It’s been a long road to Marathon, but the wait is getting shorter with each passing day. Now that we know the game will release this year, Bungie has been teasing us with many things, starting with one that will finally break the mold of many extraction shooters. If you didn’t know, Marathon shared a clip of the upcoming Cryo Archive map, which offers not only another place for players to loot, but also puzzles that are on par with the iconic Destiny-like raids, meaning that we will need more than pure brawn to solve them.
Cryo Archive to Feature Raid-like Features And What Seems to be a Boss
If you missed it, Bungie shared the above teaser of Cryo Archive, which we can consider as a raid map of sorts in Marathon. New players might not see this as a big deal, but the truth is that there are a few important aspects that might make Marathon different from other extraction shooters.
For starters, while some extraction shooters have managed to include PvE portions to their games flawlessly, they often feel too straightforward, with the only challenge being approaching a tough enemy and surviving the fight. This isn’t bad, mind you, but it seems Marathon is taking a page from Destiny‘s raid playbook by making the process of reaching the final baddie a whole ordeal.
For those unaware of the Destiny-like puzzles and why they are a big deal, well, Bungie has always been known for testing its players’ wits, instead of just their loadouts. You can take a look at several old raids and their puzzles, and you’ll see that they are not easy at all. Some involve complex systems that often lead to some secrets, new quests, or even Exotic weapons. The fact that Marathon is already mentioning “raid-like security measures” makes us believe that Cryo Archive won’t just be a map where you can enter, start shooting, and looting, and call it a day. We might have to work cooperatively to solve something and face that mysterious entity Bungie has teased.
Of course, this is just speculation, but the track record checks out. Almost every instanced content Bungie has created has some form of non-combat puzzles, and that would be pretty exciting to see in an extraction shooter. Of course, the real challenge will be facing other players who might want to do the puzzles or objectives, but that’s the magic of the genre.
