After just a few months of content releases, Marathon is finally taking the plunge and releasing a limited-time PvE mode called Vault Breaker. Trading intense PvP extraction for a more focused roguelite loop, between July 21st and August 4th, we are going to get to see a whole different side of the game that many people, myself included, had been asking for ever since the game was announced. I was among the countless others who were beyond excited about a new Bungie game, and the initial trailers were incredibly enticing, with a unique aesthetic and distinctive colors that set it apart from virtually every other game on the planet.
However, when the release date drew closer and more details came out about the game’s gameplay, notably it being an extraction shooter, my interest in Marathon dwindled to the point that a single beta test was all it took to tell me to hold back on the purchase. Just a month prior, I had put down ARC Raiders after becoming fatigued by the extraction genre, so the prospect of starting up another one was far from appealing. With that said, I still followed the progress and updates from afar, waiting to see if that alluring art style could be bolstered with meaningful enough gameplay to get me hooked. And, as it turns out, that wait may have been worth it, as with the announcement of a limited PvE mode, I am genuinely considering hitting the buy button at last.
Marathon’s Vault Breaker Might Save The Game
Extraction shooters have always been bombarded by questions about PvE modes, from ARC Raiders to Tarkov, and in the case of Marathon, many people were incredibly interested in a story or non-PvP mode so they could enjoy the world without all the stress. It seems Bungie has its eyes and ears open, and has decided to launch Vault Breaker, an experimental PvE mode set in Cryo Archive, where you can play either alone or in a group without any enemy Runners around to ruin your day.
Described as having a roguelite progression structure, the basic idea is that you start by equipping a Vault Breaker kit, and from there, slowly progress through the archives, clearing out enemies and solving each section to collect Indexes and loot. Towards the end, you have a choice to exfil or keep pressing on, risking the loot but also adding higher rewards if you can make it out alive. To me, it sounds very similar to the standard Marathon jump-in and extract loop, only in a much more condensed environment where you are pressured with non-stop enemy fire but are never going to get jumped on by a hungry player looking to clean up the mess.
On paper, I am pretty excited by it, as I have become quite burnt out by traditional extraction shooters, so I like the idea of a similar style game mode that cuts out a lot of the pain parts. I also find it interesting that you are actually able to power up and use the data gathered in a run to enter the next one stronger, giving it a solid long-term progression path that I can see becoming quite addictive over the course of several sessions. Furthermore, you can actually purchase gear usable in other modes, alongside some exclusive cosmetics, meaning that for those who are already fully invested in Marathon, you will still have a reason to swap over and see what this new addition is all about.
Bungie’s Last Chance To Save The Game
Looking at the flipside, I will say I am a little bit skeptical about the reasons behind the mode’s addition. As harsh as it sounds, it is no secret that Marathon hasn’t exactly been the generational hit that Bungie was hoping for, what with some high-end departures and a dwindling player count that has now dropped below where Destiny 2 had been sitting for the last five years. Live-service games aren’t a popular topic right now, and it is very hard to break into such a crowded space like the PvP market, so I do believe the release of this mode serves as a kind of last-ditch effort to revitalize the player base and the attention to the IP.
Looking at it from a purely numbers perspective, Vault Breaker has certainly given a lot of players a reason to play once again, with Marathon‘s Steam player count going from an average of 7k this month all the way up to 15k on the day the mode launched. That influx of interest may give Bungie the data they need to rethink the roadmap going forward, especially factoring in how mixed the views are on the most recent content drops. And the fact the mode wasn’t listed on any prior update schedules suggests it was built as a sort of add-on that the developers never really intended to work on, though only time will tell if they decide to make it a full-time part of the core Marathon experience.
As it turns out, that wait may have been worth it, as with the announcement of a limited PvE mode, I am genuinely considering hitting the buy button at last.
Credit where credit’s due, I may have been convinced to give the game a proper go, so although they might not have pulled in a million new players in a single patch, they at least got one additional sale out of it. Moreover, I am surprisingly optimistic about the mode’s replayability and wouldn’t be surprised if I sink a few dozen hours into it before it gets taken away in a few weeks. At the end of the day, Marathon has a long way to go if it is going to have a fruitful and long-term future, and I don’t think a single PvE mode is going to fix all the other problems that players have been having since the tech tests, but it is still nice to see some baby steps like this in the right direction, to set the game on the right course.
Marathon
9/10
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
