Info about Dune: Awakening: Official game description: Pre-Purchase Offer ================== ULTIMATE EDITION ================ DELUXE EDITION ============== About the Game ============== **Dune: Awakening is an open world, multiplayer survival game on a massive scale.** More than just survival, Dune: Awakening offers a large-scale, persistent and highly immersive world with social hubs bustling with other players, server-wide politics and intrigue, and a cinematic storyline that will leave you at the edge of your seat. The Fremen have vanished. Paul Atreides was never born. Lady Jessica obeyed the Bene Gesserit and gave birth to a girl. Duke Leto Atreides survived the assault on Arrakeen and is now locked in a brutal conflict with the Harkonnen over Arrakis and its precious spice. In this unique but still familiar take on the iconic sci-fi universe of Dune, you begin as a prisoner sent to Arrakis to uncover the mystery of the Fremen’s disappearance. Following in the footsteps of the mysterious desert tribe, you will learn the true meaning of desert power as you rise from a nameless survivor to becoming an agent of the Atreides or the Harkonnen. **Alone, with friends, or any of the hundreds of players you share Arrakis with, can you survive the most dangerous planet in the universe?** _“My planet, Arrakis, is beautiful when the sun is low.” – Chani_ * **SURVIVE** by learning the ways of the Fremen. Seek the shadows to escape the scorching sun. Craft stillsuits and extract water from your enemies to stay hydrated. Build shelter to escape lethal sandstorms and always beware the sandworm. * **EXPLORE** a vast, open world of beauty and danger. Glide, climb, and speed across Arrakis using iconic Dune tech such as ornithopters and suspensor belts. Visit the hubs of Arrakeen and Harko Village, bustling with other players to socialize and trade with. * **DISCOVER** a shifting desert that offers infinite exploration. Coriolis storms reshape the Deep Desert, turning familiar ground into treacherous, unknown territory. Every week, players race to be the first to uncover new locations, dangers, and rewards. _“On Arrakis, we need to cultivate desert power.” – Duke Leto Atreides_ * **SANDBOX** combat allows you to approach every situation differently using a wide arsenal of ranged and melee weapons, technology, abilities, and even vehicles. From humble beginnings to unthinkable strength, every step fuels your rise to greatness. * **MASTER** one or all the Great Schools of the Imperium: Bene Gesserit, Trooper, Mentat, Swordmaster, and Planetologist. Use manipulation and trickery, poison and grenades, dart rifles and crysknives. And remember: the slow blade penetrates the shield. * **SPICE** is the most valuable resource in the universe. Control, trade, and consume it to unshackle your potential and fuel new powers. Rise from a nameless survivor to ultimately summoning the desert’s greatest force: the sandworm Shai-Hulud himself. _“This is my desert. My Arrakis. My Dune.” – Baron Vladimir Harkonnen_ * **CREATE** a persona as unique as your ambitions. Craft anything from Fremen stillsuits to Harkonnen ornithopters and fine Atreides furniture. Customize endlessly with emotes, transmog systems, and swatches that let you stand out in the desert. * **UNCOVER** the truth behind the Fremen’s disappearance. As you survive, explore, and build your way to power on Arrakis, you will unravel an engaging storyline unlike anything seen in a multiplayer survival game before. * **BUILD** anything from a temporary encampment to an impenetrable fortress with a robust, flexible building system. Convert your buildings into blueprints that you can sell to other players on the server-wide Exchange, along with anything you harvest and produce. _“Climb up. Rise. You’re one of us now. A life for a life.” – Stilgar_ * **UNITE** or compete with other survivors – or choose to play alone. Dune: Awakening features a highly immersive and persistent online world shared with thousands of other characters and several hundred people playing concurrently. PvP is always optional. * **GROUP** up with other players to delve into ancient Ecology Labs, collaborate creatively using the robust co-op building system, or simply visit the Arrakeen and Harko Village social hubs to grab a drink or trade on the Exchange. * **LEAD** or follow, the choice is yours. Join or create a guild, swear allegiance to the Atreides or Harkonnen, and work together to secure their power in the server-wide Landsraad whose decrees impact every player on the server. _“It’s not that power corrupts, but that it’s magnetic to the corruptible.”