Good morning!

This week’s been a rollercoaster: Bungie let me play Marathon early (flex), Nintendo’s nickel-and-diming Zelda fans again, and Xbox accidentally spoiled their own surprise like a kid peeking at Christmas presents.

In this edition, we’ve got:

• Marathon impressions… it's sweaty, chaotic, and actually good

• Nintendo making Breath of the Wild cost $90 (bold strategy, Cotton)

• Xbox leaking their own Oblivion Remaster in the most hilarious way

Here’s everything you need to know this week in the world of gaming.

TOP STORY

Marathon: I Played It, It Slaps (Mostly)

So, I got flown out to Bungie HQ in Washington (flex) to play Marathon for two whole days. About 7–8 hours of pure session-based, PvPvE extraction shooter chaos, and honestly?

It’s good. 

Shockingly good, given it sounded like a Frankenstein of gaming buzzwords at first.

Here’s the basic setup:

You pick a hero (four available now, six planned for launch), gear up with weapons and gadgets, pick some side quests from shady in-game factions, then dive into a map full of loot, enemies, and other sweaty tryhards. Extract before the 25-minute timer runs out or prepare to be turned into a loot piñata.

The Heroes:

• Locust – Tanky rocket spammer who’s currently busted AF.

• Glitch – Speedster that somehow isn’t faster than Locust? Major Octane vibes, minor results.

• Void – Stealth boy supreme. I mained him because invisibility and smoke bombs are basically cheat codes.

• Blackbird – Your bloodhound-style radar bro. Vital for sweaty squads.

If Apex Legends had a lovechild with Escape from Tarkov, this would be it. Movement feels slick, the gunplay's tight, and yeah, it scratches that Apex itch that Respawn has forgotten about.

Map Vibes:

Maps are small. Like, "you'll know every alley and window within three hours" small. Great for action; bad if you want to pretend you're an explorer.

Highs and Lows:

• Winning a fight? Top 10 life moment.

• Getting clapped and losing your gear? Top 10 reasons to scream into a pillow.

Extraction games are brutal like that, but Marathon nails the "high-risk, high-reward" feeling better than most.

Some Issues to Fix:

• Locust is broken. Bungie even admitted it over lunch, so expect nerfs.

• Stamina/Heat system is trash. "Runners" who walk everywhere because sprinting overheats you? Lame.

• Weapon attachments get super-glued to your guns. Make a mistake? Too bad, you’re stuck with it.

• Price? Bungie’s being super coy, but signs point to it not being free-to-play. I'd bet $40–$50. If it’s $70... yikes.

• Battle Pass and skins? Yeah, they’re coming. Thankfully, no pink unicorns... yet.

Biggest Red Flag:

They call it "revolutionary," but the really cool stuff (ranked mode, insane late-game map) sounds like it’s coming after launch. Love the optimism. Hate the early access vibes.

My Verdict:

🎯 Marathon is fun right now. I had a blast. It’s slick, it’s satisfying, and I’d jump back in immediately if I could.
🚩 BUT don’t buy it banking on promises about the "amazing stuff coming later." Buy it for what it is today.

LATEST NEWS

GENERAL

• Nintendo’s at it again… $70 for Breath of the Wild on Switch 2, but if you actually want the full experience, cough up another $20.
  Upgrade from the old version for $10, and enjoy smoother frames... but that DLC? Still locked behind a paywall, baby. (via TweakTown)

• We’re living in a post-Baldur’s Gate 3 world now. Players want chunky, brain-melting CRPGs, not diet RPGs. New Blood says it’s time for Pillars of Eternity 3, and honestly, Microsoft, stop being cowards and fund it already. (via GamesRadar)

QUICK LINKS

• Almost 19% of Japanese people in their 20s have spent so much money on gacha they struggled with covering living expenses, survey reveals.

• Moment Elon Musk dramatically quits gaming livestream after troll comments flooded in.

• Former PlayStation Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida says he shut down 2 games "in deep production" after Sony had spent $25 million on them.

• As the official Oblivion remaster is all but confirmed, the modder who's been unofficially remaking the RPG in Skyrim for 13 years says "this changes nothing for me".

• Japanese modder handed suspended prison sentence for modding Nintendo Switch consoles.

• Death Stranding 2 Will Feature An Accessibility Option To Let Players Clear Boss Fights Without Engaging In Combat.

• PS Plus Is Receiving A Price Hike Across Multiple Global Regions on April 16, 2025.

LATEST VIDEO

Xbox Tried to Shadow Drop the Oblivion Remaster... and Leaked It Themselves

In what might be the funniest gaming blunder of the year, Xbox tried to cook up a spicy Oblivion Remaster shadow drop, only for the whole thing to leak because someone at Virtuos apparently left the website's images in an unlocked Dropbox like it’s 2007.

Oh, and it gets better: Xbox’s own AI chatbot straight up leaked the release date (April 21, 2025) when a fan asked about cloud support.

Imagine planning a huge surprise party and accidentally texting the guest list yourself. Chef's kiss.

Here’s the scoop: the remaster (sorry, "remaster", even though it looks suspiciously like a full-on remake) has rebuilt assets in Unreal Engine, shinier dungeons, improved combat, and yes... the legendary horse armor is back, because some memes never die.

Look, it actually looks great — but with Microsoft’s love affair with in-game stores lately, expect cosmetic packs to sneak in too. It's 2024, after all.

Want the full ridiculous, glorious deep-dive?

I’ve got you 👇