The new shooter, Marathon, is proving to be pretty great against all odds and conventional logic. Rather than the Goldilocks rule applying (it doesn’t here at all), it’s actually great because of how imbalanced and hard it is. But only if you have a good crew to play with (and I’m lucky enough to have that). For any solo players or those not into painful learning curves, be afraid. Be very afraid.
The game is punishingly difficult if you think of it in the conventional way. Meaning staying alive = doing well and dying = doing bad. Until you realize that you are guaranteed to die most of the time, especially at the beginning. IGN even called it “ruthless” and “deeply unapproachable” and then proceeded to give it a 9/10 glowing review. As someone with very limited game time, it’s difficult to believe that I’m liking it as much as I am, especially since I’m pretty terrible at it.
But here we are. I am enjoying getting my ass kicked.
While I do think the game has an ingenious design and that intangible juice that only Bungie can bring to a shooter, what I’m most enjoying is the shared experience it’s giving me with my friends.
I think I like it because of how hard it is to get through. There is something about trying to figure it out together that is the ultimate reward.
As is so eloquently put in We Need to Hang Out by Billy Baker:
“Men need an activity to bond. This finding is supported in study after study, or from pulling your head out of your ass and simply looking around. It’s a measurable fact that men make their deepest friendships through periods of intense engagement, such as sports or military service or school. It’s hardwired into our genetics; we spent millions of years hunting together. Going through something together was not only how we built our bonds but how we maintained them.”
There have been other games that have fit this mold before, and other games will come after. Time will tell if I’m going to be playing Marathon for a long time, but it doesn’t really matter. Dropping $40 is a small price to pay to have another excuse to spend time with my buddies.
Comments welcome!