Bungie’s Marathon Could Succeed Where Arc Raiders Failed

Ever since Arc Raiders was released, I’ve barely played any other multiplayer game. It offers a tension I’ve never experienced before. This is thanks to its audio design, which hums with danger, the constant threat of robots, and the uncertainty of whether a fellow raider is friendly or not. Extraction shooters thrive on moments like that, the quiet dread of commitment, the rush of escape, the sting of failure. For a while, Arc Raiders delivered that loop better than almost anyone. Its combat is sharp, its world visually striking, and its moment-to-moment play has hooked an enormous audience like me. Yet there is one area in which Arc Raiders disappoints.

Embark Studios has created such a cool world, but has hardly done anything with its narrative. What story we do get is lackluster missions and the occasional cinematic, but neither of these does the world of Arc Raiders justice. And as much as I love the gameplay loop, I want more. More reason to invest in the world and continue playing. And this is where Bungie’s Marathon can come in. Because if there is one thing the studio excels at, it is creating interesting worlds.

Arc Raiders and the Cost of a Thin Story

Arc Raiders has proven to be a huge success; however, where it dropped the ball is its story. The game gestures toward a larger conflict, but it rarely commits to telling it in a meaningful way. Missions feel like excuses for objectives rather than chapters in a larger arc. You deploy, complete a task, extract, and repeat. There is nothing inherently wrong with that loop, but over time, it begins to feel hollow. The Expeditions only make this matter worse, as you are repeating the same missions you’ve already completed.

The problem is not the absence of lore. There are hints everywhere. Environmental details, faction names, and scattered text logs suggest a world with history. The issue is that the game does not properly utilize its story. Missions are not good because they do not evolve or surprise. So many boil down to fetch quests or simply defeating Arc. The rewards are equally repetitive, as you seldom get meaningful narrative content.

Extraction shooters are already demanding experiences. They ask players to risk progress, gear, and time. Without a compelling reason beyond numbers going up, burnout is inevitable. Arc Raiders relies heavily on mechanical mastery to keep players engaged, and while that works for many, it leaves some wanting more. As much as I love the gameplay loop, I want more. More reason to invest in the world and continue playing beyond pure enjoyment.

Bungie’s Storytelling Could Redefine the Extraction Shooter

This is where Bungie’s involvement with Marathon feels significant. Bungie has always understood that storytelling is not just cutscenes and dialogue. It is structure, pacing, and consequence that are learned through gameplay, cinematics, and environment. From Halo to Destiny, Bungie has excelled at weaving story into systems. You learn about the world by playing and experiencing it firsthand.

If Bungie applies that philosophy to Marathon’s extraction shooter format, it could create something genuinely new. Imagine missions that change based on previous extractions, objectives that reveal information about rival runners or the world itself. Instead of repeating tasks for efficiency, players could be uncovering pieces of a mystery. That alone would set Marathon apart in a genre that often treats story as an afterthought.

This is not just about lore dumps, but also motivation. If Bungie can make each run feel like a step forward in understanding the world, then failure becomes part of the story rather than a reset. Success carries narrative weight, not just mechanical reward. That approach could lead to a new type of extraction shooter, one where players log in because they want answers, not just better gear. Arc Raiders has me hooked on the gameplay. I just need Marathon to get me invested and connected with the world.

Maps as Storytelling Engines in Marathon

One of the most promising aspects of Marathon is how its maps appear to function as narrative spaces. Bungie has hinted that environments will tell stories through layout, visual cues, and evolving states. This matters because maps are where extraction shooters live and die. Players spend hundreds of hours learning routes, chokepoints, and landmarks. If those spaces change or reveal new context, the experience stays fresh, and players not only feel more challenged but also learn something new with each run.

Marathon looks to be leaning into this more with maps giving lore. Abandoned structures, altered terrain, and environmental storytelling can communicate history without breaking immersion. If the missions do this as well, Bungie could tell an engaging story, which is not something commonly seen in extraction shooters. A map that changes over time based on player actions could make the community feel like a participant in the narrative rather than a spectator. I still can’t believe Arc Raiders hasn’t implemented this, given how most missions are to support Speranza with potentially returning topside.

Bungie has always excelled at delivering powerful narratives. The Halo series is perhaps the best example of this, but Marathon could be its swansong. The cinematic trailer hooked me, and so many others, but the game needs to do more, especially in the wake of Arc Raiders’ popularity. In an extraction shooter, where repetition is unavoidable, giving maps narrative progression could be transformative and be something entirely new for the genre.

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