We've had our hands on Funcom's foray into the epic Dune universe, and in the first two minutes we angered a sandworm, nearly died of thirst, and got killed by scavengers.
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00:00Dune Awakening feels familiar, yet overwhelmingly specific. It's a real treat for Dune fans,
00:06I think to myself as I sit down to the 45 minute demo at Gamescom. Even if it's survival
00:11crafting meets MMO formula gives me flashes of Minecraft, Lord of the Rings Return to
00:16Moria and even Lego Fortnite. In Dune Awakening though, the world's hostility
00:20functions as a character trait. Arrakis is an arid desert planet where dehydration, heat
00:25stroke and being swallowed whole by the insidious sandworms pose near constant risk. Even night
00:31time offers no solace, as searchlights will try and light you up for the kill squads on
00:35your tail. In short, Dune Awakening makes for a curious
00:39yet brilliant stage to set a game where survival isn't just difficult, it's also purposely
00:44complicated as I find out almost immediately. As I step out of my wrecked ship, I'm immediately
00:50told to find shelter and water, quickly. This proves a lot easier said than done,
00:55a sprawling desert wasteland spreads out before me in all directions, a gaping moor of sandy
01:01wilderness ready to swallow me whole. I mean that figuratively as well as literally, because
01:06no sooner do I start sprinting across the dunes, get it, the ground beneath me starts
01:11to quake. Enter the sandworm. It's a brief introduction and a terrifying one at that.
01:16The presence of the sandworm immediately puts me on edge, and as I make my way to the
01:20welcoming shade of a nearby stony cluster, I vow to avoid it at all costs.
01:25After talking with Joel Bailos, studio CCO and Dune Awakening creative designer, it seems
01:31I'm experiencing the intended reaction. I've always described the sandworm as a
01:35tension mechanic for players. Every time you step into that sand you feel like the Jaws
01:39music starts, and we don't want that feeling to really go away. Besides keeping players
01:44on their toes, the sandworm injects a clear sense of the lore, stakes, and potential dangers
01:49of Arrakis. And then there's the other side of this of course, is because we're bastards,
01:53Bailos laughs. It's like, we get you nice and cosy and understanding that you're safe
01:58on rock, and then we're like, now you need to go out here onto the sand and get this
02:02thing you need right now. You need to go out there and get flowers, for hydration too.
02:06So the tension should never go away for the players. Even when they have flying vehicles,
02:11they have to land them on the sand to pick that stuff up, right?
02:13On that note, the flying vehicles in Dune Awakening are a godsend. The kindly developer
02:18watching my every move during the demo implements a few cheats so that I can experience flying
02:22the Ornithopter for myself, though I'm told the ability to do so is usually locked behind
02:27a higher level, roughly 10 hours into the game. It speaks to the sheer expanse of Dune
02:32Awakening and the system it boasts, from the basics of crafting, scavenging, and base building,
02:37to a quest-driven storyline and the journey system intended to flesh out smaller areas
02:41of lore akin to the side missions or step-by-step how-tos.
02:45Grappling with each system would take far too long, especially given how closely each
02:49one ties into the lore and world-building of the Dune franchise. Still, the taste I've
02:54had so far is a promising one for the Dune superfans everywhere. These clever system
02:58integrations are part of what makes Dune Awakening another survival feather in developer Funcom's
03:03hat, and if there's anything that can do justice to a Dune MMO, I think it's safe
03:07in the Conan Exiles studio's hands.
03:09So, are you looking forward to Dune Awakening? Let us know in the comments, and stick with
03:13GamesRadar for the best previews and reviews.