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I had a chance to check out a closed-door preview of Dune Awakening at PAX East. While it was not a hands-on demo I still came away impressed and with a desire to see more. The creators of the title are going to try something really special: to make a survival game that does not punish players who are not eternally logged in.
The premise of the game involves a new and important member of the families (but not a messiah figure like Paul Atreides) crash-landing on Arrakis and having to make their way in the harsh landscape. We were not shown any story spoilers, but the intent is to have a large overarching purpose for surviving.
The demo started with an incredibly robust character creator that frankly blew me away with its depth of options. Want to look like any house, but belong to another? Done. Want to look like Baron Harkonnen, fat and bloated? Done. Want to be covered in piercings and tattoos, with the tattoos looking like they were inked-over many years and aged? Done.
Once you finish the immense task of creating your character (perhaps two or three times till perfect) the game introduces some lore tied to your house and mentor. Then we skip ahead to avoid spoilers and see the player crash to the surface. Kept alive, they must survive, build a base and forge their destiny on the harsh planet.
What struck me right away was how much Funcom is devoted to the lore, not just of the wildly famous movies, but to the books as well. In some licensed products one set of source materials is all that is available (Lord of the Rings is a good example). In this case the whole ecosystem is available.
This enabled the developer to call back to aspects of the movie, shift others to the settings Frank Herbert wrote about in detail, and return to the movies. This allows for an incredibly deep well of lore, as well as visuals and locales that evoke the beauty represented in Denis Villeneuve’s two movies set in the universe.
Continuing in the demo, we see water collecting, basic crafting, and base building, pretty quickly as these elements as crucial to survive in this game. The sun is harsh and kills if you are exposed too long, so finding shelter, tools and water is essential.
Thankfully the creative freedom of the entire Dune ecosystem helps, as there are less arid parts of the world, which is where the early survival portions start. Here fibers, water and materials can be found to build the first tools to start the hero’s journey.
Once the basics were shown, including a cool if basic water extraction system, bases were explored. Right away the developer pointed out that bases built in the survival starting hub are invulnerable and cannot be destroyed or claimed by other players (unless invited). This is a massive quality-of-life addition for this type of game.
With bases being true places of refuge, supplies, equipment, vehicles and weapons can be stored there without fear of losing everything if you die, or don’t login for a while. The base builder is robust but we only scratched the surface of what can be done with it in the demo I saw.
In the main regions of the game there are a few key aspects to the gameplay: spice harvesting, exploration, scavenging, and conflicts with NPCs (and other players in PVP areas). This region is the Great Desert and it is harsh and ever-changing (thanks to a world-clearing weekly storm) so there is always something new to explore and discover.
Combat is a big part of the all of these types of games and I was very impressed with what I saw in the few encounters presented. There are a number of skill paths that can lead to a wide range of combat techniques.
Some can use mental powers to scope out an area and try to subdue enemies with little fuss. Warriors can go in guns and crysknife akimbo, armed with combat techniques. Still others will use persuasion and subversion to get their way before destroying everyone in their path.
Spice harvesting, scavenging and exploring are done in many different ways. Some tasks can be approached solo, others more efficiently when teamed up with allies. All can be leveraged to suit a particular playstyle.
When asked if there any NPCs that can be controlled, like Thralls in Conan Exiles, we were told no, the game is not structured that way. Instead it is designed to be played solo, with certain goals in mind, or cooperatively to engage in larger-scale exploits. Both seem to be very satisfying ways to experience Dune Awakening.
The developer elaborated on this, saying, as an example, you could play as a scout character, focusing skills and equipment around quick traversal and exploration. When the great desert resets, head out, discover, scavenge, map the key areas, and sell the details in the marketplace.
A small group could instance focus on temporary forward bases and spice harvesting in groups to avoid sandworms and fend off other players. This style enables cooperation but also a different source of resources and economy.
While everything we were shown was very early, I was incredibly impressed by the thought put into the systems, character development and freedom, as well as the many ways to simply exist in and play the game.
Things like vehicles, advanced building, and manufacturing as well as desert perils such as NPCs, sandworms and the environment itself added more toppings to this already delicious-looking cake. While there is no firm release timeline for Dune Awakening they are promising more betas this year and further chances to check out the game.
Based on what I saw I will be lined up for these demo chances and looking forward to my first existing steps into the world of Dune. So far Dune Awakening will be available on Steam once released.
