If there’s one factor past doubt after more than 35 hours with Dune: Awakening, it’s that Funcom has carried out its homework in crafting probably the most genuine tackle the Dune-iverse possible. As a longtime fan of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi setting, that’s an unbelievable factor to expertise more usually than not, and my time on Arrakis has been full of moments of real shock. It’s very intelligent how the tough environments and empty space are repeatedly used as development checks, turning what look like they need to be weaknesses into strengths. Other occasions, that cussed adherence to established lore outcomes in annoying or simply plain boring irritations, like how you’re all however compelled to undertake a nomadic life-style in a style the place placing down roots and building up your base is one of the basics. There have additionally been lots of technical points and bugs in the times instantly following launch, plus fight hasn’t landed with me a lot to date (although I’m admittedly nonetheless early in crafting my fight build), however on steadiness my associates and I are having an completely superior time nerding out.
If you’ve ever performed a survival game (and have seen a Dune film) earlier than, you’ll know most of what you need to really feel at home among the many large sand worms: you collect supplies from the world, build your own ugly-as-heck home, and improve your tools to gain entry to more harmful areas with rarer supplies. Like lots of survival video games, together with Funcom’s own Conan Exiles or final yr’s Once Human, all of that is occurring on a server full of equally sunburnt gamers in a perpetually online world, the place cooperation and restricted situations of PvP are each a distinct risk, and which account for many of its finest moments.
Where this game units itself aside, although, is by simply how a lot it adheres to its legendary setting, and that has a main affect on nearly every little thing you do. For instance, clever use is made of Arrakis’ harsh setting, which is weaponized towards you fairly actually each second you keep inside its environment. Standing instantly in daylight unprotected will bake you alive in a matter of seconds, sandstorms blow on a common foundation and can kill you should you aren’t in a position to get to shelter first, and most notably, there’s the difficulty of these pesky huge man-eating worms which gobble you up should you dare tread upon their area for too long. By leaning into the unforgiving world as a lot because it does, Awakening places you in a fixed battle towards the planet itself. So as a substitute of casually trotting round amassing assets at your leisure and settling your own little piece of the world, you’re frantically ducking behind rocks to keep away from the solar’s harsh rays and drink what little water you will have left, and taking part in a endless game of “the floor is lava” as you rush from one place to a different with a shai-hulud sizzling in your heels.
All of these hazards provide you with obstacles to beat. For instance, early on you’re unable to go away the tutorial space because of a huge hole of empty space the place solar publicity or, more possible, a huge worm would definitely kill you should you try to go on foot, so you must craft your first car in order to soundly cross it. Later on, you begin to encounter locations which are too sizzling or irradiated to discover with out correct tools. There are lots of examples similar to this, the place the distinctive nature of the setting is was an fascinating mechanic. Similarly, you’re continually starved for water, which is used each as a crafting materials and a useful resource to maintain your self alive, and often Awakening is a higher, more fascinating survival game for it.
But there are different occasions the place this fanatical adherence to Dune conventions may be fairly obnoxious, like how you’re inspired (and in some instances required) to maneuver your base of operations from place to put as you unlock entry to higher-level areas. Pulling up stakes means you both must abandon all you’ve constructed up to that time or tediously relocate as a lot of your tools as you’ll be able to, piece by piece. Then there’s stuff like the truth that weapons are sometimes ineffective, since many enemies make use of the all-important Holtzman shields that fully shield from ranged assaults. This creates a bizarre scenario the place you’re juggling back and forth between weapons and melee weapons relying on which enemy is presently working in the direction of you, oftentimes having to decide on between addressing the swordsman barreling down on you or the man a few ft behind him with a chaingun, which may create a actually oppressive rhythm to fight. I truthfully kinda respect how a lot Dune: Awakening sticks to its weapons by making its weapons ineffective to maintain with Dune lore, even because it typically comes on the expense of me having a good time. Even when these items annoys the hell out of me, I can’t help however respect it.
That’s simply half of the rationale that, like nearly each single one of its friends, Dune: Awakening has fairly terrible fight. I knew going into a survival MMO that may be the case, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a notably bitter tablet that by no means will get any simpler to swallow. I’m nonetheless fairly early in unlocking all of the choices for battle and seeing some of the more fascinating weapons and builds obtainable, however to date gunplay is sloppy, melee fight is repetitive and janky as heck, and I’ve principally simply been attempting to get by it as shortly as doable. It’s such a low level in a game I’m in any other case having fun with.
Thankfully, the fight miss is more than made up for by the completely stellar survival mechanics, that are some of probably the most considerate and polished I’ve seen in a whereas. There’s a fixed stream of new applied sciences to analysis, tools to craft, and materials to hunt for with nearly no filler or grind alongside the best way. Every time I’ve collected the proper supplies to craft the latest shiny factor I would like, I’ve instantly had one other attractive merchandise to chase, and with distinctive schematics dropping left and proper, I’m all the time making fascinating choices on whether or not to spend my rarest supplies on a cool merchandise with a particular impact versus taking the more conservative route and simply crafting frequent gadgets to save lots of these assets for a wet day. (It's sure to rain on Arrakis one of today.)
It’s particularly spectacular that they achieved this loop so nicely in a desert world the place there are no different places other than sizzling sand, and nearly no vegetation or wildlife obtainable to reap. A serious hallmark of survival video games is punching bushes, and there are no bushes on Arrakis – as a substitute you’re making instruments to tug water from morning dew amassing in the world at night time and by pulling it from the air, which is simply actually good and a welcome change of tempo that embraces the bizarre and barren setting, even whether it is nonetheless basically the identical factor.
When I performed the beta for Dune: Awakening, I bumped into tons of bugs and hoped the delay of its launch would improve issues a bit. That definitely appears to be the case, as I’ve had a considerably more steady expertise to date, however at the same time as improved as it’s, it’s nonetheless pretty troubled in the technical division. I’ve had disconnects, seen whole mountains disappear and reappear earlier than my eyes, and even had a few hours the place all sand worms simply up and deleted themselves from existence, making everybody on the server swarm to the assets usually protected by their fixed menace. It’s not been the smoothest launch by any stretch – but in addition removed from the worst.
After more than 35 hours I nonetheless really feel like I’m pretty early into my Dune: Awakening journey, and nonetheless have new zones to go to, haven’t gotten very far into the principle story, and have solely had a few encounters with PvP. There’s a ton for me to do, so search for an replace someday this week as I work my manner by to the endgame.