Dune: Awakening

Dune Awakening is an ambitious survival crafting sandbox set on one of the most famously oppressive places in science fiction, the planet Arrakis, also known as Dune from Frank Herbert’s series of the same name that started in 1965 and spans 6 huge books in the original Dune series. Developer Funcom has games like Conan Exiles under its belt, but is Dune Awakening unique enough to stand out in a genre that is growing more saturated by the day? Short answer: This one is one of the best games...

Dune: Awakening is a new staple for the survival genre and a new standard for all MMO-like games. It features one of the most intricate and addictive gameplay loops while bringing top-notch exploration to one of gaming's most atmospheric journeys.

It’s always hard to predict how a new MMO will do in the market when there are so many popular, established competitors, but Dune: Awakening seems to have hit the sand running

An engrossing survival and crafting game with flawed but engaging endgame systems.

Dune: Awakening is a survival game where the mechanics feel right at home in its brutal but beautiful fictional world. Between the sunburn, sandstorms, and militant forces leering on your location, there is no shortage of hectic hurdles to fight against as you grow your power and form alliances. Despite the lackluster combat and occasional bugs, Dune: Awakening offers an enticing trial by fire for fans of MMOs and Frank Herbert alike.

Dune: Awakening is a harsh survival game, an intriguing RPG, and a fierce open world PvP game all in one. Somehow, it pulls it off.

Dune: Awakening is an excellent survival MMO that brilliantly captures life on Arrakis, usually to its benefit.

Playing Dune: Awakening is an uneven experience. The survival and building loops start strong, then eventually bog down, but experiencing the Dune universe and Arrakis is always engaging. If the game’s combat could reach the heights of its stellar world-building, Dune: Awakening would be very hard to put down. As it is, the game’s crafting/survival loops are just strong enough to keep me playing when its combat tempts me to stop.

A well-presented story and atmosphere that nails the vibes of Dune, but janky combat and a massive tonal shift in the endgame hurt this experience a little.

Dune is a universe absolutely stuffed to the gills with quotes and sayings, enough that fans of the franchise can’t seem to resist bombarding you with them at any vaguely relevant opportunity. This would be more annoying if it weren’t for the fact that most of those quotes are genuinely insightful, poetically written, and raw as hell. I don’t plan to fill this review with Dune quotes because I’m sure if you’re here reading this, you’ve either heard enough of them for a lifetime or...

Dune is actually one of my favorite literature franchises of all time, and I couldn’t have been happier with the fact the damn thing has finally become mainstream and socially acceptable after having been considered the utmost nerdiest crap for the past sixty years. I am eternally grateful to Dennis Villeneuve and his amazing movies for changing the franchise’s perspective amongst the general populace. With mainstream popularity, come memes, merchandising, and, of course, licensed games. ...

Dune: Awakening is a game that Dune fans will find rapturous but that has a lot of small annoyances that mar it for players who aren't as engaged in the franchise. A solid but not world changing adaptation of a legendary sci-fi series.