Marathon has dropped another banger character trailer, making me fall even more in love with its vibes-based marketing

If I can be vulnerable for a moment, I have something I need to get off my chest: I have no idea what Marathon is actually about, but that's by choice. I am unequivocally in love with its marketing and the fact it gives very little away about what's actually going on in the world of the game. Otherworldly synths; trippy, sci-fi visuals; bright, bold colours. Oh yeah, this is what it's all about—feeling, not knowing. I hate going into a movie with the plot already laid bare by a far-too-obvious trailer, so the vibes-based approach of Marathon's teasers have been a soothing balm to me.

What I do know is another Marathon trailer has been released, and it's a teaser for the last character to be revealed: Rook. We see this slender shell timidly approach a group of fallen robots in a milky pool of liquid that Ridley Scott would absolutely love. The oil and fluids leaking out of them creates a gorgeous kaleidoscope of colours on the surface.

Rook is a scavenger, evidenced by the birds circling over the downed bots and its scrawny frame and twitchy nerves. As they pick through the detritus left on the battlefield and one foe turns out not to be as dead as once thought, Rook mag dumps into the puddle in a panic before running away.

This scavenger motif isn't just a visual flair, it's baked into how Rook plays. Like the free loadout in Arc Raiders, if you choose to deploy with Rook, you'll enter matches without any of your previously earned. You'll also be forced to solo queue and only join matches that are already in progress.

The whole shtick is an impressive commitment to the scavenger playstyle. Rook will be perfect for anyone who wants to just hop on a few games by themselves and loot the remains of other fallen players. They're also a great choice to help you practise or get over a losing streak, as you won't have to risk your own gear, but you can still get new valuables to return home with.

This is the final character, and Marathon launches March 5, so I doubt we'll be seeing too many more of these wonderful trailers. If you want to dive in now, there's a server slam you can try for free starting 1 pm ET/ 6 pm GMT, and it runs until March 2. The game also has an extensive voice cast, including Elias Toufexis who voices Adam Jensen in Deus Ex, so this is set to be a much more story-rich extraction shooter than Arc Raiders.