u/RefactoredMind

I need to get this off my chest. I just put 73 hours into Marathon, played it with my whole heart, and I've come to a conclusion: this game is going to fail at retention. And it's not because the game is bad - honestly it's the art in gaming, absolute cinema. The problem is permanent progression, or the complete lack of it.

After 73 hours I don't have a single purple item, let alone gold. I had some purple weapons and items - not a full bag, but some - and they mostly got wiped. The only ones that stick around are the ones I never used, and what's the point of gear you have to hoard and never touch? On top of that there's a seasonal reset, so even the little you scrape together gets wiped again anyway. All the tension I carried, the energy I invested, the brainpower, getting my ass kicked out of fear match after match... no ROI. Zero.

Here's why I think this is a retention killer:

The only permanent progression is cosmetic - and not even the good ones. Only blue cosmetics are free; purple and gold are paid. The codex is one-time utility - read it once and you're done. So functionally there is nothing permanent to call your own. After 73 hours, all I have are some blue skins I don't even use.

The game only rewards expertise (PvP). Anything below that level and you get punished - and the majority of players are not at that level. A hardcore pro-level PvP player will catch up fast every season, sure. But everyone else? By the time an average player grinds up to where they want to be, the season ends and it resets. They're on a treadmill that wipes before they ever reach the end. The intense gameplay can only carry you so far when none of that intensity ever pays off into something you keep.

This is actually the reason I stopped playing PvP in the first place. And it's why I keep coming back to the same comparison: if I put 73 hours into Warframe or Destiny, I'd be king - soaking up power fantasy by the bucket, on my own terms. That's what those games give you that Marathon doesn't: something that's yours, that lasts, that makes the time feel earned. This whole genre is niche for exactly this reason. It's a genuinely sadistic genre - it dictates how you're supposed to play, and punishes you for not being elite.

So here's where I've landed: I need permanent progression in a game, full stop. For me personally this is concluded.

And the painful part is Marathon really is the art in gaming. Absolute cinema, but a flop movie. A masterpiece that punishes everyone who isn't already "a pro" or at least very good with PvP like "sweaty" good, in a genre that's niche for exactly this reason - incredible work that almost nobody is going to stick around for.

P.S.
Also no, I don't buy the "just wait for Destiny 3" hope either. That's like waiting for Half-Life 3 or Titanfall 3 - it's not coming. Marathon isn't going to do good numbers, and I think Bungie ends up dissolved as a result. That's how this story ends.