If there’s one factor past doubt after greater than 35 hours with Dune: Awakening, it’s that Funcom has finished its homework in crafting essentially the most genuine tackle the Dune-iverse conceivable. As a longtime fan of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi setting, that’s an unbelievable factor to expertise most of the time, and my time on Arrakis has been stuffed with moments of real shock. It’s very intelligent how the tough environments and empty area are repeatedly used as development checks, turning what seem to be they need to be weaknesses into strengths. Different occasions, that cussed adherence to established lore outcomes in annoying or simply plain boring irritations, like the way you’re all however compelled to undertake a nomadic life-style in a style the place placing down roots and build up your base is among the fundamentals. There have additionally been loads of technical points and bugs in the times instantly following launch, plus fight hasn’t landed with me a lot up to now (although I’m admittedly nonetheless early in crafting my fight construct), however on stability my pals and I are having a completely superior time nerding out.
When you’ve ever performed a survival sport (and have seen a Dune film) earlier than, you’ll know most of what you might want to really feel at residence among the many big sand worms: you collect supplies from the world, construct your individual ugly-as-heck residence, and improve your tools to realize entry to extra harmful areas with rarer supplies. Like loads of survival video games, together with Funcom’s personal Conan Exiles or final 12 months’s As soon as Human, all of that is taking place on a server filled with equally sunburnt gamers in a perpetually on-line world, the place cooperation and restricted cases of PvP are each a definite risk, and which account for many of its greatest moments.
The place this sport units itself aside, although, is by simply how a lot it adheres to its legendary setting, and that has a significant influence on nearly every thing you do. For instance, clever use is product of Arrakis’ harsh setting, which is weaponized in opposition to you fairly actually each second you keep inside its environment. Standing straight in daylight unprotected will bake you alive in a matter of seconds, sandstorms blow frequently and can kill you in the event you aren’t capable of get to shelter first, and most notably, there’s the problem of these pesky huge man-eating worms which gobble you up in the event you dare tread upon their area for too lengthy. By leaning into the unforgiving world as a lot because it does, Awakening places you in a continuing battle in opposition to the planet itself. So as a substitute of casually trotting round accumulating sources at your leisure and settling your individual little piece of the world, you’re frantically ducking behind rocks to keep away from the solar’s harsh rays and drink what little water you could have left, and taking part in a endless sport of “the ground is lava” as you rush from one place to a different with a shai-hulud sizzling in your heels.
All of those hazards provide you with obstacles to beat. For instance, early on you’re unable to depart the tutorial space thanks to an enormous hole of empty area the place solar publicity or, extra probably, an enormous worm will surely kill you in the event you try and go on foot, so you need to craft your first car in order to securely cross it. Afterward, you begin to encounter locations which can be too sizzling or irradiated to discover with out correct tools. There are many examples identical to this, the place the distinctive nature of the setting is changed into an fascinating mechanic. Equally, you’re continuously starved for water, which is used each as a crafting materials and a useful resource to maintain your self alive, and normally Awakening is a greater, extra fascinating survival sport for it.
However there are different occasions the place this fanatical adherence to Dune conventions may be fairly obnoxious, like the way you’re inspired (and in some circumstances required) to maneuver your base of operations from place to put as you unlock entry to higher-level areas. Pulling up stakes means you both need to abandon all you’ve constructed as much as that time or tediously relocate as a lot of your tools as you may, piece by piece. Then there’s stuff like the truth that weapons are sometimes ineffective, since many enemies make use of the all-important Holtzman shields that fully defend from ranged assaults. This creates a bizarre scenario the place you’re juggling forwards and backwards between weapons and melee weapons relying on which enemy is presently operating in the direction of you, oftentimes having to decide on between addressing the swordsman barreling down on you or the man just a few ft behind him with a chaingun, which might create a very oppressive rhythm to fight. I truthfully kinda respect how a lot Dune: Awakening sticks to its weapons by making its weapons ineffective to maintain with Dune lore, even because it generally comes on the expense of me having a superb time. Even when these things annoys the hell out of me, I can’t assist however respect it.
That’s simply a part of the explanation that, like nearly each single one among its friends, Dune: Awakening has fairly terrible fight. I knew going right into a survival MMO that might be the case, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a very bitter tablet that by no means will get any simpler to swallow. I’m nonetheless fairly early in unlocking all of the choices for battle and seeing a number of the extra fascinating weapons and builds accessible, however up to now gunplay is sloppy, melee fight is repetitive and janky as heck, and I’ve principally simply been making an attempt to get via it as rapidly as attainable. It’s such a low level in a sport I’m in any other case having fun with.
Fortunately, the fight miss is greater than made up for by the completely stellar survival mechanics, that are a number of the most considerate and polished I’ve seen in some time. There’s a continuing stream of latest applied sciences to analysis, tools to craft, and materials to hunt for with nearly no filler or grind alongside the best way. Each time I’ve collected the precise supplies to craft the most recent shiny factor I would like, I’ve instantly had one other attractive merchandise to chase, and with distinctive schematics dropping left and proper, I’m all the time making fascinating choices on whether or not to spend my rarest supplies on a cool merchandise with a particular impact versus taking the extra conservative route and simply crafting widespread gadgets to save lots of these sources for a wet day. (It is certain to rain on Arrakis one among today.)
It’s particularly spectacular that they achieved this loop so properly in a desert world the place there are not any different places apart from sizzling sand, and nearly no vegetation or wildlife accessible to reap. A serious hallmark of survival video games is punching timber, and there are not any timber on Arrakis – as a substitute you’re making instruments to tug water from morning dew accumulating in the world at night time and by pulling it from the air, which is simply actually sensible and a welcome change of tempo that embraces the bizarre and barren setting, even whether it is nonetheless primarily the identical factor.
Once I performed the beta for Dune: Awakening, I bumped into tons of bugs and hoped the delay of its launch would enhance issues a bit. That actually appears to be the case, as I’ve had a considerably extra steady expertise up to now, however at the same time as improved as it’s, it’s nonetheless pretty troubled in the technical division. I’ve had disconnects, seen total mountains disappear and reappear earlier than my eyes, and even had just a few hours the place all sand worms simply up and deleted themselves from existence, making everybody on the server swarm to the sources usually protected by their fixed risk. It’s not been the smoothest launch by any stretch – but in addition removed from the worst.
After greater than 35 hours I nonetheless really feel like I’m pretty early into my Dune: Awakening journey, and nonetheless have new zones to go to, haven’t gotten very far into the primary story, and have solely had just a few encounters with PvP. There’s a ton for me to do, so search for an replace someday this week as I work my means via to the endgame.