After the recent Marathon Server Slam, a wave of feedback has emerged online. A significant topic of conversation revolves around the game’s readability, specifically how easily players can understand the information presented across its various menus. This issue has been humorously referred to by some as ‘Fontslop.’

The term was first used by content creator Kelski, who shared a screenshot of the contracts page for Cyberachme. In their tweet, they remarked, “Marathon might just be the first game to epitomize fontslop. There are around 20 different font styles, varying levels of boldness, sizes, and spacing—all mixed on one menu page. It’s truly an eyesore. They really need to tone down the ‘abstract’ approach for the UI.”

Kelski’s sentiments were echoed by other players who participated in the Server Slam over the weekend, many of whom found it challenging to navigate the menus due to the bold design choices in Marathon. Another notable content creator, Ninja, commented that Marathon features “without a doubt one of the most complicated menus I’ve ever encountered.”

However, there are also supporters of the unique aesthetic choices made in Marathon. One user, known as Podawful, stated: “Gamers have become so accustomed to mediocre designs that when something visually appealing appears after two decades, their minds just shut down.”

This ongoing discussion has caught the attention of Marathon’s user interface designer, Elliot Gray, who took to social media to weigh in. He humorously added ‘fontslop merchant’ to his bio before addressing the feedback.

Gray acknowledged the need for improvements, saying, “All jokes aside, there’s a lot of work we can and will do as a team to address player concerns regarding inventory management, navigation, and information density, etc. But don’t think for a moment that we’re going to simplify the UI. #fontsloptakeover.”

What are your thoughts on the visual intricacies of Marathon’s menus? If you haven’t had the opportunity to try the game yourself, you might want to check out previews following the Server Slam to see what Bungie has in store for players later this week.