No thank you. (Gaming)

by Ragashingo , Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, April 18, 2025, 21:43 (9 days ago) @ ManKitten
edited by Ragashingo, Friday, April 18, 2025, 21:56

I just don't get how people are disappointed with this gameplay. I'm concerned about the story, the art style, the PvE component, the price point, etc. but the core gameplay itself looks great. Am I just unfamiliar enough with the extraction shooter genre to not know what I'm missing?

I was in a bad mood last night and came in way too hot with my post.

The only experience I have with extraction shooters is The Division and Call of Duty DMZ. Both were extremely frustrating because every game is just trying to extract but teams camp the extraction zone, ambush you, take your loot and leave on the [extraction device] that you called in. I was really hoping to see something different in some of the released videos.

The gunplay looked fun. But it seemed pointless. Players talked about an objective, but all I remember seeing is them getting into PvP battles, and taking their loot....but to what end? Once something is extracted, what can be done with it? In DMZ, you could get loot that you bring into the next game, but if you die you lose it all. There were also special weapons you could find, but when the game ends, the weapon goes away. It would have fun to keep that laser gun to start the next game with so I could go deeper into the map.

I was hoping to see more of an explanation like "Drop in, collect loot, and safely extract it...AND THEN look at all the cool stuff you can do with said loot." The latter never happened. But then they end it by saying "weapons and loot aren't as important as skill and tactics"...well then what's the point of the game!? Sounds like they are just making a small scale Arena/Royale shooter.

I think Bungie has done themselves a disservice by relying almost purely on Streamers to show off the gameplay. What we've been getting are essentially combat montages where the streamer's team never wipes. The shooting and killing stuff looks fine. Somewhat Destiny-like, even. But we barely see anything else.

In the last day or two one of the streamers finally posted a Full Run rather than a montage of kill clips. It's narrated by one of the players and his streamer friend. And it actually comes off as surprisingly approachable, with not all that much PvP for a full 25-ish minute run. The main point they made was that on the larger map you could actually go long stretches between seeing another player team. It was a pretty interesting change of pace from clips that looked to be all PvP combat all the time. Take a look!

As to the point, from what I can gather you're doing the following few things:
1. Advancing progression with one of a few different factions which will give you everything from increased stats/resistances/ability cooldowns on you Runner to increasing the quality of the items in your free "I've lost 5 times tonight and have no weapons or money" faction Sponsored Loadout Kits, to unlocking higher quality items you buy with in game currency and materials in the black market.
2. Completing contracts. Some of which are like a low level Destiny bounties (kill 5 NPCs or whatever). Others are said to have some story components to them. Not a lot has been said about these, but some of the Bungie people have talked about some of the AIs representing the factions talking to you, giving you objectives, that sort of thing during these bigger Contracts. There is also apparently a Destiny in-game lore book style section fashioned like a Marathon story terminal that you'll be unlocking content for as you progress things.
3. Trying to extract with some good loot to make your next run easier. It is a bit hard to understand what all you can do with loot having not played yet, but some things make your guns more powerful or easier to handle or add better scopes, etc. Some stuff improves your Runner's speed or heat capacity (aka stamina for sprinting, jumping, etc) or increase your core abilities in ways, some stuff can add new elements to your Runner's main abilities. They've talked about one sought after upgrade that turns the fast, double jumping Glitch character into one that can do a Destiny Hunter-like triple jump.

I started out very negative on this game. I wanted what a lot of us want. A "real" Marathon single player game with loads and loads of great sci-fi storytelling. But as I put together the pieces of what's been shown and talked about, this new Marathon is feeling less like a PvP only Battle Royale (I hate battle Royale games!) and more like a game where you go in, try to complete missions, battle tough PvE enemies from mooks to mini-bosses, earn immediate money and xp with your friends, and fight your way through some PvP encounters. Maybe die. Maybe die a lot and have to fall back on starter kits. But once in a while you extract with a ton of good gear and upgrades. And do all that in a somewhat more accessible and player-friendly manner that will be a bit less frustrating and lead to fun stories to tell, win or lose.

The game still needs to be fun, but I'm not sure it needs as heavy a story as Destiny has had. Marathon survived on and is loved for its paragraphs of sci-fi text. The big story Marathon trailer released last week has references to AIs, alien attacks, implications of these Runners possibly being manipulated and used by these mega corps for more sinister things, and sightings of Pfhor from the classic games. Some think there's even hints that there's a W'rkncacnter somewhere nearby ready to dream up eldritch horrors in future seasons as seen in Pathways Into Darkness. Don't forget, the Jjaro were at Tau Ceti, too, so why not their mortal time and space distorting enemy?