Dune: Awakening Reviews
Dune: Awakening's gorgeous environment is full of danger, mystery, and lore to uncover. Although its combat leaves much to be desired, its other aspects make for a fantastic experience that, with some polish, easily sets it apart from the crowd.
Dune Awakening is an impressive MMO adaptation, but its combat gets lost in translation.
Playing Dune: Awakening is an uneven experience. The survival and building loops start strong, then eventually bog down, but experiencing the Dune universe and Arrakis is always engaging. If the game’s combat could reach the heights of its stellar world-building, Dune: Awakening would be very hard to put down. As it is, the game’s crafting/survival loops are just strong enough to keep me playing when its combat tempts me to stop.
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.
An immersive, immense MMO sandbox survival game that captures the fierce and mystical essence of Dune, with a merciless and seductive Arrakis. The combat system is subdued and there are technical uncertainties that limit its potential. But what fun!
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you aren't a big fan of Dune, you might ironically get more out of this game than someone who is, since you won't have to worry about it not living up to your expectations. While I can't help but be a little disappointed in the final product, Dune: Awakening is still worth playing if you are a fan of the survival genre and want to experience its unique location.
Much like the Houses that have descended onto Dune, and the Fremen had learned for millennia beforehand, Funcom will have to adapt to survive. What that looks like is yet to be seen, but I’m looking forward to it.
Dune Awakening isn't your average survival game. Where so many other titles in the genre string together mechanics with no real goal other than surviving/escaping a location, Funcom's game attempts something bigger, more coherent.
Review in French | Read full review
Engaging it with new game dynamics, with sandstorms that will change the landscape and bring to light points of interest, Fremen ruins, clearings, crashed airships. As well as, with new "interactions" between players and sandworms... maybe!
Review in Italian | Read full review
Dune:Awakening does a phenomenal job of making Arrakis come to life, from the oppressing heat and sand as far as the eye can see, to the terrifying encounters with Shai Halud. Once you get your feet under you, the game has dozens of hours of exploration and content to work through, making it a very enjoyable experience. The combat leaves a lot to be desired, but classes, weapons, and gadgets feel fun. Took some points off for lack of housing decoration options and mods, and for the lack of real end game content. Would love to see raids, or overworld bosses, and better boss encounters in Testing Stations. Over all Dune:Awakening is a unique and fun experience that will suck you in right away.
Still, there are a few bumps along the way, especially if you’re a solo player or rely on a controller. But if Funcom can smooth out those edges, this could easily become one of the standout survival games of the generation.
Dune: Awakening, from developer and publisher Funcom, presents a massive world that feels and acts like what you would expect from a journey to Arrakis. The gameplay is led by extensive crafting, action, and exploration. While the controls can get finicky at times, as well as the slow pace of gameplay, especially at the beginning, the game represents everything that Dune fans will appreciate.
Dune: Awakening builds on the solid foundation of Survival gameplay mechanics from Funcom's prior entry in the genre, Conan Exiles. While aspects of the game, such as combat and questing, are less than great, these flaws don't prevent players from enjoying the well-executed gathering, crafting and research-advancing progression loop, as well as simply existing in and exploring the world of Arrakis. Those who love survival games OR the Dune franchise will likely have a great time here, though others may have less reason to stick around to the endgame. The solo and group gameplay is distinct from one another, but either approach will allow you plenty of fun time in the sun, the sand, and (if you're unlucky) the belly of a sandworm.
Dune: Awakening delivers one of the most intense and immersive survival experiences I've enjoyed in years.
Engaging with Dune: Awakening often feels like being in a relationship with someone deeply volatile. There's an undeniable allure-something about it can fully draw you in and make the experience almost intoxicating. But then, like clockwork, come the unpredictable explosions-moments of inexplicable frustration where you're left feeling punished for things beyond your control.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
The gameplay is rich, customizable and adaptable to many different styles . There is no shortage of quests either, truly numerous and able to keep you busy for a long time.ot yet available.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you are a fan of Dune, there's a lot here to enjoy, the interplay between houses, the war of assassins, and of course the fear of being pursued by a worm and only just escaping, or perhaps not escaping. Despite the glitches, I have still found myself returning time and time again, and though some tasks can be frustrating or repetitive, it's such a beautifully realised world that I don't really mind. Even when I shut it down to take a break for a while, inevitably I will be firing it up again before long to see just how much further I can get, or what I can manage to get the resources together to build next. I'm so close to being able to build my ornithopter. Definitely jump in and explore!
The mystery of the disappearance of the Fremen is also a solid enough hook to keep me going through the main quest instead of getting sidetracked, and every excursion I make to collect resources doesn’t feel like a chore. Arrakis was made for a game like this, and small creative liberties aside, I think Funcom might have nailed what it needed to nail here.
Despite the above-mentioned complaints, Dune: Awakening is truly impressive. And some shortcomings (at least technical ones) are temporary, because the developers listen carefully to the players and systematically correct the shortcomings. However, small rough spots do not spoil such an atmospheric and exciting adventure in one of the most original fantasy universes.
Review in Russian | Read full review
If you're looking for a ruthless, multiplayer survival adventure with a mesmerizing atmosphere that draws you into the world of Dune and lets you lose hours in the sands, you're in the right place. If its areas in need of improvement are addressed swiftly, it has the potential to keep you trapped on Arrakis for a long time.
Review in Turkish | Read full review