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Dune: Awakening Hands-On Preview
2026.03.02 17:09
Thankfully, Dune Awakening weapons: Awakening has enough to attract even survival game sceptics. "I think so. I hope so," Whelan said when I asked if the third-person shooting and multiplayer aspects are enough to entice fans of those gen
While most of Arrakis is a barren wasteland filled with scavenger camps and other locales to discover, there are also various settlements and trading outposts that are worth exploring. The first one you can discover in the starting area is called Griffin's Reach Tradepost, and has a merchant in addition to some other important N
While it isn’t clear if working with the Harkonnens in Dune: Awakening is required, it does seem like building bases in the desert is a major part of the game. While I’m willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of gameplay and ignore how unlikely that safely building such structures would be on Arrakis, I’m still not so enthusiastic about actually doing it. Being an outsider building bases on Arrakis feels very **counter-intuitive to the major anti-colonial message the Dune series communicates
In the gameplay reveal for Dune: Awakening , a player can be seen taking the Gom Jabbar Humanity Test. This is the test that both Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen undertook to assess if they were capable of becoming the Kwisatz Haderach , a sort of Messiah figure for the Bene Gesserit . This could suggest that players will be filling in for Paul as the new Kwisatz Haderach, something I am not looking forward
Paul uses his abilities as the Kwisatz Haderach to convince the Fremen he is the Lisan al Gaib, a Messianic figure of their own. This idea was planted in Fremen culture by the Bene Gesserit specifically so that they could control the Fremen with their own operative. Though Paul doesn’t end up doing this as a tool of the Bene Gesserit, he does still manipulate the Fremen’s beliefs to use them as his own personal a
However, if you research suspensors and construct these pieces of equipment, you can negate or even entirely circumvent fall damage. Plus, some suspensors allow you to double jump, making it even easier to climb as well.
While you can only wield a certain number of abilities at a time, you'll want to find trainers, NPCs who can give you quests that help unlock these skill trees. For example, you'll find one NPC at Griffin's Reach Tradepost who can teach you how to unlock the Trooper skill tree by hunting down various bounties across the desert of Arra
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
While, technically speaking, you can just bulldoze your way through to your final destination, it's a good idea to hit up many different places along the way to make the most of your journey. Just keep an eye on your water supply as you do, making sure you have a backup plan in place.
These are important for different reasons. One, water carriers, perhaps obviously, allow you to carry more water with you as you traverse the desert . This is great for staying alive, and sometimes imperative depending on the length of your journey. Suspensors are great for traversal as well, and allow you to negate fall damage when climbing up and down large cli
However, the Dune world isn’t just the modern films. There’s the saga of books Funcom has primarly worked from, previous Dune strategy games, and the movie directed by the late David Lynch. With so much lore, it’s been a challenge for Funcom to ensure no mistakes make their way into the game. Helpfully, "Joel [Bylos, Dune: Awakening’s Creative Director] knows everything," Whelan says. "He knows the books inside and out, so you cannot get things past him because he sits right behind me, so he will catch thin
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
If I’m able to work with the Harkonnens as a double agent, or if there are less morally dubious options, I won’t mind there being optional missions for them. However, working with the Harkonnens seemingly being a more readily available option than the Fremen is just one indication that **Dune: Awakening might not present many options for doing the right thing ** . After all, a major part of the gameplay seems like it would put players in direct conflict with Arrakis’ nati