As much as Dune: Awakening guides you around Arrakis, it can be a hot and unforgiving place. Almost everything around you is trying to kill you, and if not, then you’re being used as a pawn to further someone’s agenda. Awakening succeeds in making players feel like everyone is out to get them, all while encouraging you to rise to the occasion and come out the other end stronger.
Dune: Awakening is set in its own timeline. Here, things play out very differently than in the films and books. Paul Atreides’ mother gives birth to a daughter, as she was supposed to. Because of this, House Atreides never falls, and a War of Assassins between House Harkonnen and House Atreides begins. As a result, the Fremen are all but dead.
Awakening takes time to explain the ins and outs of the game. With a planet known for being as hot as it is, it only makes sense that the sun’s rays are one of the constant threats. Learning how to survive never felt like a chore; it was a necessary sequence to learn. By the end, I truly felt like I was setting myself up to succeed.
Exploring the map is a lot of fun. Whenever I saw a crashed ship or a small camp in the distance, I knew there would either be minerals worth mining or a dungeon to run. I never felt I wasted my time whenever I went off the beaten path. You’re always encouraged to explore new areas and see what mysteries await you as you get into the desert.
If it’s by accident or on purpose, one of the best things you can stumble across is the feud between House Harkonnen and House Atreides. Here is where Awakening really starts to home in on the idea of never trusting anyone. As you align yourself with one house or the other, you’re always encouraged and given the option to betray the one you’ve sided with to help the other. Even though it’s such a prominent part of the overall story, it never really affects your character’s personal journey.
Having no real consequences is a missed opportunity when you consider that both Houses have areas you can visit throughout the world. There was never any danger when I walked into Harkonnen territory well after I sided with Atreides. The only hostilities I faced were a few rude remarks and higher prices on certain items.
Combat, on the other hand, never falls short, thanks in large part to classes that grant you ample agency in how you approach the game. Throughout most of my playthrough, I prioritized the Mentat, which gave me the ability to drop a turret anywhere, and the Trooper, which allowed me to use a grappling hook and grenades. Combat played out in several different ways for me. If multiple people rushed me, I’d throw a grenade and drop my turret. If there was a sniper off in the distance, I’d use my hook to close the gap. The freedom I had with whatever threat was in front of me made going into combat a joy. If I got bored of one playstyle, I could invest in another skill and try out something new altogether. Each class has its own set of perks and benefits that keep combat fresh and fun.
Being able to handle whatever was thrown at me was vital when exploring Awakening’s main questline. The first half of the main story does a fantastic job of showcasing the importance of the Fremen while also serving as an extended tutorial. The way the game romanticizes the Fremen is a breath of fresh air compared with the harsh realities of living on Arrakis. By the end of the opening act, you’ll feel you learned a lot about how the world used to be before the war began.
This contrasts sharply with the game’s second half. It serves as a reminder of the daily horrors people endure on the planet, all while making you question your humanity and whether you even have a say in what’s going on around you. The end of the base game left me in awe of everything thrown at me and of how far they took an original idea.
Another aspect of the story I appreciate is how approachable it was for solo players. Even though there’s a single-player option, I chose a multiplayer server and experienced most of the game alone. I never felt like I hit a wall because I didn’t have the manpower to deal with whatever was in front of me. If there was, it was simply because I wasn’t playing smart. The few times I did play with someone else only made the game more enjoyable.
Even though I haven’t fully explored the post-game, the time I’ve spent in the Deep Desert was what I’d hoped it would be. This area can only be reached by Orentogether, which you unlock toward the endgame, and can be experienced in PvE or PvP. Regardless of how you tackle it, the Deep Desert seems to go on forever and resets once a week, so fully exploring it is a task in itself. However, Deep Desert also boasts some of the best loot and dungeons the game has to offer.
If you want to take it a step further, you can also try the Landsraad. This feature pits both Houses against one another and tasks them with completing a specific goal. Whichever side comes out on top is rewarded with loot on par with what you’d get in the Deep Desert. While it doesn’t add much to the story, it aptly supports the fantasy of truly being part of the ongoing conflict.
Even if you know nothing about Dune, the game does a great job of explaining the significance of each house and why you should care about everything around you. Dune: Awakening has everything it needs to remain true to the franchise: endless deserts, war and espionage on all fronts, and of course giant sand worms. It takes a lot of creative freedom and hits many of the important marks, all while reminding you of the brutal reality of living on Arrakis.
