Summary
- Sandworms are iconic, but survival, not them, is the true antagonist in Dune: Awakening.
- Small player powerlessness and relentless forces are core design pillars in Dune: Awakening.
- The true essence of Dune lies in players never feeling safe in Dune: Awakening's Arrakis.
When Dune comes to mind, whether it's the mind of a fan or a casual passerby who simply saw a poster for the movie, it's likely to conjure images of the monstrous sandworm. That's because these creatures are famously the face of Frank Herbert's sci-fi universe, perhaps even more than Paul Atreides himself. For Funcom's Dune: Awakening, that has largely been true as well, as the enigmatic sandworm has occupied the pixels of the majority of the game's marketing. However, while sandworms are certainly a significant part of Dune: Awakening's world, they aren't necessarily the most Dune thing about the game.
As they traverse the open landscape of Dune: Awakening's Arrakis, players are likely to find themselves either greeted by the explosive emergence of a nearby sandworm or attempting to outrun them — which is almost never successful. To be fair, they are one of the most terrifying elements of Dune: Awakening's gameplay, but the aspect of the game that is most reflective of its namesake is much broader than the creatures that lurk beneath the sand. Rather, Dune: Awakening's most authentic feature is how small it makes the player feel in its relentless and unforgiving Arrakis.
Dune: Awakening Review
Dune: Awakening thrives in atmosphere, worldbuilding, and survival depth, even if its combat and grind somewhat drag behind its setting and systems.
Dune: Awakening's Most Authentic Feature Is Arrakis Itself
Survival as the True Antagonist
While Dune: Awakening's marketing leans heavily on the cinematic appeal of sandworms, the real threat is far less theatrical and unspoken. Even when players are nowhere near a sandworm in Dune: Awakening's Arrakis, they are still faced with the ultimate goal of survival, which is arguably an even greater threat and stronger antagonist than the sandworms themselves. Sure, Dune: Awakening's sandworms factor into that survival, but it's still possible to avoid them altogether and still be faced with death that quickly approaches from multiple angles.
Dune: Awakening's most authentic feature is how small it makes the player feel in its relentless and unforgiving Arrakis.
Dune: Awakening may not feature traditional survival mechanics, but those it has implemented are true to the world of Dune and are no less forgiving. These systems are constantly working against the player, turning exploration, harvesting, even standing still into a massive risk. Dehydration, Sunstroke, resource scarcity, and time are persistent forces that ensure players are rarely in full control of their fate. Survival itself becomes the enemy, then, reinforcing the idea that Arrakis is not meant to be overcome but simply endured.
Powerlessness as a Core Design Pillar
Beyond the desert's tactics is a core design pillar of both Dune and Dune: Awakening, where those who populate Arrakis are made to feel small as every force relentlessly moves against them. Dune has always been about forces that are larger than any one person, and Dune: Awakening makes players (and every NPC, for that matter) exist within that structure.
Most notably, players have no narrative importance to fall back on. They are not a chosen one or a hero, but just another warm body trying to live another day. Dune: Awakening's many features and systems are designed to make players feel exposed and insignificant, with unavoidable risk designed to be a major consideration of every choice. That constant sense of vulnerability is what ties the experience so closely to the soul of Dune, thereby increasing its worth as an extension of the beloved IP.
In other words, yes, players are strongly encouraged to stay off the open sand when traversing Dune: Awakening's Arrakis, as the sandworms that lurk below have no prejudices. However, even more than that is the desert itself and the way Dune: Awakening has been designed to ensure players never feel safe. In the end, that is what makes it feel like Dune.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Survival, MMO
