I rarely see a video game trailer more than once. However, with Bungie Marathon reboot/sequel/whatever, I found myself playing its snazzy, snazzy announcement trailer. It’s not just because the trailer hits, but because Bungie is teasing what looks to be one of the coolest shooters released in years.
On March 24, shortly before a spider man 2 The trailer would trigger a new “puddleBungie (halo, destiny) revealed his next great first person shooter: Marathon. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s actually Bungie returning to one of their oldest franchises, the Mac-only shooter trilogy. Marathon. You can read more about those old games, their beloved lore, and how it connects with aura and modern extraction handles in this piece of our very own Claire Jackson.
However, I’m not here to talk about MarathonLore, history, fandom, or anything related to the Bungie mythos. No, instead I just want to rave about a few paragraphs about how refreshing and awesome the look and announcement trailer for this game is compared to most other shooting games and games out there today. And it doesn’t seem like I’m the only one who loves this trailer, as it has hit 18 million views on YouTube.
Marathon has one of the best game trailers of 2023
From the moment that The trailer’s intense electronic music kicks in right from the start., I was engaged. We then see someone in radical-looking sci-fi garb running down a tunnel, all while shots of vibrantly colored robotic insects creating intricate android-like beings. What’s going on here? I don’t know, but you just heard that sick part in the music?
Regardless, the running character emerges from the darkest tunnels and enters an incredibly bright world where we see that they are also sporting vibrant colors, including a neon pink glowing helmet. The music grows as the camera zooms closer and closer to the corridor. Things feel tense as music turns into a digital mess and then BAM! That’s all he wrote for this runner as they are attacked from afar by a slippery looking, paper white android. Our runner, now dead, is seen collapsing in slow motion into what appears to be a milk-like substance, his bluish blood mixing and swirling in the water around his corpse. As the sniper bot rips something out of the dead corridor, the music builds again, glitches, and BAM! Bungie reveals that this vibrant trailer was for a new Marathon.
“Vibrant” is really the key word here. Everything in this trailer appears in a way that I haven’t seen in most other shooters released in recent years. Many modern shooters seem to focus on realism, which can look charming, but also a bit drab. The popular color scheme we normally see in shooters is also starting to make shooters like Obligations and Battlefield they mix. Or do they all look alike? Fortnite, which, while colorful, is no longer visually distinguishable. I really enjoy these modern shooters despite everything. But with Marathonthings are different.
It’s actually more than just colorful. Is almost striking with all its pinks, yellows, greens and blues clashing in almost every frame. However, everything is balanced by hyper-realistic lighting, materials, textures and models. Color palettes are amazing to look at and some of us in my city I couldn’t stop gawking at the trailer.
MarathonThe new art style of is fresh and bold.
Bungie Calls Marathon‘s “graphic realism” art style, as mentioned in a recent behind-the-scenes video about the rebooted shooter. Bungie developer Emily Katske elaborates on the game’s art, calling it “bold, colorful.” [and] stylized.”
Game director Christopher Barrett, in the same video, also says that the team wanted the art to be “beautiful” and “vibrant,” “mysterious” and “familiar,” “but also strange.”
Normally I would roll my eyes a bit at this kind of talk, but after seeing the trailer and concept art for this remake Marathon, Yes i understand. However, balance is key. Bungie has to carefully balance when and where to “mark [things] up to 11” and when to back off a bit so people don’t get overwhelmed while trying to play.
It’s a risky choice to take a beloved franchise and turn it into something bold. It is also quite different from the original. Marathon games, which featured dimmer or grimy textures and Condemn-like goblins. I’ve already seen some from a long time ago Marathon fans upset by this new direction, more colorful and stylized. And until we play the final game, we won’t know if any of this will actually work. Was it a big and costly mistake? Or a big gamble that lands perfectly? No idea!
But marathon The trailer, concept art, and overall style make me more excited than I expected to play this upcoming extraction shooter. I’m not even a fan of that online FPS genre, but I want to see more of Marathon so bad I’ll give it a try. As long as I can wander around Bungie’s awesome new world for a few minutes before I get killed, I’ll be happy to play and explore. Marathon every time he goes out.
