Hi Bungie, Here are my initial thoughts on the Marathon alpha after putting in some time. I'll be back with a more comprehensive review after the alpha period ends, but I wanted to get these points to you now. Good to see the alpha out and the NDA lifted. Looking forward to seeing how you guys iterate on this. I've clocked about 10 hours so far. My initial impression is that this might not resonate with everyone, especially those expecting a traditional arena shooter experience. The PvP focus you've advertised doesn't quite feel realized yet. I've had stretches of 10-15 minutes without a single player encounter. The matches often feel like they lack consistent player interaction. There's a reloading bug where guns sometimes deal no damage until you completely empty the magazine. Definitely needs to be addressed. The initial dialogue from the AI suggests avoiding violence, which feels at odds with the advertised PvP focus. You might want to clarify that messaging. The core loop of looting, defeating bosses, and extracting with better gear is clear. Vault management seems like it will be important. The starting gear for players with low vault value feels inadequate against skilled teams. It puts them at a significant disadvantage. The pistol feels like a nod to the Halo Magnum, which is cool, but it needs to be more effective. I've been marking points of interest and trying to engage in PvP, but I'm still experiencing long stretches of running without encountering other players. The AI dynamics should allow permanent stealth tactics when engaging with or against AI teams, to make it interesting. I'd say I'm fighting AI about 70% of the time and players 30%. Balancing is definitely needed when facing teams with superior gear. Honestly, there's not much of a compelling narrative or story in this initial build. I haven't seen much player engagement with side objectives such as loot boxes and not story missions. I think you need to consider how to incorporate more of the Marathon lore and history into the game in a structured way. The freedom to choose your gameplay style is a strength. The hydro meter (stamina) mechanic feels overly punishing and leaves you vulnerable. It Needs some tweaking. Balancing character abilities and stamina management is crucial as well. The visuals are a bit mixed. Outdoor areas feel dull, while interiors are more vibrant. I'm getting around 100 FPS on my setup but I've heard performance varies quite a bit as long as if this game is compatible for all PC and consoles as well. I'm concerned about marketing this to the right audience. It might not be what hardcore PvP enthusiasts are expecting. Right now, it feels closer to a battle royale format than a traditional arena shooter. I'm anticipating further development and wouldn't be surprised if you need to delay the launch to get it right. Playing with friends is a blast, but solo gameplay can be frustrating. I'm curious to see how the game evolves after this alpha, perhaps I'll revisit the game later and provide a more thorough review. Anyway, my point is that I understand there's no narrative in this build because it's not implemented yet. The gunplay feels fun, which is a good foundation. I'd love to see a solo runner mode. The AI enemies are no joke – they're beefy, aggressive, and strong, difficulty setting for AI bots should be implemented for players who are in teams with them or enemies against. The mouse and keyboard aim assist feels way too strong. I'd recommend turning it down. I didn't see any customization options in any build I create. The game needs serious balancing in terms of weapon damage and shield capacity. I hope my feedback helped you guys out, good luck with the rest of the alpha! [spoiler]Moderator edit: This thread has been moved to #Offtopic, a more appropriate forum for this offtopic discussion. Feel free to private message the moderator who moved your post, link to topic, for further clarification about why this topic was moved.[/spoiler]