Like many others in the world, I've been a huge fan of Bungie since 2001, when Halo: Combat Evolved launched. Halo was, and still is in many ways, the definitive first-person shooter experience, and that is a hill I will die on. Fast-forward to 2026, and while I haven't played Destiny 2 as much recently as I did for many years when it first launched, I have nonetheless logged thousands of hours in that game, with absolutely zero regrets. Needless to say, I've been intrigued by the Marathon reboot since it was first announced. However, now having spent some time playing it during the server slam, I've come to the conclusion that I might have enjoyed it, had it arrived before ARC Raiders.
It actually pains me to say that, simply because I hate justifying criticism through comparison, as I believe every game should be weighed against itself—for the most part. But I have no shame in admitting that I initially fell in love with ARC Raiders for its immersion, which I'm beginning to realize doesn't really exist in Marathon. If I had played it first, I might have been none the wiser, but I have since come to expect a certain standard from extraction shooters that I can't get out of my head. ARC Raiders made me realize these games could actually take you somewhere, and the only place Marathon takes me is through some blocky architecture and a set of complicated menus.
Bungie's Marathon Lacks ARC Raiders' Defining Sense of Immersion
I still remember my first round in ARC Raiders like it was yesterday. Granted, it wasn't that long ago, but I nonetheless remember the feeling it left me with once I successfully extracted and made it back to Speranza, and I remember it so well that I can almost feel it just thinking about it. I was thoroughly convinced that I had either misunderstood extraction shooters up to that point or there really was nothing else out there like ARC Raiders. And ultimately, it was all due to how the game made me feel like I had actually stepped into another world where seemingly intelligent robots wanted to hunt me down and many other players were out there trying to survive just like me.
That first extraction did something to me. It wasn't just relief that I had made it out with my loot intact. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly surprised that I actually succeeded in returning to base, as I'm just not the type who's normally good at games like ARC Raiders. However, it was the walk back into Speranza afterward that really hit me hard—hearing the chatter of NPCs, knowing that what I had just survived actually mattered to the rest of humanity, and getting hyped for my next round as the ingenious soundtrack and audio design seemed to indicate my journey was far from over.
It didn't feel like I had just completed a match but like I had returned home from somewhere legitimately dangerous. My hands were still tensely gripping my mouse, my fingers resting like dumbbells on my keyboard, my brain replaying everything I had just witnessed, the footsteps I heard but couldn't place, the machine that spotted me just before the elevator doors shut. And that feeling never really left after that.
I have no shame in admitting that I initially fell in love with ARC Raiders for its immersion, which I'm beginning to realize doesn't really exist in Marathon.
Even on runs where I died in ARC Raiders, I didn't feel cheated. Instead, I felt outplayed, outmaneuvered, or simply overwhelmed by a world that didn't care whether I was prepared for it. In that way, its world doesn't feel like a game so much as it feels like an actual, tangible reality completely separate from my own. ARC Raiders' machines aren't merely moving targets on a loot treadmill but intelligent beings occupying a space where I feel like the invader.
ARC Raiders Feels Like a World, While Marathon Feels Like a Game
That's the difference I can't shake when I step into Marathon. When I load into a game, all I really see is a bunch of systems at work. Loadouts, UI panels, menus, and a bunch of boxy, bright geometry. As far as gunplay goes, it feels great. Bungie clearly still knows what it does best, even if everything else feels a little off. But I don't feel like I'm trespassing somewhere I don't belong, and that's what gets me.
I don't feel small in Marathon. I don't feel hunted in a world that seems to continue existing even when I'm not playing. I feel like I'm in a combat arena designed for me to perform in. When the round ends, I’m not walking back into a lived-in space with history and atmosphere. I'm merely trying to find my way around some complicated menus and reorganizing my inventory. Extraction in Marathon just doesn't give me that same feeling of relief I get after I extract in ARC Raiders. It just feels more like I'm hitting the reset button.
I love Bungie's legacy. I love what Halo: Combat Evolved did for shooters. I've defended Destiny and Destiny 2 for years because of how good it feels when it's at its best. And Marathon does feel good, but it's more of a surface feeling that never actually gets any deeper than its gunplay.
When I'm out in the field, the contrast between Marathon and ARC Raiders becomes even sharper. Playing during the server slam, Marathon's maps often feel too quiet. And I don't mean the kind of quiet that breeds tension—I mean the kind of quiet that makes everything feel empty. It rarely felt like something was happening beyond my line of sight, almost like the world was waiting for me to do something, as opposed to ARC Raiders, which feels like something was already happening in the world long before I set foot in it.
I don't feel small in Marathon. I don't feel hunted in a world that seems to continue existing even when I'm not playing.
ARC Raiders made me hesitate before rounding corners. It made me stop moving just to listen. In fact, ARC Raiders' sound design is so good that it found a way to make silence such a suffocating sound. You hear distant gunfire that you didn't cause, explosions that suggest there are plenty of fights happening without you, and machines moving around somewhere beyond the ridge. Even when you see nothing, you feel every bit of it. The world implies chaos is always in motion, and you're simply trying to survive within it.
In Marathon, I understood the risks from an intellectual standpoint. I knew I could lose my gear if I died, and I knew another player could ambush me at any moment. However, I didn't feel it in my gut. I wasn't constantly listening for my doom or bracing for something bigger than a fair firefight. Danger in Marathon just feels way too manageable, almost like it's politely letting me trounce around in its world. ARC Raiders, on the other hand, makes me feel vulnerable every second I'm Topside.
Maybe Marathon will evolve at some point. I genuinely hope it does, because Bungie has earned the benefit of the doubt more than once. But right now, the one thing that makes ARC Raiders unforgettable is the one thing Marathon is missing—this world that makes you feel small, exposed, and unwelcome. Until Marathon can make my hands tense up, my ears strain for distant danger, and my extraction feel like a narrow escape that leads me home, it will remain mechanically impressive but, for me, emotionally distant. Here's hoping that somehow changes.
