Marathon by Bungie
Ranked 7 of 20 multiplayer shooters by recommenders
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.
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.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 16
- criticize it
- 13
- approval share
- 55%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 16 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun to play with friends
“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”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Linux gaming is faster because Windows APIs are becoming Linux kernel features” “The only time I switch to Windows is to play Marathon/Destiny these days.”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Bing Wallpaper showing Ad for Harry Potter and Fantastic beasts box set” “I could finally play Marathon without waiting my turn in the LAN parties”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Jurassic Park computers in excruciating detail” - Comment from 5 Jul 2026 in “It's not about physical vs. digital games, it's about ownership”
Nostalgic LAN party memories
“I loved Marathon and we even had enough Macs in our lab to have a few lan parties.”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “SimCity 3k in 4k” “Marathon and Bolo in the Mac lab which was insanely awesome too”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “Quake – 30th Anniversary Update” “Marathon having voice chat in 1994 was mind-blowing”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “The Making Of Super Mario 64 – full Giles Goddard interview (2001)” Plot and level design praised
“Marathon gave more of a sense of the levels having been designed around a plot.”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “The Making Of Super Mario 64 – full Giles Goddard interview (2001)” “It was a great game, and actually had a really good plot”
Comment from 29 Nov 2025 in “Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips” Themes and aesthetic praised
“I've been really enjoying the themes of embodiment in the new Marathon”
Comment from 8 Mar 2026 in “Science Fiction Is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi?” “Very neat and unconventional aesthetic for a sci-fi future, too.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Accelerando (2005)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Low player count, commercial flop
“You can ask the developers of Concord, Highguard, Marathon, etc. how successful bland shooters are these days.”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Videogame stocks slide after Google's Project Genie AI model release” “Sony has lost more on Marathon alone than every AA and AAA RTS game's development budget in the last decade.”
Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “StarCraft returns in 2030 as an open-world shooter” “Marathon has an extremely low player count and is in the process of dying.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare” - Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Apple Is Going to Raise Device Prices – But When?”
- Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “EA is shutting down BioWare”
Kernel anti-cheat blocks Linux
“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”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Linux gaming is faster because Windows APIs are becoming Linux kernel features” “Kernel-level DRM for multiplayer games (looking at you, Marathon)”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account” “Bungie just wholesale doesn't support Linux nor VMs.”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “How Kernel Anti-Cheats Work: A Deep Dive into Modern Game Protection”
Other multiplayer shooters people recommend
The four most recommended other multiplayer shooters, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc Raiders | 52 | 12 | 81% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Fortnite | 33 | 55 | 38% | 9 | — | — |
| Counter-Strike | 30 | 19 | 61% | 11 | — | — |
| Counter-Strike 2 | 27 | 19 | 59% | 10 | — | — |
| Marathon by BungieThis page | 16 | 13 | 55% | 9 | — | — |
What people said
27 of the 30 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it’s my favourite game of the year so far.”
“Marathon having turned out to be a flop”
“Marathon has an extremely low player count and is in the process of dying.”
“Marathon gave more of a sense of the levels having been designed around a plot.”
“Marathon having voice chat in 1994 was mind-blowing”
“it killed me that the game didn’t get more love”
“game studios and publishers make awful decisions”
“Sony has lost more on Marathon alone than every AA and AAA RTS game's development budget in the last decade.”
“Choosing the biggest flop as your benchmark is a very poor argument.”
“The only time I switch to Windows is to play Marathon/Destiny these days.”
“Marathon and Bolo in the Mac lab which was insanely awesome too”
“they didn't know what they were missing with Marathon”
“I could finally play Marathon without waiting my turn in the LAN parties”
“that godawful Marathon game won't run”
“I just brought Marathon and it's fun.”
“the $200m Marathon (still on life support”
“I loved Marathon and we even had enough Macs in our lab to have a few lan parties.”
“Very neat and unconventional aesthetic for a sci-fi future, too.”
“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”
“Kernel-level DRM for multiplayer games (looking at you, Marathon)”
“The former encourages that hyper-competitiveness that often stresses me out.”
“Bungie just wholesale doesn't support Linux nor VMs.”
“I've been really enjoying the themes of embodiment in the new Marathon”
“You can ask the developers of Concord, Highguard, Marathon, etc. how successful bland shooters are these days.”
“I then realized how wise my father was”
“'it was a placeholder' has been used to excuse direct (flagrant) plagiarism from other sources”
“It was a great game, and actually had a really good plot”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.