Following the release of Marathon, Bungie requested that reviewers hold their reviews until after the release of Cryo Archive, the extraction shooter’s first end-game ‘raid’. Not every outlet honoured this request, but quite a few did.
Cryo Archive was released a month after Marathon to give players time to become familiar with the game, and also to allow them to progress far enough into the game’s quest system to meet the requirements to play the map.
This past weekend was the first opportunity players had to experience Cryo Archive, and the dungeon was well-received despite a couple of pain points. The delayed reviews are now beginning to flow in, and the consensus among critics is more positive than it was at launch.
Marathon’s Delayed Reviews Are Largely Positive
While we previously reported that Marathon was Bungie’s lowest-ever rated game on Metacritic at 72, that number has risen significantly over the past few days and now sits at 82 on PC and 80 on PlayStation 5.
This brings it above the original Destiny (72) and just shy of Halo 3: ODST (83). Bungie has such a strong history of releasing universally beloved games that Marathon catching any more of the studio’s past hits is unlikely.
- Halo: Combat Evolved – 97
- Halo 2 – 95
- Halo 3 – 94
- Halo: Reach / Myth: The Fallen Lords – 91
- Myth 2: Soulblighter – 88
- Destiny 2 – 85
- Halo 3: ODST – 83
- Marathon – 82
- Destiny – 76
There’s particular praise for Marathon’s sound design, which carries sound very far and adds a level of tension every time you exchange fire with non-player characters.
There’s also plenty of love for the game’s map design and how the layout of buildings makes skirmishes unpredictable and chaotic. There’s no doubt that Marathon leverages the expertise Bungie cultivated during the active development of Destiny 2.
There is still some cause for concern for Bungie, however. Marathon is reportedly most popular on Steam, and the launch of Cryo Archive failed to drive the game’s concurrent player numbers above its launch peak on the platform.
A concurrent player count that bounces between 20,000 and 40,000 is respectable, but is that enough for Bungie, considering the time and resources they invested in the extraction shooter?
Marathon
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
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Full
