The Sands of Arrakis are not for the swoon of affection .
That message is repeatedly tell in the Dune novels andfilms . Everywhere you turn , something is trying to kill you or apply you as a instrument to further some agenda . During a recent beta forDune : Awakening , where I was able to play Funcom ’s forthcoming MMO for nine hour , that message was solidify . I went up against in - deepness survival mechanics as I explore the deserts of Arrakis , force me out of my consolation zone if I did n’t want to twist up worm intellectual nourishment . That tense gameplay makesDune : Awakeningan MMO to keep an eye on for when the summertime sunlight rolls around seed June 10 .
Exploring Arrakis
Dune : Awakeningtakes point in a “ What if ? ” universe . In this timeline , Paul is never born , which do a butterfly stroke event that leads to various new outcomes , such as House Atreides outlive the battle that took them off the card , a War of Assassins take over the planet , and much more .
Before being completely steep in the topsy-turvydom ofDune : Awakening , I found myself confront to look with the Reverend Mother as she explained that I was being transported to Arrakis ( against my wishes ) . This scene service as both a prologue to the world and the character creation carte . As she was talk to me , choice start to afford up , which allowed me to select various things about myself like what form of fighter I was , how I was play up , and more . Similar to theBaldur ’s Gate 3character creation process works , the options I plunk would affect how my type interact with the domain around him .
Once that was over and the opening move deed was completed , I was free to walk around Arrakis . What altogether surprise me was how much of a survival gameDune : Awakeningis . There ’s a lot to keep track of . One of the principal ace ? The sun . That makes perfect sense , as the sunwouldbe one of the mortal things on a barren major planet .
Funcom
To combat this , I was forced to do a few thing . The first was to avoid as much sunshine as possible . The other was to research and craft dress that limit the sun ’s harmful effects .
Once I finished that , I was collapse a leaning of task to do and detail to get to ensure I ’d survive as long as potential . This include common thing musician in the survival music genre have add up to anticipate , such as arm , chests , and a home base . The last is especially significant ( and not because I sleep together substructure building ) ; sirocco are a vulgar happening in - biz . Even though players will usually be notify well in procession when one is add up , if they materialise to be caught inside one , it ’s almost a guaranteed death sentence unless they find some tax shelter fast .
One thing selection games are known for is some type of food and hunger system . For example , Minecrafthas a thirstiness bar . When it attain zero , player begin to lose wellness and can die . HowDune : Awakeninghandles this is unequaled and true to the world . rather of observe cart track of food , I was tasked with maintain my hydration levels .
Funcom
piss can be obtained in a few dissimilar path . I was able to get it from various plants I found in the desert , but the catch was that it would only fill my hydration meter by about 25 % . I was forced to do something more sinister if I require to max out my hydration cadence : harvesting the lineage from my fallen enemies and take it to a machine to convert it into weewee I could drink . This auto was the only path I could get my hydration meter past the first bar . Doing that was indispensable because it mean that I could search more of the land without fear of exit from thirst .
Even though the combat here is n’t groundbreaking , it ’s still fun nonetheless as a third - person shooter with lots of extra pecker sprinkled in to stir things up . For my demo , I choose to play as a Mentant . These character reference hail from a group of exceedingly smart assassins . Some of their core abilities allow me to set a mounted Machine Gun on any airfoil and deploy a Shield Wall that would give me cover . Since the combat plays out in real - time , with bullets and blades coming my way , it often forced me to think on the tent-fly about how I wanted to use my ability and spend stage on the skill tree .
HowDune : Awakeningdeals with multiclassing feel very on - brand with the game ’s melodic theme . As I was going through a trading post , I ran into an onetime soldier , and he at once offered to train me . That allowed me to spend my skill point in a new class . To unlock this , I was task with killing some folks who had wronged him , and if I refused , I just would n’t be able to venture into a Modern physique . Oftentimes , this was the instance withDune : waking up : I wanted something valuable , it would often cost something in return .
The MMO ’s attack to its single-valued function is notable here , too . I quick noticed how small plot of Din Land were sprinkled all around the map . Oftentimes , these smudge could hold a lilliputian bit of everything you ’ll need , such as uncongenial NPC camps filled with loot , mining areas , and even miniskirt - dungeons . This makes exploring worthwhile , as I never knew what was on these plots until I arrived . More often than not , they held valuable resources that I could use to craft good items .
Most of the time , these plot of land of land were close to one another , and the quickest path was to cross the open sand . Doing this was n’t as straightforward as it seemed because every pace I made risked waking up the jumbo louse beneath me . Even though there was a metre that told me how much noise I was making , it did n’t help oneself my anxiousness stage . Like clockwork , the worm almost always appeared , and outrunning it was next to unsufferable . On the flip side , I was able to see the giant louse swallow me whole , and that in itself was something I enjoy watching . Outrunning the worm almost became a minigame all on its own . This was especially rightful once I learned how to make vehicle . Even though it made move around a lot faster , it would still waken up the worm if I expend too much fourth dimension kick the bucket for a pleasure ride .
All while this is happening , I was fed a floor of what ’s fall out in the humans around me . I was finally presented with an option to lick with both House Atreides and House Harkonnen . I was n’t necessarily locked into one House or the other . Like Mac from It ’s Always cheery in Philadelphia , I was play both side . This created a really engaging roleplay experience ; now I was a double agent in this War of Assassins , coming out on top no matter the outcome . Something that is deserving pointing out is that players will eventually get to a point where they ’re forced to fully wassail themselves to one House or the other .
The sentence I play withDune : Awakeningmade me more invested in the plot ’s final sacking . It has a batch going for it , but all of the chaos conflate into something that feel limited . The survival constituent keep me on my toes and forced me to mean more strategically every clock time I ventured out into the sandy abyss . I ca n’t wait to see what else is out there among the dunes .
sand dune : Awakeninglaunches on June 10 for PC .
