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Is Marathon Any Good? Steam Reviews Praise It, While Players Warn It’s Punishing

Steam reviewers praise Marathon’s gunplay, soundtrack, and story, while some criticize its difficulty and onboarding. One Reddit player says to expect losses before wins.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Marathon has a “Very Positive” English review score on Steam, but that aggregate doesn’t mean the game is an easy recommendation for everyone. Steam reviewers praise its gunplay, soundtrack, and story; individual players also criticize its difficulty and onboarding. In a July 2026 Reddit discussion, one commenter summed up the trade-off: “It’s a great game. But very punishing. Excellent PvP. Just be prepared to lose a lot before you start winning.”

What do Steam reviews say about Marathon?

Steam’s listing identifies Marathon as a high-stakes survival first-person shooter developed and published by Bungie, released on March 5, 2026. On October 8, 2026, the store showed a “Very Positive” rating: 84% positive from 36,253 English-language reviews. The figure is a changing Steam aggregate, not a fixed score or a measure of what every player thinks. Steam’s Marathon listing

Examples on the Steam Community review page show what some players like: gunplay, soundtrack, and story. Other reviewers criticize the difficulty and say the game does little to ease beginners in, including through a lack of PvE or story content that might help new players get comfortable. These are examples of individual opinions, not a systematic breakdown of the full review set.

Why do Reddit players call it punishing?

In a Reddit thread titled “Is marathon any good,” posted July 21, 2026, an anonymous commenter described the game as both enjoyable and demanding: “It’s a great game. But very punishing. Excellent PvP. Just be prepared to lose a lot before you start winning.” Read the Reddit discussion

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That warning points to a practical distinction: liking the PvP does not necessarily mean enjoying the learning curve or accepting repeated losses. “Punishing” is one player’s description, not evidence of a subreddit-wide verdict.

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Is Marathon worth trying?

The available comments suggest a game whose appeal may depend on whether its combat and PvP make the difficulty worthwhile for you. Positive Steam examples highlight the gunplay, audio, and story; the critical examples and Reddit comment flag friction for newcomers and the prospect of losing before improving. If you want a gentle introduction or dislike repeated setbacks, that trade-off is worth taking seriously. If challenging PvP is part of the appeal, the same warning may describe the experience you want.

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The two platforms do not establish why their comments differ, or whether they represent different kinds of players. Steam’s score is a platform aggregate, while the Reddit post and Community reviews are individual viewpoints; neither should be treated as a universal account of the game.

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