Survival, Spice and the slow grind to greatness
If Survival MMO set in the Dune universe doesn’t already tell you what kind of experience you’re in for, let me spell it out: pain, sand, and being eaten by Shai-Hulud aka the sandworms. Dune: Awakening is as brutal and beautiful as its source material demands. It’s not just a survival game wearing a Dune skin. It is Dune; hostile, political, harsh, and grand in ways that are often more exhausting than exhilarating. But when it clicks, it delivers something few MMOs ever manage: a real sense of place, purpose, and danger.
I’ve played a lot of survival games, and most of them get old fast. Chop wood, punch rock, build base, rinse, repeat. What Awakening does differently is build those systems into a narrative and world that feel like they actually matter. It’s not just about staying alive. It’s about earning the right to exist on Arrakis. Let’s talk about the structure first. Dune: Awakening takes place in an alternate version of the classic story, blending elements of Herbert’s original lore with some creative license. It’s not just fanservice; this timeline exists to allow for long-term MMO gameplay without trampling on canon. That’s smart. It gives players a reason to be there, not just as tourists, but as participants in a new chapter of the Dune mythos.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
The game is primarily a survival MMO, with persistent characters, crafting systems, base-building, PvE and PvP zones, and of course spice harvesting. You create your own character, align with factions either the Atreides or the Harkonen, and set out to survive both the desert and its politics. There’s no traditional leveling system. Instead, progression is tied to skill unlocks and personal growth, which feels organic and works really well here. Resource gathering is central, but everything is gated by scarcity and time. Need water? You’ll have to manage your stillsuits, seek out dew collectors, or drain blood from fallen enemies and purify it back at base. Want spice? You’re going to need gear, a transport plan, and some friends or at least people who won’t stab you immediately after helping. The scarcity is punishing, but it’s thematically perfect. This is Dune. You’re not supposed to feel safe.
Combat in Awakening is skill-based and surprisingly fluid for a survival MMO. It feels more like Destiny 2 than Rust, with dodging, parrying, ranged and melee options, and tech trees that allow for a mix of playstyles. The ranged combat never quite feels good to use, so I primarily fought with swords and only fired off a few long-range shots to get aggro. PvP is where the game becomes a different beast. Fights are brutal, fast, and punishing. Death often means losing your inventory and respawning back in safe zones that could be miles from your body. There’s a “partial loot” system, which softens the blow a little, but not enough to feel forgiving. Expect to lose. Often.
Visually, Dune: Awakening is stunning. The world feels vast and empty in all the right ways. Sandstorms roll across the dunes with terrifying speed, altering terrain and visibility. Sandworms are not just scripted events they’re real, dynamic, and deadly. You’ll hear them coming long before you see them, and if you don’t move, you’ll be part of their diet. I love the musical track that is paired with their coming, my daughter sat with me and said it was a lot like when the shark comes is Jaws. Also, just as scary. The attention to environmental detail is impressive. From the texture of your stillsuit to the interior of sietches, the visual design pulls heavily from both the films and the books while carving out its own identity. This isn’t just a sci-fi skin on top of survival mechanics. This is Dune, and it feels like it.
Performance on PC is solid overall, with good optimization for large-scale events and dynamic environments. There are still some server-side hiccups, particularly during peak hours, and load times can spike when transitioning between instanced regions. But considering the complexity, it’s running better than I expected, this is probably the best launch I think that I have seen from Funcom.
Dune: Awakening is not for the faint of heart. It’s slow to start, merciless in its mechanics, and deeply punishing if you’re not prepared to think long-term. But it’s also one of the most immersive, lore-faithful, and ambitious survival MMOs I’ve played in years. It asks you to live in the Dune universe not just walk through it and that’s a rare thing in licensed games. For fans of the franchise, there’s nothing else quite like it. For MMO players tired of formulaic grinds and empty worlds, this is something richer, even if it comes at a cost. But be warned: if you’re looking for fast progress, you’re going to have a bad time. On Arrakis, everything fights back.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
