As Marathon players grind away at its three maps to prepare a vault full of goodies to tackle Cryo, it’s not too uncommon to come across a gun adorned with a PlayStation-inspired weapon charm. Unveiled prior to Marathon’s release, owners of the PS5 version of the game can download a free pack from the PS Store that comes with three special charms. All of these charms are based on PlayStation franchises, with one being the mask from Ghost of Yotei, another being a Helldivers 2 icon, and the third being Higgs’ battle guitar from Death Stranding 2. While PC and Xbox users did get some charms of their own, PlayStation fans clearly won out here, and it’s not the only edge they have.
On the PC front, a lone crowbar charm was made available, serving as a fun nod to the highly influential Half Life franchise. Xbox received two charms, but instead of being based on the Halo franchise Bungie created, or even Gears of War, gamers on Microsoft’s console ended up with two generic green charms based on the Xbox color scheme as opposed to a specific game. Perhaps more platform-exclusive collabs will happen, but obviously, most felt that PlayStation won out with this batch (which isn’t all that surprising given that Sony now owns Bungie). As for PlayStation’s other big win over the platforms, it’s none other than the easy Platinum Trophy for Marathon, which, like always, feels like a more rewarding payoff for fully completing the game’s tasks.
Marathon’s Latest Update Just Did Something Nobody is Happy With
While Marathon’s 1.0.0.4 update made some positive adjustments, one change is proving hugely controversial, with many pushing for it to be reverted.
Platinum Trophies Continue to Give PlayStation an Edge When it Comes to Achievements
As someone who is at the max PSN Trophy level with 50,000 Trophies and over 1,000 Platinums to my name, it’s safe to say that I’m a fan of the PlayStation achievement system. There are several reasons why I’m so attached to it, from the satisfying noise when a Trophy unlocks to PlayStation reward programs like Sony Rewards and PlayStation Stars, which attached a monetary reward to collecting the achievements. The leveling system, organization, and Trophy rarity levels all make for a more satisfying and readable system than Gamerscore, which just feels like a massive number that gives little data on specific high-level accomplishments. But most of all, it’s the oh-so-satisfying Platinum capstone that makes PlayStation the king of achievement hunting in my eyes.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
When gathering all the achievements for a game on Steam or maxing out the Gamerscore for a specific release on Xbox, there is no big payoff at the end. Players simply complete a game, and though they know it happened, it’s hard to prove it without having someone scroll through a very long list of games. Platinum Trophies make the grind worth it, serving as the ultimate badges of honor that players can point to in order to show their expertise at certain games. And for any Trophy hunters who love watching those numbers go up, I highly recommend Marathon, as players will basically end up with a Platinum (and tons of Golds) for just playing the game normally.
Marathon’s Platinum Trophy is a Breeze With No Hard Tasks at All
Marathon’s Trophy list is as follows, and it shouldn’t take long for gamers to see why it’s such an easy 100% completion:
- Escape Will Make Me… — Obtain all trophies in Marathon. (Platinum)
- Welcome to Tau Ceti — Complete your initial run. (Silver)
- Everything Runs on CyberAcme — Reach Rank 1 with CyberAcme. (Silver)
- This is Marathon — Experience shell death for the first time. (Silver)
- Run Executable — Complete 21 runs. (Gold)
- Run, Repeat — Exfil successfully 7 times. (Gold)
- Jackpot — Loot 777 containers. (Gold)
- Anti-Establishment — Eliminate 147 UESC units. (Gold)
- RIP UESC — Eliminate 28 UESC Commanders. (Gold)
- End Run — Eliminate 14 rival Runners. (Gold)
- Sign Here — Complete 35 Contracts. (Gold)
- Reliable Asset — Reach VIP with a Faction. (Gold)
- Cutting Edge — Unlock 7 capstone upgrades. (Gold)
- Seasoned Veteran — Earn 100 Season Levels. (Gold)
With roughly 20 hours of playtime, I’m at 81% completion on Marathon’s achievement list, and I haven’t gone out of my way to get a single Trophy. Looting containers, battling the UESC, and yes, dying, are all part of Marathon’s core gameplay loop as an extraction shooter. Players will complete contracts, exfil from Marathon’s maps, and upgrade factions as they go. As of now, I’m only missing the Trophies for hitting VIP status with any faction (something I’m closing in on fairly quickly), and 100 Season Levels. I am at level 41, though, so players can expect to have the Platinum in the 45-50 hour range. And while that may seem fairly long, time flies in Marathon. More importantly, it’s essentially a freebie, as it’s unlocked just by playing and enjoying the game.
A majority of PlayStation exclusive games as of late have offered fairly straightforward Platinums, from open-world affairs like Ghost of Yotei to the story-driven God of War Ragnarok. While there’s certainly room for the Returnal spiritual successor Saros or Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls to be a bit harder to fully complete, it’s a nice bonus for Marathon fans on PlayStation to get a shiny new Platinum Trophy without having to put in any extra work.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