_ * **RISE** to power through the ranks of the Atreides or the Harkonnen. As you build reputation with your Great House, you will access unique faction rewards such as equipment, vehicles, and building pieces. Ultimately you can pledge your entire guild to their cause. * **CONTROL** the spice, and you control Arrakis. The ever-shifting sands of the Deep Desert offers not only infinite exploration, but also infinite rewards. Here, players, guilds, and the Great Houses battle over massive spice blows to fuel their finances – and their ambitions. * **PVP** is always optional. Participate in major ground-and-air battles in the Deep Desert or support the efforts from behind the frontlines through PvE activities like crafting to secure power in the Landsraad. Play politics and make decisions that impact the whole server. Private Servers --------------- You can play Dune: Awakening on an official server or a private server rented from a third-party provider. Every private server belongs to a World of other private servers, with each sharing social hubs and a Deep Desert. This means you can still enjoy Dune: Awakening's unique large-scale multiplayer mechanics even when playing on a private server. Release date: 10 Jun, 2025 Categories: Survival, Crafting, Base Building, Open-World Exploration, Cooperative Multiplayer, Competitive Multiplayer, Resource Management, Character Progression - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Rewarding, immersive survival experience (weight 0.96): The game offers a compelling and rewarding survival experience through interconnected systems. Players must manage resources, build bases, and engage in combat while navigating a harsh environment filled with dangers like sandworms. The game rewards dedication and strategic decision-making, creating a sense of accomplishment and immersion. - Visually stunning, great audio (weight 0.35): The game boasts impressive graphics, sound design, and overall aesthetic appeal. Reviewers consistently praise the visual fidelity, immersive atmosphere, and high-quality audio elements. These technical and artistic achievements contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment and immersion of the game. - Excellent, intuitive base building (weight 0.29): The game features excellent base-building mechanics that are intuitive, flexible, and rewarding. Players can create elaborate structures with a high degree of customization, and the game provides useful tools and quality-of-life features to enhance the building experience. The base-building system is a standout element, offering a satisfying creative outlet. - Thrilling sandworm encounters (weight 0.19): The sandworms are a defining feature of the game, creating a constant sense of tension and danger. Encounters with sandworms are thrilling and require strategic planning to avoid being caught. The sandworm mechanic adds a unique and immersive element to the gameplay experience. - Engaging, strategic combat system (weight 0.15): The combat system is engaging and challenging, requiring strategic thinking and adaptation. The game features a variety of enemies, abilities, and tactical options, creating dynamic and rewarding combat encounters. While some find it simple initially, the combat evolves and becomes more enjoyable as players progress and unlock new skills. - Rewarding, flexible progression system (weight 0.13): The game offers a well-designed progression system with meaningful unlocks and customization options. Players can develop their own playstyles through skill selection and building design, and the game avoids excessive grinding. The pacing of progression is generally praised for being smooth and rewarding. - Balanced solo/multiplayer experience (weight 0.12): The game provides a balanced multiplayer experience with options for both solo and group play. The game is viable as a solo experience, while also offering opportunities for cooperation and community engagement. The grind is considered reasonable, and the game caters to different player preferences regarding PvP. - Stable servers, smooth launch (weight 0.11): The game has had a smooth launch with stable servers and minimal technical issues. The reviewer experienced no problems creating a character, logging in, and interacting with the game. The MMO aspects are well-executed, and the player base is generally chill. - Engaging quests and lore (weight 0.1): The game features well-developed quests and lore, with engaging storylines and fully voiced NPCs. The quests are high quality and varied, avoiding typical fetch quests. The game's storytelling is immersive and adds depth to the overall experience. - Extensive content, varied activities (weight 0.09): The game offers a variety of content and activities, including story missions, side quests, and exploration opportunities. The game is designed to accommodate different player types, with options for both solo and group play. The extensive content provides a long and engaging gameplay experience. - Fluid movement, fun traversal (weight 0.07): The game's movement and traversal mechanics are well-designed and enjoyable. The climbing system allows players to explore the world freely, and the vehicles add to the fun of traversing the landscape. The game is often compared favorably to Conan Exiles, with improvements in various aspects. - Meaningful, rewarding crafting system (weight 0.07): The game features a crafting system that is meaningful and rewarding. Crafting is not overly burdensome, and