Dune: Awakening Hands-On Preview

In the world of Dune: Awakening , war between the Atreides and Harkonnen houses still rages on Arrakis, but the Fremen that inhabit the planet have disappeared . Players start from the bottom, setting out to explore the dunes as prisoners on a uniquely dangerous assignment. If they can survive, however, the game offers opportunities to build bases and grow in power with the riches of the spice trade and the powers of Schools like the Bene Gesserit and Ment


Dune is by far one of the most influential science fiction novels, with a legacy now reaching back over six decades that has found its way into the film, television, and video game media. Developer Funcom is now poised to hop on that bandwagon with its upcoming survival-crafting MMO Dune: Awakening , which will take players to a reimagined Arrakis when it launches on June 10, 2025, with a headstart beginning on June 5. While there is certainly no shortage of survival MMOs out there, Dune: Awakening already looks to offer a compelling blend of resource management , political intrigue, and exploration, all set against the backdrop of a universe where Paul Atreides was never b


Some systems still feel like they're finding their footing, and parts of the early experience may need a bit more tuning before launch. Even so, there's something captivating about slowly establishing yourself in a place that seems determined to erase you. The grind is real, the dangers are constant, and the sandworms are always listening. If the rest of the game delivers on the same level as the preview, Dune: Awakening could end up feeling less like a survival game and more like a long-term test of w


Mentats can specialize in the Mental Calculus, Assassination, and Tactician skill trees . Mental Calculus will make your ranged accuracy more precise and help exploit weak points on enemies across Arrakis. The Assassination tree includes skills that enable single-target elimination through the use of poison and a unique Hunter-Seeker ability that kills enemies without causing alarm. Finally, the Tactician skill tree focuses on support skills and controlling crowds of enemies, as well as manipulating aspects of the battlefield during larger combat encount


Dune: Spice Wars is the first 4X RTS Dune game, developed by Shiro Games and published by Funcom. Players once again aim to dominate the desert planet Arrakis through diplomacy, military conquest, or economic supremacy. The game features seven playable factions: House Atreides, Harkonnen, Corrino, moved here Ecaz, Vernius, the Smugglers, and the Fremen. Strategic elements include managing familiar resources like spice and water, deploying agents for espionage, and participating in the Landsraad council to influence galactic politics. The game also incorporates environmental hazards like sandworms, an essential element in any Dune g


Dune: Awakening 's Benchmark Mode, meanwhile, runs through scenes involving ornithopters and sandworms to stress test a system. Developer Funcom hasn't yet revealed any details about required specs, so if they still aren't available after the release date announcement, the Benchmark Mode could be the best way to determine whether a PC is up to the task . Dune: Awakening is built in Unreal Engine 5 and features plenty of apparent graphical detail and sophisticated lighting, so it could be a challenge without some strong sp


Getting there required us to test everything we had learned so far, as it was the longest trek across Dune presented to us so far. Getting there took us through a stealth sequence, where we were tasked with the sight of gigantic eyes. As we did so, voices narrated various events surrounding the Fremen and Mauddib (although this would not be in reference to Paul per Dune: Awakening 's spin on the lore ). Completing this trial saw us receive a new task from Zantara: finding a moisture-sealed cave to acquire some Fremen compone


One of the clearest indications we will be taking on the role of the villain in Dune: Awakening comes from clips showing the player working with, and even bowing to Harkonnens . While the world of Dune is rarely so simple as saying one faction is the clear good guys, the Harkonnens are very clearly one of the worst groups . They are power-hungry and violent, and they aren’t afraid to kill their allies or own family members to get ah


While Dune: Awakening is also slated to release on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, there isn't yet a release date for those platforms, so it might be a while before the game is accessible on console. The release date trailer states **" PlayStation and Xbox Release Date to be Announced ," ** which does at least imply that the launch should be simultaneous across both platforms despite failing to synchronize with the PC rele


There are a total of five different classes in _Dune: Awakening _ , each with a unique skill tree featuring different abilities and skills that come in useful in various situations. You will start your adventure by choosing from one of the four initial character class options, with a fifth class unlocking later in the game. This initial choice is important, locking you into certain dialogue options for that specific starting class throughout your journey across Arrakis. However, choosing an initial class does not mean you can only choose from that class's distinct skills, and progression across classes is encoura