I big mode didn't fuck with it in the beginning not gonna lie, the lack of music is a huge factor for me but I wasn't big on the level design either and Durandal taking over for Leela made him a lot less cool and fun than in the first game tbh. I did come around to it over time though as more interesting logs appeared, I found more weapons, and I got better at unterwater stuff. So yeah it's definitely good and still Marathon but the first game overall strikes me as having a stronger atmosphere and leaving more of an impact. When gamers talk about atmosphere they often conflate it with how immersive an experience is but I don't think that has to be the case at all, Marathon 2 certainly is a lot more immersive due to its dynamic audio, less goofy sound effects, and lack of music. M1's actual atmosphere created by having those goofy elements combined with more maze-like levels and its pretty varied score worked much better for me tho. Also the redesigns are pretty lame, the S'pht look so much cooler in M1 and I think Bungie agrees seeing how the S'pht designs in Destiny 2 and the new Marathon game are based on the M1 design.