I’m going to be honest with you: I’ve never read the Dune series. When I saw Dune: Awakening announced, I was stoked. Why, you may ask, would I care if I’ve never read the series? Because Funcom was making it. And that was enough for me.
Dune: Awakening was the follow-up survival, MMO, and PVE game from Norway’s Funcom. I have thousands of hours in their Conan Exiles survival game. Any new entry into their particular formula had me sold. So yeah, I was going to pick this up on day one.
Dune Awakening is an open-world, survival MMO set in the Frank Herbert world of Dune. With intrigue, sand, and spice flowing from every corner. It takes place similarly to the movies, where you, taking the place of Paul Atreides, must go to Arrakis, where you must find the lost Fremen, who apparently disappeared. That is basically the story in a nutshell. There is, I am happy to say, a pretty decent story layered into this game. It’s far better than the crumbs you get in Conan Exiles. Let’s break down the different aspects.
Building. First and foremost, when I start playing any survival game, how does the building aspect work? Is it easy, or is it stupid… Looking at you, Ark. Anyway, no, this game is simple and straightforward, with responsive snapping to the building material. Walls, foundations, etc. They all work wonderfully with the environment. And the extra icing is the sand that surrounds you, can completely destroy your base if you’re not careful. It’s a nice touch. The only critique I have about the building is the staking system. It’s got a few interface issues, and it’s pretty vague on how it works.
How is combat? Between swords, shields, and guns. I’ve seen very little issue. The skills you get help you slide easily into close quarters if you desire. While shooting from long distances is also possible. Even the classes of Soldier, Mentat, Swordmaster, and Jesuet feel perfectly in tune with the combat system. They all have their strength, and even multiclassing has some synergies that just make sense. Shooting feels impactful and gratifying. Using a sword against a shield requires slow, methodical attacks. There is no button mashing here.
Survival, another of the core mechanics of the game, is pretty well done. I was afraid water would be an issue. Once you progress fast enough through the game, or specifically through the trials, Water becomes a non-issue. Worms, another staple of the Dune universe are of course, something you need to watch out for. Piss them off, and don’t give them the respect they require, and they will eat you. However, even they are predictable enough and become less of a threat later on. The danger comes from balancing all this with being out in the sun and the traps the surface of Arrakis hides. It’s not Green Hell hard, so take that as you will. I would like to see a food system, though. Just add a new layer of difficulty and balance. It’s odd that it was omitted.
Now, what about that PVP? It’s changing as of writing this, so while the game launched with a massive chunk of endgame placed behind PVP, it’s become less of an issue. The biggest complaint I have comes from the Landsraad. This is Funcoms version of doing dailies in MMO’s, or Mobile games. And its… Well, for a guild of two, it’s impossible to complete. And you want to complete them because new content, weapons, items, armor, etc., are all in there, waiting for you to claim. But in order to do so, you have to turn in items that, again, for a party of two, are simply impossible to accomplish. We have day jobs, and we can’t be farming materials needed to make some of the high-end, tier 6 items the Landsraad houses require.
Aside from the Landsraad, Dune Awakening is off to a very solid start. I have no doubts that the game will grow and get better over time with fine-tuning and community feedback. Conan Exiles did, and it’s an amazing game. I still play.