it provides a way to progress and create useful items. The crafting system is well-designed and integrates well into the gameplay loop. - Dynamic world, optional PVP (weight 0.06): The game features AI-driven bots that roam the map, hunt players, and even fight each other for territory, posing a legitimate threat to players. The game offers optional PVP, catering to different player preferences. The game combines resource gathering, PvP combat, and faction warfare, rewarding planning, coordination, and adaptability. - Responsive, active developers (weight 0.06): The developers are actively working to improve the game, providing frequent updates and addressing issues in a timely manner. The development team is responsive to community feedback and communicates effectively with players. This commitment to ongoing support and improvement is a positive aspect of the game. - Surprising plot and story (weight 0.05): The game features a plot, which surprised the reviewer. The reviewer was surprised and amused by the random encounter with a neighbor in the game. The game includes a storyline with cutscenes, which is unusual for the genre. - Smooth and steady progression (weight 0.05): The game offers a smooth and steady progression system that keeps players engaged. Upgrades are meaningful and increase efficiency, making the time invested feel worthwhile. The pacing is well-balanced, with a clear next step to overcome challenges. Common complaints: - Combat feels clunky, unrefined (weight 0.35): Combat is frequently described as clunky, janky, and unrefined, particularly melee combat. Enemies exhibit poor AI, limited variety, and inconsistent difficulty. Animations are stiff and lack impact, contributing to an unsatisfying combat experience. - Technical issues plague gameplay (weight 0.26): The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including server instability, lag, crashes, and poor optimization. These problems are exacerbated by frequent server maintenance and a lack of communication regarding downtime, leading to frustration and lost progress for players. The poor server conditions and frequent crashes are especially disappointing for those who paid for early access. - Excessive grind, repetitive gameplay (weight 0.2): The game is criticized for its excessive grind, repetitive gameplay loops, and lack of engaging endgame content. The story is lackluster and serves primarily as a leveling mechanic. These issues make the game feel tedious and discourage long-term engagement. - Multiplayer feels underdeveloped, unbalanced (weight 0.16): The game's multiplayer aspects, including PvP and social interactions, are underdeveloped and unbalanced. The large map size and server structure can lead to a sense of loneliness and a lack of meaningful player encounters. PvP balance is questionable, with larger groups often dominating smaller or solo players. - Sandworm deaths overly punishing (weight 0.12): Sandworms are a significant threat, with death resulting in the permanent loss of all carried items. While intended to create tension, this mechanic is often seen as overly punishing and frustrating, especially when combined with bugs or unexpected encounters. Some players find the sandworms too easy to avoid later in the game. - Survival aspects feel shallow (weight 0.12): The survival aspects of the game are considered shallow and uninspired, with water being the primary concern. The environment lacks variety and immersion, and the constant need to maintain a base can feel intrusive. The game struggles to deliver a compelling survival experience. - Inventory management is cumbersome (weight 0.09): Players find inventory management cumbersome due to limited space, an abundance of tools, and a poorly designed UI. The need to constantly swap items and the lack of organization contribute to frustration and disrupt the flow of gameplay. The harsh penalty for sandworm deaths exacerbates these issues. - Resembles flawed Conan Exiles (weight 0.09): Reviewers note the presence of bugs and design choices reminiscent of Funcom's previous game, Conan Exiles. Climbing mechanics are often cited as being clunky or even a step backward. This leads to concerns that the game is simply a reskin with similar flaws. - Dune setting feels superficial (weight 0.07): The game's setting feels superficial and fails to capture the depth and complexity of the Dune universe. The environment can feel empty and repetitive, and the main story is lacking. Players unfamiliar with Dune lore may struggle to understand the narrative. - Base-building feels limited, finicky (weight 0.06): The base-building system is criticized for being limited, finicky, and lacking in decorative options. The controls and snapping mechanics can be frustrating, and there is little incentive to create aesthetically pleasing bases. The lack of base raiding mechanics is also noted. - Poor story, uninspired dialogue (weight 0.05): The story and dialogue are often described as poor, with unconvincing characters and a confusing plot. The game's overall quality