{"id":1832890,"date":"2026-03-18T14:11:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1832890"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:11:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:11:05","slug":"marathon-has-added-challenges-for-its-upcoming-cryo-archive-map-with-a-brilliant-nod-to-the-original-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1832890","title":{"rendered":"Marathon has added challenges for its upcoming Cryo Archive map, with a brilliant nod to the original series"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/marathon-2025\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Marathon (2026)<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Marathon has added challenges for its upcoming Cryo Archive map, with a brilliant nod to the original series<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Chills.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/marathon-shells-2.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"An image from Marathon's launch trailer, showing the face of the male Shell Triage\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"marathon-shells-2.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Bungie \/ Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-18T14:11:05+00:00\">March 18, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"22d4da80-cbfb-48da-8b63-ca4c6bd7817c\" data-name=\"Marathon (2026)\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Marathon (2026)\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Marathon (2026)\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Marathon (2026)\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Marathon (2026)\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Marathon (2026)\" title=\"Follow Marathon (2026)\"><br \/>\n  Follow Marathon (2026)<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>In the lead up to the Cryo Archives being added to Marathon, new challenges have appeared within the in-game Codex. While many seem quite arduous, one in particular is a lovely callback to a particular quirk of the original Marathon series.<\/p>\n<p>This is Dedication Syndrome, found within the Vidmaster tab of the Titles section, rewards players with a special profile background to those who manage to complete all CyberAcme Cryo Archive limited contracts in a single weekend. This background features Destroyer holding a cyber skull and spinal cord, which while gnarly on its own, is a reference to a wonderful piece of art by Craig Collins.<\/p>\n<p>That art, <a href=\"https:\/\/marathon.bungie.org\/story\/CM_macaction.html\">which you can see here<\/a>, features a Cyborg holding a similarly grisly trophy in his hands, albeit a vicious crimson hunk of cyberised bone rather than the bloody blues seen in the modern game. It&#8217;s a nice tip of the hat if you will, to the series&#8217; roots.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The profile background reward from This is Dedication Syndrome challenge in Marathon (2026), a reference to a piece of famous art work for the original Marathon.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-craig-collins-background-reference.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The profile background reward from This is Dedication Syndrome challenge in Marathon (2026), a reference to a piece of famous art work for the original Marathon.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-craig-collins-background-reference.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>Check out how cool this looks too. A must get! | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There&#8217;s also potentially other nods to the OG series. Located within the new Cryologist tab in the Titles section, Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap requires players to find a hidden cache. While not itself a blatant callback, those who played the original games (especially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/marathon-infinity\">Marathon Infinity<\/a> &#8211; gosh) will know there are some truly absurd hidden terminals sprinkled around for players to find. One hopes we won&#8217;t have to grenade hop our way to this one.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also a continuation of a little easter egg in Marathon and scattered throughout Bungie&#8217;s repertoire of games. Drop 7, a new challenge that requires players to eliminate seven hostile runners in a single run of Cryo Archive, has not used seven arbitrarily. The original Marathon was littered with references to this numeral: the assault rifle had seven grenades, The Power of Seven made the Marathon 2 theme, and so on.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Cryo Archive exploration codex page in Marathon (2026), showing challenges named for each of the map's regions, as well as the ARG steps.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-cryo-archove-codex-exploration.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The Cryo Archive exploration codex page in Marathon (2026), showing challenges named for each of the map's regions, as well as the ARG steps.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-cryo-archove-codex-exploration.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>We&#8217;ll be looting all through here very soon! | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It&#8217;s also nice to see, via the new exploration challenges for Cryo Archive, that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arg-hunters-marathon-discord-cryo-archive\"> the Marathon ARG steps<\/a> were named after different regions on the new map. Index, Control, Preservation and so on. There are also entries from Bernard Strauss&#8217;s journals to collect &#8211; one wonders if they&#8217;ll dive deep into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-story-timeline\">that OG Marathon lore<\/a>. Show Tycho some love, darn you.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A close up of Bernard Strauss's Journal collectable from Marathon (2026), found in the Cryo Archive map.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-bernard-strauss-journal-collectable.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A close up of Bernard Strauss's Journal collectable from Marathon (2026), found in the Cryo Archive map.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-bernard-strauss-journal-collectable.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>The journal&#8217;s red? Maybe? Some love for one of the other two AI&#8217;s on board? | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There&#8217;s plenty to dive into but here&#8217;s one more fun tidbit from these challenges. If you watched the pre-launch cinematic trailers, you&#8217;ll have seen the Assassin putting a little circular chip into his head (before being shot). That <em>appears <\/em>to be an AI subroutine, which you can collect to access the Cryo Vault as seen in the Cryo Archive codex tab. Escaping with them all will allow you to access Archive 07 &#8211; there&#8217;s that number again\u2026<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A close up of the Cryo Archive subroutine item from Marathon (2026), part of a series of challenges for opening vault number 7.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-subroutine-2-cry-archive-collectable.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A close up of the Cryo Archive subroutine item from Marathon (2026), part of a series of challenges for opening vault number 7.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-subroutine-2-cry-archive-collectable.