Dune: Awakening is going to turn me into a blood drinking, spice addicted survivalist

Image: Funcom

A endurance crippled based successful the satellite of Dune makes an atrocious batch of sense. Both the books and movies walk a batch of clip explaining the mechanics of surviving connected the harsh godforsaken satellite of Arrakis, which made maine beauteous funny to larn much astir Dune: Awakening during a caller hands-off gameplay preview from developer Funcom. The MMO does a batch of the modular endurance stuff, arsenic you trade gear, harvest resources, and research dungeons. But what makes it absorbing are the parts that are Dune-specific. That means forcing players to deliberation a batch astir water, heat, spice, and — of people — sandworms.

The crippled puts you successful the relation of a captive aboard a transport vessel that crashes onto the aboveground of Arrakis. Funcom is keeping the communicative mostly nether wraps for now, but Awakening takes spot astatine a clip erstwhile the Fremen — the lone radical who thrive successful the harsh godforsaken situation — look to each beryllium missing, which appears to beryllium the cardinal mystery. I watched a presumption featuring astir 30 minutes of gameplay, led by originative manager Joel Bylos, and determination were a fewer details that made maine precise excited astir strapping connected a stillsuit.

Stay thirsty, my friends

Hydration is an integral portion of Dune. It’s the crushed characters deterioration suits that cod sweat and tears to recycle arsenic water, and that, naturally, has been turned into a gameplay mechanic successful Awakening. You person to support a adjacent oculus connected your somesthesia retired successful the godforsaken sun; erstwhile you get sunstroke, you get thirsty truly quickly. You tin debar this somewhat by sticking to the cooler shadows oregon venturing retired astatine night, but nary substance what, you’ll person to beryllium good attuned to your hydration level, represented by a large bluish bar.

To commencement out, you’ll person to get originative to slake that thirst. Early on, players tin get moisture from the fewer plants they find, but this lone provides a tiny magnitude of water, and excessively overmuch volition marque you sick. On the grosser extremity of the spectrum, you tin usage a instrumentality to extract the humor from dormant enemies. Once you person the close equipment, you tin filter the humor to crook it into purified water. But successful a pinch, you tin just... portion it, though consuming humor volition trim your health. Funcom utilized the operation “water progression” to picture the evolving mode you tin hydrate arsenic you progress.

Image: Funcom

Welcome to spice world

Spice — oregon melange, if you similar — is what keeps the system of the Dune beingness moving, and that’s nary antithetic here. According to Funcom, you’ll request to stitchery the assets to 1) wage disconnected taxes for immoderate onshore you extremity up gathering a basal connected and 2) provender your increasing addiction to the substance. It’s not wide yet however addiction works oregon if you’ll spell connected immoderate psychedelic trips. But really procuring spice seems appropriately perilous. At assorted times, spice blows volition look retired successful the unfastened desert, looking similar a large purple unreality of dust. You past person to unreserved to get determination earlier different players and determination rapidly capable to stitchery spice earlier attracting a worm.

From what I saw, spice harvesting seems similar astatine slightest a two-person job. One subordinate pilots an ornithopter that transports the harvester to the blow, and the different drives the harvester to cod spice. While that’s going on, the aviator is capable to support an oculus retired for dangers: different players, incoming sandstorms, and immoderate signs of sandworms. You tin technically bash it solo, the developer says, but I can’t ideate it’ll beryllium easy. (Aside from worms, spice flows, and sandstorms, the godforsaken volition besides diagnostic random vessel crashes you tin loot and, astatine night, marauding groups of Sardaukar forces.)

Image: Funcom

Do we person wormsign?

And worms, of course, are the large danger. “You cannot bushed a sandworm,” Bylos noted successful the presentation. “They aren’t a boss. You don’t combat them. They are thing that exists arsenic a menace each the mode done the game, from commencement to finish.” When you’re retired successful the unfastened sand, either connected ft oregon successful a vehicle, there’s a metre that lets you cognize however overmuch sound you’re making truthful you tin debar the worms for arsenic agelong arsenic possible. But erstwhile they bash amusement up, there’s not overmuch you tin bash different than tally — you’re harmless successful immoderate of the rocky outcroppings, but if a worm catches you successful the sand, you’re done for.

There’s a batch much to Awakening, including co-operative basal gathering and what sounds similar immoderate politicking erstwhile you get much established connected Arrakis. But my little glimpse of the crippled mostly showed that it’s taking the endurance halfway of the franchise earnestly — and I can’t hold to portion immoderate blood.

Dune: Awakening is coming to the PC, PS5, and Xbox but doesn’t presently person a merchandise date.