After several closed tests and delays, Dune: Awakening is finally welcoming fortune-seekers to Arrakis to kick of the 2025 summer season; a fitting release for the long-in-development MMO based on Frank Herbert’s sci-fi universe. Is there an online journey that you should embark on buried beneath the sands and spice?
Well, like with any other MMO ever launched, it’s hard to say at this point. It’s been a busy couple of weeks for everyone in games media and Dune: Awakening is a very big game. Moreover, it’s only truly gone live today, June 10 (early access periods can feel very different). Therefore, we’ll be withholding our full thoughts and score for now, as Funcom’s take on the traditionally tricky Dune franchise warrants a review process at least in the tens of hours.
I can, however, talk about the early-game experience and how performance feels like in the areas that precede the supposedly more explosive and crowded endgame. So far, I’m feeling hopeful about this one, but I reckon many things could change in the future, as I lack the prescience of the Kwisatz Haderach.
Tourists won’t care much about the setup introduced by the CG intro: The Fremen are gone. Paul Atreides was never born. Lady Jessica instead gave birth to a girl, obeying the Bene Gesserit. This also led to Duke Leto Atreides surviving the attempt on his life that took place in the city of Arrakeen. As a direct result, Arrakis is now firmly locked in a conflict between House Atreides and the Harkonnen over the planet and its spice. Long story short: Dune’s inciting incidents are put aside to create a version of the huge setting which feels familiar yet perfect for a large-scale MMO with persistent zones and factions that can be locked in a tug-of-war.
The Fremen may be gone, but they’re not forgotten. Your custom character learns the ways of the desert natives shortly after crashing on the planet and meeting a mysterious figure. Of course, this translates into learning the ropes of survival mechanics and base-building systems we’re somewhat familiar with in a post-Rust world. Over the years, it became clear Funcom had something interest to offer in this space with Conan Exiles after a rough launch. This was the first sign that Dune: Awakening could be more than the quick cash grab some fans expected.
Something that’s noticeable from the get-go is that Dune: Awakening is polished. All the closed tests and delays have paid off, and the Steam user reviews are favorable so far, which is step 1 to build up a lasting community around a large always-online game. It looks good and runs surprisingly well for an online open-world UE5 game, plus the DLSS and frame generation implementation feels solid. It also packs great animations, models (besides some muddy secondary NPCs), and overall high production values that place it far above other games in the same subgenre.
Not as impressive is melee combat, at least so far. Despite some useful abilities for the players who specialize as Swordmasters, it’s as rigid as in other online MMOs. This is typically hard to pull off due to netcode/server limitations, especially when parries and more elaborate tactics than just ‘hacking and slashing’ are involved, and in this universe there’s the added difficulty of getting the ‘slow blade penetrates the shield’ thing right. It just isn’t very engaging, at least at this stage, which is why I’ve decided to focus on Trooper or Bene Gesserit skills instead. Guns and magicky powers work fine across every universe and online game, it seems. Run away from the sandworms as fast as possible though. Dune: Awakening is constantly putting new obstacles in front of you, and overcoming them isn’t as easy as having the right action-RPG build. You have to become a sci-fi Bear Grylls of sorts in order to deal with tangible friction that I really appreciate and is perfect for the universe being adapted.
Another big positive is that much of the tedium associated with this type of games has either been removed or significantly reduced. Survival-crafting video games are very engaging when you’ve got lots of time on your hands; not so much when you’re busy with life and other games too. That’s alright, as there’s definitely a big market for such freeform adventures, especially when the online element is factored in. That said, you can feel Funcom made an effort to streamline mechanics and systems wherever possible to attract Dune fans that would otherwise skip Awakening entirely. This extends to the controls, which aren’t a mess of bad key bindings, and the user interface, which isn’t a nightmare of menus and submenus. Picking up stuff, crafting equipment and tools, and even putting together a house doesn’t take too long, and the same goes for keeping all that in working order. They’re intuitive processes that don’t require many clicks. For this type of game, that’s crucial if you want me to care past the 20-hour mark or so.
Needless to say, this is a video game-y video game which doesn’t aim to deliver a memorable narrative experience, but I’ll admit it’s got enough juice on that front to make some skeptics care and maybe fall into the trap of its rock-solid gameplay loop. Even when need a break from the quests, looking for distant landmarks in the map and going on small jaunts often leads to memorable and unpredictable adventures full of risk but also valuable loot.
At this point, I’ve learned how to extract water out of the blood of my enemies, how to walk under the shadow whenever possible, how to take advantage of the day and night cycle, and how to create an early base of operations that isn’t completely embarrassing. It’s that Rust/Minecraft-like experience but Dune, sure, but I can already see the tip of something greater protruding from the sands. The mystery of the disappearance of the Fremen is also a solid enough hook to keep me going through the main quest instead of getting sidetracked, and every excursion I make to collect resources doesn’t feel like a chore. Arrakis was made for a game like this, and small creative liberties aside, I think Funcom might have nailed what it needed to nail here.
Next up, I’ll try to focus on vehicles like ornithopter, joining one of the major factions (roleplaying a Harkonnen bad guy, sorry), and walking far deeper into the spicier areas (pun intended). Dune: Awakening’s endgame is still distant, but the journey to get there isn’t a miserable grind. Quite the opposite; I’m having a slow-paced blast. The gorgeous desert vistas definitely help, I’ll admit.
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