At Summer Games Fest, we got to see and learn more about the upcoming survival MMO Dune: Awakening. Developer Funcom has been working on this game for years, even before the 2021 film released, and now that Dune is part of the cultural zeitgeist thanks to the second film being a massive success earlier this year, they know how big of an opportunity this game is for them and how much this game means now. After seeing what we saw, I can say they are on their way to making the game be its own unique Dune experience.
Dune: Awakening is set in an alternate reality of the Dune universe that we know from the novels or films. In the game, Paul Atreides doesn’t exist in the world as his mother followed her duty and had a daughter. Thus, in a twist of fate, Arrakis is the stage of a war between House Atreides and House Harkonnen instead of an annihilation of the former with your created character being able to choose which of the two Great Houses to serve in the war. There was said that the game will feature tons of cinematics for players to get the story they’re telling.
Your character will be able to choose from five different classes which will impact what abilities you start the game with. Your character will be able to three different active abilities to as well as three different techniques to use. Outside of those abilties and techniques, the main gameplay loop is shooting based combat.
The demo we saw showcased a few different areas of the game. The first area we saw was an iron desert known as the Vermilus Gap which had noticeable red glow to it thanks to the iron infused sand. In a world full of deserts, the developers have promised multiple types of biomes to explore, so players aren’t just going through the same typical desert locale the entire game. After perusing the first biome, we transitioned to a new one seamlessly. There will be a plethora of ways to navigate the deserts of Arrakis including bikes and the ever cool dragonfly based ornithopters. However, no matter how you get around, you still have to be on the lookout for sand worms.
In the new biome, the developers took us to explore a crashed ship to find materials which showcased the game vertical design as we wound up deep under where we started. Upon rising back to the surface, we went to a a House Harkonnen base to exchange materials, and bases will have vendors and contract boards to interact with. The developers also said that we will be able to build bases of massive sizes and anything we saw at that base once we acquired blueprints from the Houses. While here, we also got to see the world at night which showed off Sardaukar ships which patrol and will attack if they spot you.
The most interesting area we heard about was the Deep Desert. This area is is where the PvP aspects of the game will take place. The Deep Desert will have a variety of points of interests for players to explore and players will be able to build bases in the area. However, players won’t just be able to hunker down in the best and most lucrative spots here as they’ll have to worry about the massive sand worms in the Deep Desert. Then, once a week a massive sandstorm will run through the area and wipe out everything there to reset the map for the next week.
Overall, Dune: Awakening looks to be a very interesting mix of survival and MMO, and is sure to be something that people who have fallen in love with the world of Arrakis and its cast of characters to explore and experience.