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Dune: Awakening hands-on preview and how it'll devour your time like a hungry sandworm

Dune: Awakening might be one of the most exciting shakeups of the survival sandbox in years, aiming to offer a slick experience from start to endgame and I've played it

[Dune Awakening screenshot]

Expect to meet familiar faces on Arrakis(Image: Funcom)

Funcom has been making games for 30 years in some capacity, but at a recent preview event in Oslo, Norway, it was made clear just how ambitious Dune: Awakening is for the studio.

Developed in collaboration with Legendary Pictures (which allows the use of full scans of the movie series' assets), the massively multiplayer survival and crafting game bends the genre's well-worn skeleton to fit a new world, universe, and set of expectations.

And, in doing so, it could be one of the most time-devouring experiences around, whether you're a fan of the books and movies, or don't know your Crysknife from your elbow.

Don't be Shai (Hulud)

[Dune Awakening screenshot]

Dune Awakening could be huge(Image: Funcom)

Set in an alternate universe where House Atreides and House Harkonnen battle for power over the planet of Arrakis, in Dune: Awakening, Paul Atreides was never born.

This leads to a "sliding doors" moment where there is no Lisan Al-Gaib, instead seeing the planet ravaged by a War of Assassins. It's here that your custom character is dropped into a Bene Gesserit plot and tasked with 'Waking the Sleeper'. Cryptic objective aside, you're shot down and forced to craft a way to survive in the harsh desert.

As you'd expect from a game in the survival genre, this amounts to resource gathering, crafting, and the occasional combat encounter, only it's much more polished here than you may expect.

Even playing an early build, Game Director Joel Bylos' statement about making an open-world survival game shorn of 'jank' rings true Dune Awakening looks great, and plays even better.

It didn't take long to build an improvised Maula pistol and a makeshift blade, and it's with combat that the laws of the Dune Universe come into view.

The slow blade

[Dune Awakening screenshot]

Combat has a more measured pace than you may expect(Image: Funcom)

If you've read Dune or watched the movies, you'll know that there are complex rules surrounding the use of shields and firearms. Shields can only be punctured by slow-moving projectiles, and one of the liberties Funcom takes with its own adaptation is to swap out conventional bullets (not something you see often on Arrakis) with darts instead.

Functionally, they work the same as ammo in any third-person shooter, but unlike something like Halo where shields regenerate, in Dune they're always on. They drop when firing, meaning there's a tense dance of waiting for an enemy to fire before you unleash a counter volley.

Similarly, melee combat makes use of a dodge dash and a relatively simple-to-grasp parry system, but once your opponent is off balance, you'll need to close the gap and use a slow-moving 'stab' to worm your blade through a shield and into your enemy.

It's a little clumsy with multiple opponents, but the onus is on retreating and rotating to get the best angle of attack. As Bylos told us: "People looking for Dark Souls in this game aren't gonna get it".

Melee and firearms are joined by vehicular combat (although there's very little of that at the start of the game that I played), as well as abilities. These are tied to disciplines like the melee-focused swordsman or the Voice-wielding Bene Gesserit.

Funcom says all characters can earn everything by finding the relevant trainer in the world, which means you won't feel locked in for the long haul if you find something isn't for you.

What happens on Arrakis...

[Dune Awakening screenshot]

The Sandworms are the scariest thing you'll face(Image: Funcom)

It's not just shields that change the way Funcom is thinking about a survival sandbox, either.

Nightfall sees ships floating with spotlights hunting for players, while water is a key resource. It can be consumed from the dew on plants up to a point, but it's not long before you'll be forced to find some way of purifying your own.

I opted to carve a bloody swathe through scavenger camps, harvesting their blood for processing into water. Sadly, after moving to cross the map, I found myself short of the necessary equipment to achieve the latter part, and was forced to drink blood. Doing so hydrates but lowers maximum life.

Naturally, crossing the map is a terrifying experience owing to the iconic sandworms. Not only are they a sight to behold, but they'll claim all of your gear if they eat you. That adds tension you don't get from genre contemporaries, as you slink across the sand while keeping an eye on the vibrations you're making on the sound.

A musical sting punctuates their arrival, too, and they'll haul themselves to the surface and look to catch you in their gaping maw if you're not careful.

Still, that's not to say Arrakis can't be homely. I was able to build a rudimentary house on a side of a cliff, keeping out of the harsh sun while simultaneously giving me a spot to drop off supplies.

Spice of life

[Dune Awakening screenshot]

Ornithopters can be flown to collect spice or players(Image: Funcom)

Dune Awakening may start with the scrap for survival, but Funcom has ambitious plans for those that avoid making the acquaintance of the sandworms and bandits.

By the end of my demo I was raiding dungeon-like spots called Eco Labs, buried deep under Arrakis. These mark a nice change of pace, letting players enjoy some combat without fear of Shai Hulud, and each has plenty of lore (and loot) to uncover.

Other points of interest include shipwrecks, trading posts and more, making Arrakis feel less lonely than it might otherwise. You'll also see other players roaming the world, and it's this spirit of cooperation that Funcom hopes will get players to its endgame systems.

Players can join guilds and mine Spice in crawlers, fly recon missions in Ornithopters, and sell their wares across the planet, building their reputation and that of the house they pledge their allegiance to.

If you've always wanted to play as a trader hunting for objects of importance and selling them, or just want to hunt down scavengers to make Arrakis a little safer, or engage in large-scale PvP battles in the 'Deep Desert' those are perfectly acceptable ways to play.

You may even start a recruitment drive, flying to pick up new players and transporting them to a HQ to outfit them with gear, weapons, and their own vehicle so they can contribute to the wider guild objectives.

Final Thoughts

Whether it all comes together in the end is the kind of thing we won't know for some time since Dune: Awakening is still without a release date.

Still, it's hard not to be very excited about a project that stands out so markedly from its peers while also doing the Dune IP justice.

It's definitely a game to keep your eye on and you'll catch me with the Harkonnens when the time comes.

For more on Dune Awakening, check out our interview with Executive Producer Scott Junior.

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