THE VETERANS HAVE SPOKEN
Steam's Marathon veterans are pushing back hard against Game Director Joe Ziegler's admission that the game is "overwhelming to learn" and "too much of a hardcore sweat-fiesta." While Ziegler promises Season 2 changes to find "that chill moment," players with triple-digit hours are telling Bungie: don't you dare.
"THIS IS THE MOST ADDICTING GAME IVE EVER PLAYED IN MY LIFE AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT YOURE JUST BAD AT GAMES!!!!!!!!" wrote one 168-hour player in a Steam review that perfectly captures the veteran sentiment. Another with 708 hours simply demanded: "More content please."
The disconnect is stark. Bungie's biggest communication push in Marathon's history — complete with developer admissions about learning curves and sweat levels — is meeting resistance from the exact players who've stuck around. "I'd be slammin' quarters to play this game if this was the 80's," noted a 131-hour reviewer, while a 98-hour player called it their "first extraction shooter" and "cant stop telling people to buy this game."
THE BURNOUT IS REAL TOO
But veterans aren't unanimous. High-hour players are also driving the negative sentiment, creating a fascinating split in Steam reviews. "Very Grinding and unfair spaecially for the new players," complained a 120-hour player, citing "HUGE matchmaking problems" and cheating concerns. A 292-hour reviewer was even harsher: "game caters to purple shield sweatlord afk tiktok scrolling dbags."
Most telling is the 294-hour player who captured the veteran dilemma perfectly: "i want to love this game but it is really really hard to." They praised the guns, sound design, and Ziegler's updates before trailing off about cheating problems making the game "insanely fru—"
That incomplete thought speaks volumes. These aren't casual complaints — they're from people who've invested hundreds of hours and are watching their game slip away.
REDDIT STAYS QUIET, STEAM TALKS RETENTION
While Reddit has gone largely silent this cycle, Steam reviews are doing all the talking about Marathon's retention crisis. The platform that typically focuses on "was this purchase worth it" is delivering brutal honesty about long-term play.
"Great game in the beginning but now this is just too sweaty," wrote a 133-hour player. That's not a refund review — that's someone documenting exactly when Marathon lost them. Meanwhile, the 89-hour player noting they "Never thought I would like an extraction shooter ... let alone love one" represents Bungie's target audience for Season 2 changes.
The veteran vs. newcomer divide that Ziegler acknowledged is playing out in real time on Steam. Players under 100 hours are either evangelizing the game or hitting the "too sweaty" wall. Players over 200 hours are either completely addicted or completely burned out. There's very little middle ground, which explains why Bungie is scrambling to find "that chill moment" for Season 2.
