Dune Awakening was almost destined. The IP perfectly lends itself to the survival MMORPG genre. With its hostile setting, warring factions, mystical powers and iconic weaponry, the world of Dune has all the right components. Thankfully, Funcom look to have stuck the landing, delivering an Arakis fans are sure to get lost in.
Converted into a Dune fan by the recent Denis Villeneuve films, but otherwise a huge fan of survival games, Dune Awakening is shaping up to be everything I hoped it would.
The game is set in an alternative Dune universe in which Paul Atreides was never born. Instead, Lady Jessica became a truth-sayer, thus thwarting the destruction of House Atreides.
Much of this is explained in a cinematic before arriving at the title screen. From there, you create your character mid-interrogation from the Reverend Mother.
Your choice of character backstory will influence the skills you have early on. Choosing to be trained by the Bene Gesserit, I had a voice ability at my disposal out of the gate, but completing quests for other trainers later in the game opens up new skill trees.
You’re given the task of making your way to Arakis to seek out what remains of the Fremen, otherwise wiped out in the war that ensued after Lady Jessica detected the imminent Harkonnen attack.
Crash landing on the planet, a benevolent stranger lends a hand, and the journey of survival begins. The story is slow to progress there, with the trials you must then complete requiring new gear to venture further across the desert. I’m keen to see where it goes, given it’s untethered from the Paul Atriedes story.
As you’d expect, much of the experience centres on staying hydrated. Water quickly becomes as precious a resource as it ought to be, especially as it becomes a crafting component too. Navigating the map, ensuring you maintain a constant supply, very much feels true to the source material.
Creative license has otherwise been exercised, and fairly so. Arakis is harsh, but not desolate. Rocky outcrops serve as stepping stones across the sand, each with something new to discover, be it a research lab to explore or a shipwreck to scavenge.
Crossing the desert thus doesn’t feel as slow as you’d imagine, especially once you’ve constructed your first sandbike. Still, it’s treacherous. The heat drives you to shade; dust storms, to shelter; and sandworms, to solid ground. Linger too long on the sand making vibrations and the sandworm will indeed explode from the sand next to your, scaring the living crap out of you in the process.
The law of Kanly explains why an Atreides faction leader stands alongside a Harkonnen counterpart at a trading post, and why you’re not mugged by other players at a resource hotspot. The game is PvE for the most part, with PvP areas relegated to sections of the map. Fending off scavengers and the Sardaukar patrolling the sky.
Base building, research and crafting fuel the gameplay loop between major story beats. It very much reminds me of Valheim, and other games in the genre. You’ll create a base, build generators and assemble fabricators to make use of the available resources in a biome until you have the gear to move to the next.
It’s persistent, and your base isn’t vulnerable to enemy attacks; each time you , you’ll be right where you left off. Only recently did I meet the inhabitant of the building sharing my rocky outcrop, which resulted in a rather wholesome “I guess we’re neighbours” moment from the pair of us.
Collecting and crafting is a rinse-and-repeat process, but it’s rewarding with a constant sense of discovery and progression. There’s always a little more to do that has kept me playing late into the night.
Combat is equally engaging. Basic weaponry will get you through most early scraps, but soon you’ll encounter tougher, shielded enemies who force you to adapt. True to the source material, you’ll have to get up close and personal with a blade, parrying to stagger the enemy and slowly pierce the shield.
Of course, you’ll get more armour-piercing options down the track, as well as shields of your own. Still to venture to many regions of the map, there are resources I’m yet to discover to level me up further.
There’s a slight sluggishness to the combat that feels familiar for the MMORPG genre, and forgiveably so. Choosing which enemies to tackle first, using your attacks strategically, and switching between gun and sword becomes essential to survive tougher encounters.
Death will set you back quite a bit. If you’re killed by an enemy, you may respawn at the nearest beacon with all your tools, but the rest of your belongings will remain at the scene of the crime. Should a sandworm catch you, however, that’s a different story: everything will be lost to the desert.
The presentation of the game is strong and feels authentically Dune, borrowing heavily from the styling of the more recent films. Much to my delight, it’s the same story for the soundtrack.
For a game of this scale, the fidelity of the game understandably suffers. Vistas are impressive, but up close, models and textures look on the rougher side, and are sometimes a little slow to pop in. However, the optimisation is commendable, with frame drops limited only to when Shai-Hulud bursts out of the sand.
