It’s hard to imagine how difficult it could be to translate something as massive and unique as Dune to videogames. Considering its vastly complex web of intrigue and deception, numerous factions and characters, as well as its worlds and creatures, one could agree that it would probably fit into an MMO, right?
It would seem that Funcom agrees! Dune Awakening is their bet, a massive multiplayer online role-playing game where you play as a nameless warrior in the conflict that the saga revolves around, control of the sandy planet the series is known for and its valuable spice. Curiously, the story this time is set in an alternative reality from the books and movies, so don’t expect it to hit the same notes, even though you might run into some known figures if you play your cards right.
Much like Funcom’s previous release, Conan Exiles, Dune: Awakening has plenty going on. Not only do you follow the narrative and its many quests, you’re gonna have to make do with what you find along the way in order to survive. That means crafting equipment and other necessary items to make do out in the desert, where dehydration and the underground menace in the form of the series’ trademark worms are constant threats.
Drinking water can usually be found in either drops from enemies or lootable flasks, as well as in the indigenous plants, which you have to stick around for a few seconds while your H2O meter goes up. Creepily enough, health-wise, you can play the role of a vampire and literally suck up other humans’ blood in order to resupply your own, and for that you have to craft, which goes without saying, requires a bunch of materials.
Thankfully, the demo runner helped speed things along by enabling a number of cheats in the form of armor, weapons, and most important, vehicles, all sporting the distinctive look of Dune. The first of the latter was a buggy-like all-terrain speeder that was a lot of fun to goof around with, but the highlight was by far the firefly, well, flyer, with which I was able to fully explore the map and see who else I could terrorize during the last few minutes of my time playing Dune: Awakening.
The demo at the show didn’t give many details about what else there is to do in the game, or even what’s planned for it once it launches in 1.0 sometime down the line. With its planned November 15th early access premiere, I was hoping to know more about it, but from what I gathered during the hour-long appointment at BGS 2024, Dune: Awakening has the potential to be something fans of the source material can really dig their claws into. I guess we’re gonna have to wait and see!
Eduardo is a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none when it comes to videogames and someone who likes talking about them a whole lot. You can find him on Twitter and Bluesky.
