# Marathon by Bungie

16 Hacker News commenters recommended Marathon by Bungie and 13 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Players recommend it for fun multiplayer with friends, its LAN-party heritage and its plot and sci-fi aesthetic. Common caveat: low player count and kernel anti-cheat that blocks Linux.

## Why people recommend it

- Fun to play with friends (4 comments): "Some anticheats block Linux - the only times I've switched over to windows in the last year have been when some friends wanted me to play Marathon with them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48127248)) "The only time I switch to Windows is to play Marathon/Destiny these days." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49600237)) "I could finally play Marathon without waiting my turn in the LAN parties" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48920591))
- Nostalgic LAN party memories (3 comments): "I loved Marathon and we even had enough Macs in our lab to have a few lan parties." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48307322)) "Marathon and Bolo in the Mac lab which was insanely awesome too" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49203499)) "Marathon having voice chat in 1994 was mind-blowing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50059048))
- Plot and level design praised (2 comments): "Marathon gave more of a sense of the levels having been designed around a plot." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50061975)) "It was a great game, and actually had a really good plot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46085250))
- Themes and aesthetic praised (2 comments): "I've been really enjoying the themes of embodiment in the new Marathon" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47294723)) "Very neat and unconventional aesthetic for a sci-fi future, too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48165552))

## What people warn about

- Low player count, commercial flop (5 comments): "You can ask the developers of Concord, Highguard, Marathon, etc. how successful bland shooters are these days." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46829207)) "Sony has lost more on Marathon alone than every AA and AAA RTS game's development budget in the last decade." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49687794)) "Marathon has an extremely low player count and is in the process of dying." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50185191))
- Kernel anti-cheat blocks Linux (3 comments): "Some anticheats block Linux - the only times I've switched over to windows in the last year have been when some friends wanted me to play Marathon with them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48127248)) "Kernel-level DRM for multiplayer games (looking at you, Marathon)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47546640)) "Bungie just wholesale doesn't support Linux nor VMs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47386288))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Arc Raiders](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arc-raiders.md): 52 recommend
- [Fortnite](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fortnite.md): 33 recommend
- [Counter-Strike](https://hackerapproved.com/p/counter-strike.md): 30 recommend
- [Counter-Strike 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/counter-strike-2.md): 27 recommend
- [Overwatch 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/overwatch.md): 22 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Marathon by Bungie", https://hackerapproved.com/p/marathon/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).