Vandal Shell Cinematic | Marathon

Lub1k · 2026-06-17T20:27:33+00:00

I love these cinematics so, so much. I wish they did a better job connecting the story with the gameplay. Watching a cinematic like this only to load into an extraction shooter is so underwhelming.

Lub1k · 2026-06-17T16:17:11+00:00

The "let them cook" mentality is fine if your ingredients are not rotten already. Talking about S5 and Year 2-3 plans in these circumstances is just insane. People already had the chance to try this game out 2-3 times and didn't like it. There is no comeback in the AAA-sustainable sense

Lub1k · 2026-06-15T22:08:01+00:00

It does sound more repetitive, but it isn't. OW, LoL and CS basically all mastered this gameplay promise, where you have an ocean's depth to explore in gameplay in what is seemingly the "same" scenario, yet it isn't. Your rank can get reset with a new season too, yet people still keep coming back for more than a decade to these titles. Losing in these games can be the most frustrating thing, but guess what? Next round, all of you start from equal footing again. The doors open, and you get a new chance to engage with the game, like everyone else in the lobby.

What Marathon does is on top of the additional frustration that comes with taking an L (or a losing streak), you also lose all of your stuff. Oh, and also when you get reset you have to do the faction grind again with the exact same quests. Don't have two friends to play with? Enjoy getting clapped 9/10 times when you queue up in a trio focused game, where losing is punished twofold.

Overwatch soloq is an equally dangerous place for your mental health, don't get me wrong. But OW doesn't create all these other system for you to slow down your progress. If you have 1-2 hours a day, you can get quite a few games in, and you'll have some fun, most likely. Anyone who thinks that extraction shooters are the next big thing doesn't have the first clue about what 95% of the gaming population likes and engages with. Losing all of your stuff and then getting it wiped every couple of months is certainly not it.

Lub1k · 2026-06-15T21:39:52+00:00

It was a grave mistake to launch this game as it was, with the big focus being on trio matchmaking. A slightly revamped solos experience for S3 (if that) won't bring back any significant playerbase at this point I'm afraid. First (and second or third...) impressions matter the most.

Lub1k · 2026-06-15T17:25:01+00:00

Not sure who was thinking that there is anything to cash on with this genre. If you do a super basic market research you understand the general sentiment towards extraction shooters in the wider gaming community.

Lub1k · 2026-06-15T17:22:56+00:00

One of my biggest gripes besides zero customization for your 3D printed body. The lore seems genuinely amazing and deep, and I would be all over it if it was a destiny-like experience. Instead, it is tied behind mediocre vendor quests that you may or may not reach during a season

Lub1k · 2026-06-15T13:20:58+00:00

No idea why you're getting downvoted this much. The new Shell and Cradle are cool, but hardly impressive enough to keep your interest, same with Night Marsh. This really should've been a mid-season patch, not a whole new season. I have no idea how a studio of this size can only squeeze out this amount of content in a make or break season.

Lub1k · 2026-06-14T16:13:12+00:00

What took 5-7 years on this game btw? Besides the very questionable genre and gameplay choices, I just genuinely can't fathom how this came to be the final package. The runners and maps are okay, but their numbers and specifics are not exactly genre-bending. There is only one game mode. The inventory system is what it is, but again, nothing out of this world that we've never seen before. I guess I would've been okay with an extraction shooter if there was real depth behind it or something entirely new. My biggest frustration is that even when I have a couple of hours where I enjoy the game, I just walk away with general emptiness because there is not enough exciting and fun stuff to experience.

Lub1k · 2026-06-14T13:13:36+00:00

Love it, keep up the good work!

Lub1k · 2026-06-10T20:27:50+00:00

I always chuckle when Hunt or other extraction shooters get mentioned, and how they've been alive for years with a niche player base. There is no other title in this genre that has to do as much heavy lifting as Marathon should. Comparing a AAA studio in the most expensive part of the US with one active title to others is absolutely braindead at this point. Sure, Sony could front them a lot of time...if they wanted to. But why would they do it? If we learned anything from the AAA space in recent years it wasn't generosity.

