Marathon is a horror game. Well, it should be, anyway (or I suppose in some ways it already is). The ever under-respected genre is not where Bungie’s take on an extraction shooter currently sits, even if there are still qualities to be found in the likes of jump scares, a clingy, sticky tension, hints of something that went catastrophically wrong. I want more of these elements of horror, and oh lucky me, the first trailer for the game’s second season looks like it will deliver on that front.
There is nothing overtly new to be found in the trailer, and it’s not comprised of gameplay. This one’s all cinematics, clearly setting the tone for the season to come. The trailer opens and ends on the next runner shell, Sentinel, not quite offering a taste of how they’ll play, only a vibe, so not much to go off of there. The trailer does at least give us an atmospheric sip of what Night Marsh will be like, a nighttime, much more oppressive looking version of Dire Marsh. Looks like shadowy, cautious fights will be on the table here, with the UESC robot NPCs more threatening than ever.
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What really piqued my interest was a brief moment where a flare is shot off and a Vandal shell appears, contorting its body to reveal an extra couple of arms where they shouldn’t be. No idea what’s going on there, unnerving as hell though. My best guess (and hope) is that downed runners can essentially be somewhat zombified. We’ll all just have to wait and see when the season kicks off next month on June 2nd (or when/if Bungie shared more ahead of time).
Of course, the biggest question isn’t around what the current season will be like, but how it’s responded to. Bungie do have plans to add an experimental PvE mode this season, seemingly in an effort to bring in more players. That’s something the game certainly needs, given that Bungie just announced last week that they’re no longer going to be doing big updates or expansions for Destiny 2. Fingers crossed for the team that whatever they’re cooking works out.
