This week’s PlayStation Showcase featured a lot of surprises, from Square Enix’s Foamstars to a full Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake. The biggest shocker, though, came when Bungie’s logo flashed on the screen. The developer has been solely focused on the Destiny series for the last decade, so any new announcement would be significant news. For a moment, the sci-fi trailer looked like a teaser for Destiny 3. The truth would be far more surprising when we saw the game’s title: Marathon.
It would land its first true hit in 1994 with a futuristic first-person shooter called Marathon. The sci-fi title put players in control of a security guard aboard a spacecraft called the UESC Marathon, which is on a mission to populate a new planet. Aliens attack the ship and players are paired up with an AI named Leela that helps them navigate a maze of corridors.
If you’re familiar with Halo, you can probably see why Marathon was important at this point. In many ways, it set the stage for everything Bungie would accomplish with the Halo series. Its narrative, about an AI-guided hero fighting an alien war, shares a lot of DNA with Master Chief’s tale, and all of the multiplayer features in Marathon would become the very staples that turned Halo into a sensation.
Marathon - Official Behind-The-Scenes Interview Video While there’s seemingly no single-player campaign, Bungie emphasizes that narrative is a big part of the game. However, it’s unclear if it’s using the term to discuss written story or emergent gameplay narratives that pop up during unpredictable rounds. The developer does mention that there will be seasons, a format that Destiny 2 currently uses, and that the story will unfold in some way over that time.