As Marathon’s closed alpha aired, gamers worldwide learned that the ambitious extraction shooter from Bungie features a controversial mechanic: Aim Magnetism for mouse and keyboard players. The setting, dubbed ‘Aim Assist’, is switched on by default, and many playing the closed alpha have reported how overpowered the feature is.
It’s not the first game to have such mechanics, nor is it the first Bungie game to have this feature, but some have argued it simply doesn’t have a place in an extraction shooter. These games are supposed to be inherently challenging and more intense, and a ‘hand-holding’ mechanic like Aim Magnetism takes something away from that.
Why Does Marathon Have Aim Assist?
Marathon is a PvPvE extraction shooter, which means players suit up and load in on a map populated with human enemies and NPCs. They’ll need to solve tasks, win fights, and successfully extract again to escape with any riches gained.
Games like Escape from Tarkov popularised the genre, and it’s typically a niche that exists only on PC platforms. It’s also notoriously tough for developers to break into the space, as most extraction shooters fall by the wayside in their attempts to topple those leading the genre.
Marathon was shaping up to be something solid, but the closed alpha has revealed some telling details about the title. We’ve seen complaints about jerky movement mechanics, uninspiring maps, and a run-of-the-mill gameplay loop, but one of the most critical concerns is centred around mouse and keyboard aim assist settings.
Marathon has aim assist (Aim Magnetism) for mouse users, and while it’s little more than an accessibility feature, it’s rubbing gamers the wrong way.
Shroud, one of the biggest streamers in the business, was quoted on the topic:
They need to just remove the mouse aim assist sh**.
I get that Bungie is trying to balance between PC and consoles for crossplay, but it’s only going to ruin the PC part of the game… PC players would rather improve their mechanics than have an assist.
(Thanks to PCGamer for the quote)
Many have reported that the Aim Magnetism feature in Marathon strips the game of any real challenge, which waters it down immeasurably. We knew that Marathon would be more of a casual, arcade-based extraction shooter, but this is another level.
Are you disappointed by the aim assist mechanics in Marathon? Let me know in the comments or on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that only 35% of Tarkov players completed the game’s toughest event
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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