I’ve never watched or readDune. Here’s what I know about it: There’s a desert planet. There are giant worms in the sand. There’s spice - a drug, I think? There are spaceships and stuff, and a mode of transport that looks like a dragonfly. And finally, there’s Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya.
Well, Chalamet and Zendaya aren’t going to help me much, but as for the rest of my knowledge, I was curious to see how I’d get on with the popularDune: Awakeningas a complete newcomer to the entire franchise, but a fan of survival games. From my understanding, this game is set in some alternate timeline to the movies, so there won’t be anything too drastic to spoil the films for myself, but would I have any clue what was going on anyway? Let’s see.
I’m not averse to the movies, and I will watch them at some point. I just… haven’t yet.
Do I Need To Know Dune To Play Dune: Awakening?
I was expecting the biggest hurdle to be the first few minutes, and that turned out to be true. I was met with an introductory cutscene which probably explained that alternate timeline stuff for fans of Dune, but for me, it was names and events that I don’t recognise and I won’t remember - but that’s fine, I’m doing okay without knowing that so far.
After that, I created my character while an old lady interrogated me, and then she pulled out a knife - more of a needle, but still - and told me not to move. Then, I was on a ship that crashed. Not sure how I went from being held hostage by a senior to being on some kind of transport, but I accepted it. On we go.
After the crash, I woke up in a cave, did the usual tutorial to get my bearings, and then stepped out to see a mysterious guy who rescued me and the crashed ship. A few more tutorials and some confusing exposition later, we were away in one of those dragonfly ships.
Thenthat onecrashed, and when I woke up, the mysterious man had mysteriously disappeared, calling me up with a casual “sorry bro lmao” before giving me the rest of the tutorial and early game quests over the phone I apparently have. One of those quests had me inhale some spice andhave a little dream sequence, which I guess was supposed to be revelatory, but I don’t know what it meant.
At this point, was I understanding Dune? No, not at all. I was becoming familiar with aspects of its style, and reading some character backstories and item descriptions, but I’m certainly not going to be an expert any time soon.
Also, we just… filter blood into drinking water? Really? Gross, dude.
Is Dune: Awakening A Good Standalone Survival Game?
Here’s the thing, though: I’m having a lot of fun with the game so far. I’m eager to keep exploring, build up my base, take on some more quests, and get my very own vehicles to traverse the vast sands of the desert. As a survival game, it’s excellent, and even as someone who doesn’t know the IP behind it, it’s well-made and intriguing enough to keep my interest. If anything, I am now more interested in watching the Dune movies, knowing that this game is my own little spice experience that I can’t explain, before moving on to the films to find out if I’m a fan of the series.
Have I spent most of my time doing base customisation with a partner? Yes. Will I continue to primarily focus on the customisation? Also yes.
If you’re someone who knows nothing about Dune whatsoever - even less than me, which you’d be hard-pressed to accomplish - but you’re a fan of survival games and MMO experiences, then you’ll have a great time with Dune: Awakening. It’s a fun, deep, and engaging game, and one that reminds me of the draw I feel with games likeValheim; albeit with fewer Vikings and more sand. As I progress, I’m sure I’ll only have more thoughts to share, and who knows? This could be the unexpected start of my love for a very sandy series.