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>How hard will these be to get? Who knows! | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>All this and more will be unlockable when Cryo Archive is properly unlocked, hopefully this weekend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-duo-queue-test-coming\">alongside the game&#8217;s ranked mode<\/a>. One hopes it&#8217;ll be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/reverse-engineering-marathon-visual-mood-board-magic-art-style\">full of visual treats for us to pore over<\/a>. Be warned though it, like much of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-pve-nerfed-good-or-bad\">Marathon&#8217;s PvE enemies, will be a tough challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>In the lead up to the Cryo Archives being added to Marathon, new challenges have appeared within the in-game Codex. While many seem quite arduous, one in particular is a lovely callback to a particular quirk of the original Marathon series.<\/p>\n<p>This is Dedication Syndrome, found within the Vidmaster tab of the Titles section, rewards players with a special profile background to those who manage to complete all CyberAcme Cryo Archive limited contracts in a single weekend. This background features Destroyer holding a cyber skull and spinal cord, which while gnarly on its own, is a reference to a wonderful piece of art by Craig Collins.<\/p>\n<p>That art, <a href=\"https:\/\/marathon.bungie.org\/story\/CM_macaction.html\">which you can see here<\/a>, features a Cyborg holding a similarly grisly trophy in his hands, albeit a vicious crimson hunk of cyberised bone rather than the bloody blues seen in the modern game. It&#8217;s a nice tip of the hat if you will, to the series&#8217; roots.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The profile background reward from This is Dedication Syndrome challenge in Marathon (2026), a reference to a piece of famous art work for the original Marathon.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-craig-collins-background-reference.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The profile background reward from This is Dedication Syndrome challenge in Marathon (2026), a reference to a piece of famous art work for the original Marathon.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-craig-collins-background-reference.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>Check out how cool this looks too. A must get! | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There&#8217;s also potentially other nods to the OG series. Located within the new Cryologist tab in the Titles section, Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap requires players to find a hidden cache. While not itself a blatant callback, those who played the original games (especially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/marathon-infinity\">Marathon Infinity<\/a> &#8211; gosh) will know there are some truly absurd hidden terminals sprinkled around for players to find. One hopes we won&#8217;t have to grenade hop our way to this one.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also a continuation of a little easter egg in Marathon and scattered throughout Bungie&#8217;s repertoire of games. Drop 7, a new challenge that requires players to eliminate seven hostile runners in a single run of Cryo Archive, has not used seven arbitrarily. The original Marathon was littered with references to this numeral: the assault rifle had seven grenades, The Power of Seven made the Marathon 2 theme, and so on.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Cryo Archive exploration codex page in Marathon (2026), showing challenges named for each of the map's regions, as well as the ARG steps.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-cryo-archove-codex-exploration.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The Cryo Archive exploration codex page in Marathon (2026), showing challenges named for each of the map's regions, as well as the ARG steps.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-cryo-archove-codex-exploration.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>We&#8217;ll be looting all through here very soon! | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It&#8217;s also nice to see, via the new exploration challenges for Cryo Archive, that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arg-hunters-marathon-discord-cryo-archive\"> the Marathon ARG steps<\/a> were named after different regions on the new map. Index, Control, Preservation and so on. There are also entries from Bernard Strauss&#8217;s journals to collect &#8211; one wonders if they&#8217;ll dive deep into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-story-timeline\">that OG Marathon lore<\/a>. Show Tycho some love, darn you.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A close up of Bernard Strauss's Journal collectable from Marathon (2026), found in the Cryo Archive map.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-bernard-strauss-journal-collectable.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A close up of Bernard Strauss's Journal collectable from Marathon (2026), found in the Cryo Archive map.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-bernard-strauss-journal-collectable.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>The journal&#8217;s red? Maybe? Some love for one of the other two AI&#8217;s on board? | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There&#8217;s plenty to dive into but here&#8217;s one more fun tidbit from these challenges. If you watched the pre-launch cinematic trailers, you&#8217;ll have seen the Assassin putting a little circular chip into his head (before being shot). That <em>appears <\/em>to be an AI subroutine, which you can collect to access the Cryo Vault as seen in the Cryo Archive codex tab. Escaping with them all will allow you to access Archive 07 &#8211; there&#8217;s that number again\u2026<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A close up of the Cryo Archive subroutine item from Marathon (2026), part of a series of challenges for opening vault number 7.\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Marathon-subroutine-2-cry-archive-collectable.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A close up of the Cryo Archive subroutine item from Marathon (2026), part of a series of challenges for opening vault number 7.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Marathon-subroutine-2-cry-archive-collectable.jpg\" height=\"2160\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"3840\"><figcaption>How hard will these be to get? Who knows! | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>All this and more will be unlockable when Cryo Archive is properly unlocked, hopefully this weekend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-duo-queue-test-coming\">alongside the game&#8217;s ranked mode<\/a>. One hopes it&#8217;ll be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/reverse-engineering-marathon-visual-mood-board-magic-art-style\">full of visual treats for us to pore over<\/a>. Be warned though it, like much of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-pve-nerfed-good-or-bad\">Marathon&#8217;s PvE enemies, will be a tough challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Marathon (2026) Marathon has added challenges for its upcoming Cryo Archive map, with a brilliant nod to the original series Chills. Image credit: Bungie \/ Eurogamer News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on March 18, 2026 Follow Marathon (2026) In the lead up to the Cryo Archives being added to Marathon, new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1832890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1832890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1832890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1832890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1832890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}