The visual style and atmosphere of Marathon were shaped by the advertising and nightclub aesthetics of the late 1990s, franchise director Phil Asher said in a correspondence on X with Larian Studios' publishing director Michael Dus. Asher described a conscious effort by the development team to tap into the period's particular brand of futurism while updating it for contemporary tastes.
According to Asher, the studio deliberately reaches back to the era's visual cues and then adapts them to modern design sensibilities, current fashion and today’s nightlife scenes. The intent is not mere nostalgia: the team wants to reinterpret the era’s motifs so they feel fresh and relevant in a present‑day context.
Key reference points for the project include the 1995 racing game Wipeout, the late‑90s and early‑2000s PlayStation advertising campaigns, and the translucent DualShock controllers that became an icon of that period. These touchstones have informed choices across the project, from graphic direction to prop and interface design.
Asher specifically singled out the PlayStation "Mental Wealth" advertisement as having a strong influence on Bungie’s presentation of Marathon. Bungie representatives say those inspirations are evident across the game’s color palette, character design and overall tone, contributing to a cohesive aesthetic rooted in that distinct mix of retro‑futurism and club culture.