give you the opportunity to strategize around how your player character functions during the run.”

Inside Track on Player Satisfaction

Marathon puts you on a crafted route to the best possible player experience, and that includes performance. “We’ve brought our experience crafting compelling shooting mechanics for PC and console,” Joe says. “[This] hybrid action model gives players the opportunity to play in both a tactical and high-action manner. The combination of Runner shells, the vibrant yet creepy style and world of Tau Ceti, and the pedigrees of Bungie action combat makes the experience uniquely Marathon.”

The intensity of a competitive survival shooter blended with immersive sci-fi storytelling also gave rise to unique challenges. “The biggest challenge in making Marathon,” Joe tells us, “was focusing on the right opportunities at any given time. The canvas of what Marathon can be is infinite, and making every idea a reality could easily consume a decade or more. We had to decide when to let players come in and experience the rest of that journey with us. [This] meant putting some of our own dreams into the future.” Prioritize now, dream always; that’s our takeaway. That decisiveness reflects how Bungie want the game to perform. “PC performance matters because survival in Marathon comes down to seconds of decision making,” Joe says. “In an extraction shooter, a second can determine whether you exfil or lose everything, so consistent high performance is foundational. Our collaboration with Intel during Marathon‘s development allowed us to test and improve things like driver compatibility, feature performance, and features like Intel Xe SS. This allows us to deliver the best experience for players.”

Amen to that. Bungie’s Marathon is out on March 5th, so start your warm-up now, Runners.

Pre-acquisto Marathon on Steam