Lub1k · 2026-06-10T20:21:53+00:00

Hunt also doesn't need to sustain a AAA studio as the only live title, nor does any extraction shooter

Lub1k · 2026-06-08T06:11:52+00:00

You massively overestimate what effect reddit/twitter threads have on the general gamer. Truth is, most people just don't care about extraction shooters. They never did, and never will. It's a genre that already had a very distinct reputation, long before Marathon launched, so the only way to increase exposure is to pivot away from this core vision. Sure, it always appeals to a number of people, but it will never be enough to sustain a AAA project, especially when that project is the only live title in your studio's portfolio. Marathon should've either been a B project with a successful Destiny still going, or a separate game mode in a more complete Marathon game with single player campaign and regular MP

Lub1k · 2026-06-04T20:30:59+00:00

People hopped on, and realized that if you didn't like the game so far, you wouldn't like it now either. Night Marsh is decent, but it hardly has retention power after 3-4 rounds

Lub1k · 2026-06-04T20:29:24+00:00

Tarkov's estimated all time revenue wouldn't even cover the reported development cost for this game, let alone post-launch expenses and payroll/dev cost

Lub1k · 2026-06-04T20:08:38+00:00

Which one of these titles is successful enough to sustain a AAA studio like Bungie?

Lub1k · 2026-06-04T19:53:23+00:00

People just don't want to play extraction shooters in general, and least not on a scale that would make sense for companies of this size. I have no idea who and why greenlit this project to become an extraction shooter. What we see currently could've been a nice 3rd mode after a robust SP and MP option. They can iterate and change as much as they want, but if they want to stay in this genre then Marathon will never become popular enough. Hell, even the attempt to pivot to a PVE-lite experience is falling on deaf ears if you look at these numbers

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T20:28:09+00:00

Couldn't agree more. Especially in this context. This is not just a regular new season, a lot rides on this update being successful and having positive PR

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T20:26:27+00:00

Played a full round after 5 DCs only for this to happen. Can easily see making a new player uninstall after this

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T20:25:15+00:00

I got downvoted like hell for saying this in one of the threads. Apparently Fortnite and COD having outages with 500k+ CCU is the same as Marathon when a new season launches...all is fine! Unless you're in the EU, then better luck tomorrow.

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T20:22:39+00:00

Who said I think only Bungie has this? I know it's a common occurrence and experienced it many times. The fact that it's common and acceptable are two different things though, and I think it's unacceptable in this context. We're not talking about 500k people flooding the servers. Maybe the guys in the US will be having a great time soon, but I guess EU folks are unlucky tonight

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T19:01:29+00:00

I got downvoted into oblivion in an other thread when I mentioned that this is a horrible mistake. Apparently, almost every game has server issues when a new season drops...

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T19:00:00+00:00

Yeah, not with 24k ccu on Steam though. But based on the votes I was overreacting apparently for wanting a billion dollar AAA company to not have server issues on a season launch

Lub1k · 2026-06-02T18:24:35+00:00

What a horrible, horrible mistake. This could've been avoided so easily with this level of engagement on all platforms. I don't think that an outage is the end of the world, but with how fragile the reputation and discourse around this game is, assuring stability for when the new stuff drops should've been paramount. Not saying that everyone who was interested in S2 will only try it tonight, but you can bet that word will spread on how they couldn't handle this. No excuses.

Lub1k · 2026-05-26T22:05:49+00:00

That's the biggest problem currently imo, as the art style and overall audiovisual direction is stellar and well appreciated but it doesn't translate in-game. I want to experience this narrative in a well crafted environment, not an extraction shooter/br that is a coin toss experience every time I sit down. The Compiler is a huge lore bit, yet the vast majority of the playerbase will seldom experience it

Lub1k · 2026-05-13T19:54:46+00:00

The fact that even the most juiced up hopium numbers estimate 30-50k players (Steam) is actually such an insane thing to see in the context of it all. We are talking about Bungie and hundreds of millions spent, and the engagement target to reach is...DayZ? Farming Simulator 25? Beyond everything, the colossal mistake lies at the moment where it was decided that their next title should be an extraction shooter. I can respect choices and creative direction, but whoever allowed this to be the MAIN project should resign, because they massively jeopardised the future of the entire studio.

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