As Bungie continues itsproblem-ridden development of the extraction shooterMarathonreboot, the classicMarathontrilogy is now completely released on Steam, now thatMarathon Infinityis out and about. All thanks to the efforts of the Aleph One team, we now get to enjoy classicMarathonwithout any fuss.
WhereasMarathonandMarathon 2: Durandalat least pretended to be simple, straightforward run-and-gun shooters at face value,Marathon Infinitythrows any pretense of common sense right out the window with its ridiculously broad, time-hopping main narrative. It’s phenomenally weird, and now thatInfinityis properly available on Steam, you, too, get to attempt to make sense ofthe game’s hard-hitting final screen. It’s an absolute hoot, I promise you that.
Setting its delightfully insane main story aside for a little bit, theSteam version ofMarathon Infinitystill plays much like a trueMarathongame in the sense that it’s an extremely puzzle-heavyDoom-alike. Originally released back in October 1996,MarathonInfinitywas revived thanks to the efforts of the Aleph One development team, who keep all three classicMarathontitles up and running on modern machinery.
To that end, playing any of the threeMarathontitles is easy as pie now that they’re all on Steam. Simply install them much as you would any other Steam title – for free, of course – and hit play. There’s a heck of a learning curve in getting accustomed to the games’ strange delivery of the story, puzzle and movement intricacies, and the hardcore nature of combat. Is it rewarding, though? Absolutely. For context on what’s what inMarathon, I recommend checking out MandaloreGaming’s reviews of classicMarathonon Youtube:
And that’s about all there is to it, really. I do recommend installing some of the more recent mods for all threeMarathongames to improve assets and whatnot, but aside from that, playing through this surprisingly abstract trilogy of shooters is quite unlike anything else. Oh, and if you’re familiar withDestiny‘s weirdness, you’ll feel right at home playingMarathon.
