There’s no denying that Marathon has its fair share of problems. Seriously, the UI is downright frustrating to navigate through, voice chat barely works half the time, and the overall gameplay loop is a bit sketchy. However, if there’s one area where the game truly shines is its gunplay.
The game has absolutely nailed the game’s shooting mechanics, and even its biggest competitor, ARC Raiders, struggles to match it in this department.
Why The Gunplay in Marathon Steals the Show
Credit:- Bungie
Image Credits: Bungie
Credit:- Bungie Inc.
Image Credits: Bungie
Image Credits: Bungie
If you take a look at social platforms like Reddit or Twitter, one thing players are praising Bungie for in Marathon is absolute banger gunplay. Seriously, no matter which weapon you pick, shotgun, assault rifle, or anything in between, they all carry a punch and are extremely responsive to every input.
That’s just one highlight of the game. The Marathon Server Slam has debuted with 28 different weapons spread across eight different categories, which include the likes of Assault Rifles, Machine Guns, Precision Rifles, Pistols, Railguns, and many more.
Bungie has made an effort to include all kinds of weapons, so players with different playstyles can find something they can enjoy. On top of that, the weapon designs are themselves outstanding, as they look great and sound even better. Just try firing the V00 Zeus Railgun, and you’ll immediately hear why players love it.
The gunplay being this great in Marathon shouldn’t come as a surprise. Bungie is the studio that is behind titles like Halo and, more recently, Destiny 2, where it perfected the art of gunplay. When we talk about Destiny 2, all guns feel amazing, they sound unique, movement feels fluid, and you get that right amount of snappy aim. It’s a design philosophy that the developer obviously had to bring to Marathon.
However, the same can’t be said about ARC Raiders, which is often seen as Marathon‘s biggest rival. It’s a great extraction shooter, no doubt, with incredible sound design, level design, and overall atmosphere. However, where the game lacks is its gunplay. It’s casual and clunky compared to other shooters. Many players find it surprising that Embark Studios failed the gunplay in the game because it’s the same developer that gave us The Finals, which mastered this aspect.
While players say that Marathon should learn from other extraction shooters in certain areas, it’s only fair to recognise that it does have its own perks, particularly the gunplay. This is something that ARC Raiders should take notes from.
Marathon Also Beats ARC Raiders in Tackling Cheaters
ARC Raiders has failed to keep up with cheaters. Image Credits: Embark Studios
It’s just not gunplay where Marathon absolutely outshines ARC Raiders. Another area where the Bungie shooter stands out is in dealing with cheaters. Bungie has stated that whoever is caught cheating in Marathon will receive a permanent ban, and there won’t be any kind of second chances.
To make sure cheating isn’t a plague in the game, the game runs dedicated servers, uses a “Fog of War” system that works to limit client map knowledge, prevents any sorts of wall hacks, and has networking systems that track player movements. The goal is to make Marathon as cheat-resistant as possible.
However, ARC Raiders fails in this department. Most of the bans in the game are temporary, which basically acts like a free pass for offenders. There are players who can clip through walls, spawn items, spam grenades, and whatnot. Even though Embark has tried its best to address these issues, cheaters still continue to ruin the game.
Game NameMarathon DeveloperBungieRelease March 5, 2026
With that said, are you enjoying Marathon? Let us know in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
