TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
It's a raid. It's a heist. It's Marathon.
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Part of me was dreading the arrival of Marathon's fourth map, Cryo Archive. The promise of an endgame zone that resembled the puzzle box raids Bungie is known for sounded amazing, but I wasn't sold on the fun of getting shotgunned in the back by a kitted-up Assassin while just trying to sort out a locked door. Maybe Marathon would benefit from a purely PvE zone to balance out its ruthlessness?
I should've had a little more faith in Bungie. Cryo Archive is an astounding labyrinth across a haunted planet-sized spaceship that plays nothing like the other three maps in Marathon, nor like any other competitive map in shooters period. It bridges the gap between PvE and PvP brilliantly, and makes me wonder why this is the first game of its type to have this much fun with map design.
If you've yet to venture into the "lose everything factory", Cryo Archive is a weekends-only event map with special requirements for entry: You must be level 25, unlock all six factions, play with a full squad of three (no Rooks allowed), and build a loadout worth at least 5,000 credits.
Bungie calls it an "endgame" experience, which is misleading, as you can play it long before you max out your rep with factions or even become particularly rich. It's better to think of Cryo Archive as the last "big" thing to do in Marathon before you've essentially seen it all—though I've barely scratched the surface of this gargantuan map after a handful of runs.
Teams are dropped into opposite corners of the snaking cryo facility, and the first thing you learn is that doors do not simply open here. Cryo has a unique "Security Clearance" mechanic (that it forces you to figure out yourself, of course) that unlocks more of the map as you raise your clearance. Security Clearance is essentially how Bungie injects progression into this non-linear raid: the only way to increase clearance is to loot UESC bots, hack certain terminals, or steal clearance tags from other players.
I envisioned Cryo Archive would be like the first 12 seconds of a battle royale match where everyone runs to a hot zone and half of the lobby is dead before I've applied sunscreen. It's actually the opposite: Unlike Marathon's other three maps, you're literally locked away from other teams for at least the first 10-15 minutes as everyone fights through waves of bots in the wing...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Part of me was dreading the arrival of Marathon's fourth map, Cryo Archive. The promise of an endgame zone that resembled the puzzle box raids Bungie is known for sounded amazing, but I wasn't sold on the fun of getting shotgunned in the back by a kitted-up Assassin while just trying to sort out a locked door. Maybe Marathon would benefit from a purely PvE zone to balance out its ruthlessness?
I should've had a little more faith in Bungie. Cryo Archive is an astounding labyrinth across a haunted planet-sized spaceship that plays nothing like the other three maps in Marathon, nor like any other competitive map in shooters period. It bridges the gap between PvE and PvP brilliantly, and makes me wonder why this is the first game of its type to have this much fun with map design.
If you've yet to venture into the "lose everything factory", Cryo Archive is a weekends-only event map with special requirements for entry: You must be level 25, unlock all six factions, play with a full squad of three (no Rooks allowed), and build a loadout worth at least 5,000 credits.
Bungie calls it an "endgame" experience, which is misleading, as you can play it long before you max out your rep with factions or even become particularly rich. It's better to think of Cryo Archive as the last "big" thing to do in Marathon before you've essentially seen it all—though I've barely scratched the surface of this gargantuan map after a handful of runs.
Teams are dropped into opposite corners of the snaking cryo facility, and the first thing you learn is that doors do not simply open here. Cryo has a unique "Security Clearance" mechanic (that it forces you to figure out yourself, of course) that unlocks more of the map as you raise your clearance. Security Clearance is essentially how Bungie injects progression into this non-linear raid: the only way to increase clearance is to loot UESC bots, hack certain terminals, or steal clearance tags from other players.
I envisioned Cryo Archive would be like the first 12 seconds of a battle royale match where everyone runs to a hot zone and half of the lobby is dead before I've applied sunscreen. It's actually the opposite: Unlike Marathon's other three maps, you're literally locked away from other teams for at least the first 10-15 minutes as everyone fights through waves of bots in the wing...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?