Dune: Awakening gameplay footage shows off traversal, systems, and the intro from the upcoming survival MMORPG
Developer Funcom dropped the most substantial update yet regarding Dune: Awakening, its Survival MMORPG based on the classic sci-fi novel series by Frank Herbert. The new showcase detailed a player's early-game experience, showing off the general gameplay loop and survival mechanics.
Dune: Awakening Extended Gameplay Footage
Narrated by Dune: Awakening Creative Director Joel Bylos, the video runs for almost thirty minutes, with footage taken from a beta build of the game. As detailed in a June 2024 trailer, the game takes place in an alternate timeline where Dune protagonist Paul Atreides was never born, leading to a War of Assassins that causes the planet of Arrakis - the titular Dune - to become a lawless battlefield divided between a multitude of factions competing to advance their own interests and secure the spice melange. As they pursue the main story, they'll also be able to swear allegiance to one of the major factions, such as the Harkonnens or the Atreides.
The trailer shows off charaacter creation and customization, and transitions to a scene of that character undergoing the Bene Gesserit test of the Gom Jabbar. Stranded in the desert, the player will be given a linear introduction to the game's systems. Desert survival will require players to avoid operating in the open sunlight to minimize their water loss and avoid the debuffs associated with heatstroke. They'll also need to move between sheltered areas to avoid excessive exposure to spice in the atmosphere, and avoid staying on the sand for too long, lest they attract an angry sandworm. They can also salvage resources and technology from the environment, and even take water from their enemies' blood.
Shifting characters, Bylos showed off combat and traversal, using a shigawire grappling hook and a gravity-defying suspensor belt to jump long distances. Combat combines melee, ranged, and ability-based gameplay, with melee taking particular importance in circumstances where enemies can wear personal shields that negate most ranged weapons. Players can also use Mentat powers, which are expressed in game in the form of increased information, like being able to see an enemy's equipment and skills or locate them through walls.
As in Funcom's other online survival game, Conan Exiles, players can build their own structures and bases in places on the map. A blueprint system allows players to save copies of their bases, as well as sell them to other players. Bases can host crafting machines and item and resource storage. Players can cooperate to build large-scale structures and assemble things like massive vehicles, including flying ornithopters, tanks, sand bikes, and more. Groups of players can also cooperate to raid dungeon-like Imperial Testing Stations, and compete over irregular resource drops and spice harvests, with the game supporting PVP and attacks from NPC factions like the Imperial Sardaukar.
Dune: Awakening is slated for release on PC in early 2025, with an Xbox and PlayStation console release some time afterward.
