The Dual Nature of Awakening’s World

I stumbled onto this game, Dune: Awakening—like, out of nowhere, really. Anyway, the whole idea is that it’s this new twist on Dune. You know the iconic sand, spice, and all that? Yeah, they’re trying to capture that vibe. I think they might actually be onto something, but let me ramble about it for a sec.

So you dive in, and bam! It’s like you’re smack-dab in the middle of Arrakis. The harsh desert, just like Herbert’s brainchild and those shiny Villeneuve movies. But here’s the twist: it’s not for everyone. I mean, it’s sand, heat, rock, repeat—zero fluctuating scenery. Kind of like having oatmeal every day. With survival games, we usually get a splash of this, a pinch of that. Forests, lakes, and…wait, I lost my train of thought. Right, variety. This one’s stuck with desert as far as the eye can wander.

I can’t stop thinking about the Fremen, hiding in caves with sandworms looming—ahem, nightmares, anyone? Yeah, the game nails that. Funcom’s made Arrakis this wild beast of a place: sun that’s basically an interrogation lamp, outcrops that scream “jump on me,” and those hurricane-like sandstorms. Sounds like a cheerful getaway. There are some settlements, but blanketed in infinite desert. It really sticks with the lore, but as I was saying, not everyone’s cup of (spice) tea.

Speaking of the landscape being the main gig, it’s meticulously detailed. But because Funcom sticks to the story so thoroughly, they didn’t just randomly throw in, I dunno, snowy peaks or lush meadows. Imagine sand dunes one day, and a ski resort the next. Yeah, no. Staying pure to Dune means it could get old fast. But hey, maybe throwing in some desert mirages could spice—ha!—things up. I mean, would taking players beyond Arrakis ruin the story now? Probably, who knows.

End of the day, it’s this massive open-world that’s both breathtaking and somewhat singular. Like, remember that time you felt torn between two kinds of ice cream, but could only choose one? Sort of like that. It needs to keep folks involved, or players might mentally check out. But if you love the original Dune feeling—boy, are you in for a treat.