is considered average, and some reviewers feel it is not worth the asking price. Character animations also appear unrefined. - Slow start, some areas empty (weight 0.05): Some areas feel empty, and the game can have a slow start. NPC variety is lacking, and some areas feel repetitive. The game needs tweaking, but there are no fundamental flaws apparent so far. - Frequent game crashes (weight 0.05): The game experiences frequent crashes, sometimes occurring during shader loading, cutscenes, or even simple actions like opening the inventory. These crashes can lead to lost progress and frustration. The game may also cause system hard locks, requiring a manual restart of the PC. - Climbing mechanics are buggy (weight 0.05): Climbing mechanics are frequently described as clunky, buggy, and unreliable. Players report issues with clipping, getting stuck, and unexpected launches. These problems detract from the overall sense of immersion and can lead to frustrating deaths. Gameplay feedback: - Core: gather, craft, build, survive (weight 0.32): The core gameplay loop revolves around gathering resources, crafting equipment, and building bases, which are essential for progression. The game blends survival, crafting, and MMO mechanics, with a focus on resource management and exploration in a desert environment. Base building is a key element, allowing players to construct elaborate structures and expand their territory. - PvE/PvP zones; Deep Desert endgame (weight 0.12): The game features both PvE and PvP zones, with the starting area being primarily PvE and the Deep Desert being a PvP-focused endgame zone. The Deep Desert offers rare resources and challenges but is subject to weekly resets, requiring players to adapt and remap resource locations. - Guilds, factions, and political systems (weight 0.11): The game incorporates MMO elements such as guilds, factions, and a political system, encouraging social interaction and cooperation. While solo play is possible, joining a guild enhances the experience and accelerates progress, especially in the endgame content. Players can participate in server-wide political events and influence the game world. - Varied combat with tactical elements (weight 0.08): Combat involves a mix of melee and ranged weapons, with different attack speeds and effectiveness against shielded enemies. Enemy AI varies, requiring strategic approaches and tactical thinking. Abilities add variety to combat, and players can customize their builds with skills and weapon blueprints. - Dune setting, alternate timeline (weight 0.07): The game is set in the Dune universe, with players aligning with factions like the Fremen, Harkonnen, or Atreides. The game presents an alternative storyline that is accessible to both newcomers and veterans of the Dune universe. The setting on Arrakis, a desert planet, limits the environmental variety to a single biome. - Vast world rewards exploration (weight 0.06): The game world is vast and rich, with vertical map design that enhances exploration and movement. The game rewards exploration with secrets and encourages players to use shadows to avoid sun penalties. The world feels alive with NPCs fighting each other and a strong atmosphere. - Flexible skill tree customization (weight 0.05): The game features skill trees that allow for character customization and experimentation with different classes. Players can unlock skills through quests and exploration, creating diverse and viable builds. The skill system encourages cooperation and specialization, with abilities and talents having symbiotic relationships. - Sandworms: a constant, deadly threat (weight 0.04): Sandworms pose a significant threat, devouring players and destroying possessions. Players must remain vigilant and avoid attracting them with unnatural movements, creating a high-stakes risk-versus-reward dynamic. Vehicles offer some protection, but sandworms can still attack. - Vehicles aid desert traversal (weight 0.03): Vehicles, including buggies, bikes, and flying vehicles, are available for traversing the desert and avoiding sandworms. These vehicles enhance exploration and transportation across the large map. The vehicle mechanics add another layer to the gameplay experience. Performance notes: - Inconsistent performance, optimization needed (weight 0.32): Performance varies significantly based on hardware and settings. Some players report smooth gameplay even on older systems or the Steam Deck, while others experience stuttering, frame drops, or crashes, especially on high settings or during specific events like sandstorms. Optimization issues are a common complaint, but many find the game playable with adjusted settings. - DLSS/Frame generation: mixed results (weight 0.02): The game includes DLSS and frame generation technologies, with varying results. Some players find that these features improve performance and smoothness, while others experience graphical glitches or input lag. Experimentation with these settings is recommended to find the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. - Active