Marathon day one check-in: Thief impressions, broken Deluxe Edition bonuses, and so many Assassins

Marathon day one check-in: Thief impressions, broken Deluxe Edition bonuses, and so many Assassins | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these FPS If you’re hoping to make friends in Marathon like you can in Arc Raiders, expect a knife in the back FPS Marathon UI designer declares himself the ‘fontslop merchant’ and promises Bungie will never ‘remove the SAUCE from the UI’ FPS Marathon Server Slam start times and rewards FPS The Marathon server slam consumed my weekend: 21 hours later, I’ve gone from ‘meh’ to believer FPS Hours before its open preview weekend, Marathon is suddenly very close to the top of Steam’s top sellers list FPS Is Marathon’s time-to-kill too fast, or am I too Arc Raiders-pilled? FPS Marathon Server Slam update: Bungie says if you’re not getting enough PvP action, maybe you’re just not looking for fights in the right places FPS Hunt: Showdown keeps experimenting with the extraction genre, and its next twist sounds irresistible: Soon, extraction points and loot won’t appear on the map FPS Bungie unveils Marathon’s first season, confirming that, yes, it’ll wipe all your loot and progress every three months: ‘Each season of Marathon brings a clean slate for the whole community’ FPS Marathon launch times and release date FPS If your mouse input is totally busted in Marathon right now, I may have the fix FPS If you love Marathon’s vectorheart style but not its PvP, get your aesthetic fix from the gorgeously overstimulating demo for this time trial FPS instead FPS ‘An absolute eyesore’: Marathon’s biggest issue seems to be its poor UI design that’s confusing players, ‘I have no idea where I’m at, what I’m looking at’ FPS All Marathon Twitch Drops and how to get them FPS Bungie is considering a dedicated duos mode and time-to-kill changes after Marathon server slam feedback PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Resident EvilArc RaidersBest PC gearGame Quizzes Games FPS Marathon Marathon day one check-in: Thief impressions, broken Deluxe Edition bonuses, and so many Assassins Features By Morgan Park published 5 March 2026 Reporting in from Tau Ceti: Cosmetics missing. Players blasting. Backpack stuffed. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Bungie) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 2 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Marathon’s out, and if you’re looking for reviews, you won’t (or shouldn’t) find any yet. We’re all getting started with Bungie’s extraction shooter alongside everyone else, though I do have 21 hours with this past weekend’s server slam under my belt.That was enough time for me to come around on Marathon’s brand of high-stakes shootouts after a pretty ‘meh’ first impression. I’m loving the guns (refer to our guide to the best Marathon guns for a headstart), adoring the maps, and only slightly irritated by the amount of loot juggling required.That’s still where I’m at day one of the full Marathon shabang: retreading faction quests I completed during the playtest, building up a cache of biomass and unstable lead to trade for free healing and ammo, and playing a lot more solo than I did previously. You may like The Marathon server slam consumed my weekend: 21 hours later, I’ve gone from ‘meh’ to believer Is Marathon’s time-to-kill too fast, or am I too Arc Raiders-pilled? If you’re hoping to make friends in Marathon like you can in Arc Raiders, expect a knife in the back It’s the wild westIf you’re curious, Marathon remains a shoot-on-sight game on launch day. I’ve been blasted a handful of times by players who caught me off-guard, ambushed a few Vandals who thought sprinting headfirst into a compound was a wise move, and negotiated exactly one truce. Indeed, a lot of folks are keeping proximity chat on and mics plugged in.During my second match, I killed an Assassin player and heard the footsteps of another just a few seconds later. On a whim I blurted out “I just beat this guy and could probably kill you too, but I’m good to just leave if you are.” He agreed, unaware that I was completely out of ammo and healing kits. We met up again at an extraction point and shared a friendly exit.So far, a few classes stand out as the best Marathon shells for solo play: Assassin and Vandal. Assassin’s popularity is pretty obvious—becoming near-invisible every 90 seconds is a solo player’s dream—and Vandal’s double jump and extended sli