Dune: Awakening

The driving force of the game are story quests pushing the plot forward, accompanied by various missions and side activities. As we progress, we gain a reputation for one of the families shaking the planet - Atreides or Harkonnens. Sooner or later we have to pledge loyalty to one of them.

Struggle for survival, crafting and building

The planet Arrakis is famous for the extreme conditions prevailing on its surface, so the main point of the program here is the struggle for survival. It is primarily associated with the need to take care of water supplies or to avoid sunlight.

We also need to gather resources that we use for the crafting system. It allows us to produce both equipment, led by filtrfraks (special suits used for water recovery), and more advanced constructions, like ornithopters (the local equivalent of helicopters).

The icing on the cake is the ability to erect various structures - from small, simple shelters to impressive fortresses, which we can furnish and decorate according to our own discretion. We can turn our works into projects and sell them to other players, just like the other goods we own.

Character creation and development, melange

The game allows us to create our character from scratch and guide their development in the chosen direction. We can become a soldier, a sword master, a planetologist, a mentat (a kind of human computer), or a Bene Gesserit (referring to a mysterious order manipulating politics and genetics for their own purposes).

The most valuable of resources is the so-called melange (also known as spice). This is a substance that we can trade or use for our own benefit, consuming it and thus gaining access to new powers.

Combat system

Given that Arrakis is full of dangers, we often have to fight against opponents. Depending on the character we embody, on the battlefield we can use weapons like harpoon guns or crossbows, as well as grenades or poisons.

We often face hostile people, but other dangers also lurk on the desert planet, led by gigantic worms living under the sands. Interestingly, thanks to the spice, over time we can learn to summon these gigantic creatures.

Game modes

Dune: Awakening supports only multiplayer gameplay over the Internet. The game allows us travel the world solo or to join forces with other players. We can form temporary alliances, establish guilds or join already existing ones. These latter ones play an important role in the game world, as their representatives sit in the Landsraad and pass decrees affecting the functioning of entire servers.

The icing on the cake is the opportunity to participate in PvP battles, reflecting the war waged by the forces of Atreides and Harkonnens.

Story

As the title suggests, Dune: Awakening takes us to the sandy planet of Arrakis, known from the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Funcom's game presents an alternative version of events in which the main character of Dune, Paul Atreides, was never born. The Fremen (indigenous people inhabiting the desert of Arrakis) have disappeared without a trace, while Prince Leto Atreides managed to survive the attack of the Harkonnens and is waging a brutal war against them.

During the game, we take on the role of a convict who ended up on Arrakis as a prisoner, but will play an important role in the history of this globe. Our task is to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Fremen and to take a stand on one side of the conflict, contributing to the victory of either the Atreides or the Harkonnens.