patching and updates (weight 0.02): The developers are actively patching the game and addressing issues. The game has received several updates since launch, indicating a commitment to ongoing improvement. Some reviewers noted that the release had a good start regarding bug mitigation and maintenance. - Long shader and game loading (weight 0.02): The game requires initial shader loading, which can take a significant amount of time. Some players also report long load times in general. Reducing load times would improve the initial player experience. - FSR performance is inconsistent (weight 0.01): FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) performance varies, with some players experiencing significant frame rate drops when it's enabled. Some reviewers recommend disabling FSR for better performance. This suggests potential issues with the implementation or compatibility of FSR in the game. - Impressive UE5 graphics, demanding (weight 0.01): The game utilizes Unreal Engine 5, showcasing impressive graphics and features like Lumen lighting. The open-world setting benefits from the capabilities of the engine. However, the visual fidelity comes at the cost of higher PC spec requirements. - Intel CPU shader compilation crashes (weight 0.01): Some players with 12th, 13th, and 14th series Intel chips are experiencing freezing and crashing during shader compilation. Workarounds like BIOS adjustments and running as administrator are required. This is a specific hardware-related issue that needs to be addressed. - PvP desync issues (weight 0.01): Syncing issues between players are fairly common in large-scale PvP encounters. Addressing these synchronization problems would improve the fairness and competitiveness of PvP gameplay. - Misleading FPS, cutscene lag (weight 0.01): Some players experience poor performance despite high FPS readings, with discrepancies between Steam's FPS counter and AMD's overlay. Opening cutscenes can also experience lag even on high-end hardware. This suggests potential issues with how the game reports or utilizes system resources. - Rough animations, outdated graphics (weight 0.01): Some animations are abrupt and lack smooth transitions. Some graphics appear outdated. Improving the quality and fluidity of animations would enhance the overall visual experience. - Unsatisfying vehicle physics (weight 0.01): Vehicle physics are described as mediocre, with unnatural movement. Improving the driving physics would make vehicle traversal more enjoyable. - Driver update strongly recommended (weight 0.01): The game recommends updating the graphics driver upon startup and provides a link to an NVIDIA hot-fix driver. This suggests that the game may have compatibility issues with older drivers. Ensuring compatibility with a wider range of drivers would improve the initial player experience. - Minor graphical glitches present (weight 0.01): Players have experienced minor graphical glitches, such as seeing through ground textures or getting the camera stuck. These issues are generally resolved by restarting the game. While not game-breaking, fixing these glitches would improve the overall polish. Recommendations: - Strongly recommended; immersive Dune experience (weight 0.9): Many reviewers highly recommend the game, especially to fans of the Dune universe, survival games, and MMOs. They praise its immersive atmosphere, engaging gameplay, and potential for long-term enjoyment. Some suggest that the game successfully captures the essence of Dune and offers a unique and challenging experience. - Technical issues; wait for fixes (weight 0.69): Some reviewers express concerns about the game's current state, citing technical issues, bugs, and server problems. They suggest waiting for a sale or for the developers to address these issues before purchasing. Some reviewers are considering refunding the game due to these problems. - Polarizing difficulty, survival mechanics (weight 0.65): Some reviewers feel the game is too easy after the initial stages, lacking true survival mechanics. Others consider the game to be the best in the survival genre, setting a new standard. The game's difficulty and death mechanics are divisive, appealing to some while deterring others. - Concerns about PvP, MMO design (weight 0.59): Some reviewers express concern that the online component may make the game unplayable, especially for those seeking a traditional MMO experience. The forced PvP is a point of contention, with some reviewers suggesting that making it voluntary would significantly improve the game. The game's PvP is essentially dead in the water. - Gameplay loop may become tiresome (weight 0.57): Enjoyment of the game may depend on individual preferences for base-building, survival, and grinding. Those who are not lore lovers of Dune may want to wait for a massive sale. The game's start is good, but it is unknown if it will become something more than just a beautiful walk in the desert. - Compared to Conan Exiles (weight 0.54): Some reviewers consider the game a downgrade from Conan Exiles, while others find it infinitely better on launch. The game might be acceptable at a price of 20 EUR. If you like Conan, you can buy this game without hesitation. - Better with friends; solo challenging (weight 0.03): The game is more enjoyable and easier to progress in when playing with friends or in a group. Solo players may find the game more challenging and time-consuming. Some reviewers explicitly recommend against playing solo. - Highly recommended; great potential (weight 0.02): Some reviewers give the game high ratings and recommend it without hesitation. They believe the game will only get better in the future and is something different from what players are used to. Learning the game could lead to some of your best gaming experiences ever. - Mixed opinions on price point (weight 0.02): Some reviewers are happy with their purchase and would buy it again, while others would have bought the basic package instead of the Ultimate Edition. Some reviewers do not recommend it at full price and suggest waiting for a sale. The price is alright for the fun and value provided. - Server management crucial for longevity (weight 0.02): The game's long-term success depends on effective server management and addressing gameplay concerns. The developers have big plans for the future, but it remains to be seen whether the game will provide long-term motivation in the endgame. Server stability and communication are key to improving the player experience. - Character deletion, server access issues (weight 0.01): Some reviewers are fed up with the game due to character deletion issues and lack of support. They advise potential buyers to ensure their friends are on an accessible server before purchasing the game to avoid wasting money. Some reviewers cannot recommend the game due to the inability to play with friends. - Broken promises, terrible design (weight 0.01): The game has fallen very short in comparison to what this universe could be like. The promise of building a story in one of sci-fi’s most dangerous and layered worlds feels broken. The game has a gorgeous look but terrible design. Other player notes: - Survival crafting on Arrakis (weight 0.13): The game is a survival crafting game set on Arrakis, drawing inspiration from titles like Conan Exiles but with improved graphics and lighting. Players must manage resources like water, avoid sandworms, and compete for spice. The game aims for immersion, capturing the desolate atmosphere of the desert planet. - Slow progression, early access caveats (weight 0.06): The game allows players to progress at their own pace, with a long progression curve to reach the endgame. Some reviewers cautioned against overwhelmingly positive reviews from those who paid extra for early access, suggesting that these reviews may not reflect the full game experience. The game is newbie-friendly after watching tutorials. - Limited MMO features/server structure (weight 0.04): The game is a survival game with MMO elements, but the server structure limits the population and prevents character transfers between servers. Some reviewers feel the MMO label is inaccurate due to these limitations. The game features server-wide political configurations and trading hubs. - Funcom game, long-term support (weight 0.03): The game is developed by Funcom, known for its lore-faithful adaptations, and has a planned 10-year roadmap with story and cosmetic DLCs. There is no offline play option, and private sessions cost extra. The game monetizes through DLCs instead of a subscription model. - Niche appeal, requires patience (weight 0.01): Some negative sentiment exists outside of reviews, potentially from players expecting a book-series-simulator or those unsuited for the game loop. The game world is based on the books and is well-made. The game is not for those without patience or unwilling to read in-game text. - Limited private server control (weight 0.01): Private servers belong to a “World” composed of multiple private servers, sharing common areas such as social hubs and the Deep Desert zone. Private server admins cannot manage or modify the social hubs or the Deep Desert zone. Players cannot host their own private servers; they must be rented from third-party providers. - Discord support, needs improvement (weight 0.01): The game takes some getting used to. The game Discord is useful for support and game-related questions, and the developers provide updates on Discord and Twitter. Reviewers are excited to see the direction this game will go and hopefully it'll stick around and continue to improve. - Extensive lore and RPG elements (weight 0.01): The game contains a large amount of lore and RPG elements. It includes character creation, a skill tree for character development, live dynamic video scenes, voice acting, and research elements. The game's lore and atmosphere are well-suited for role-playing. - Sandworms are terrifying threat (weight 0.01): Sandworms are a significant threat in the game, and being eaten by one is a memorable experience. The worms are terrifying. Emotions: No emotions}