Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
"Find the Fremen, wake the Sleeper". You probably don't remember that from either Frank Herbert's original Dune novels or Denis Villeneuve's films, but it's the starting impulse for this survival focused MMO, set in a timeline where Paul Atreides was never born.
Despite that seismic departure from canon, Awakening is an unabashed love letter to Herbert's world, both thematically and in its brilliantly authentic depiction of the planet Arrakis. The desperate hunt for even the tiniest droplets of water will leave you parched in reality, while the game's depiction of strange technology — from stillsuits to flittering ornithopters — and complex interplanetary politics between rival houses comes straight from the page. It captures the feel of the universe perfectly.
The slog is Awakening's only real issue — like Herbert's prose, the game occasionally flirts with the laborious, not helped by frequent shifts in focus.
As a custom character — your choice of home planet, background, and mentor affecting abilities and, later, how others interact with you — you'll be dropped into the unforgiving wastes and largely left to fend for yourself. Cue plenty of foraging, crafting, and hunting for spice, all while seeking clues to the whereabouts of the Fremen. The sun is appropriately deadly — you'll develop heatstroke if out of shade for too long — you’ll need to stay as hydrated as possible, and seek shelter from sandstorms. Darting between outcroppings of rock as you raid camps or seek resources, you'll also need to avoid the iconic sandworms, their emergence from the desert as thrilling as it is terrifying.
Combat is a mixed affair, though. While you can eventually craft some impressive weaponry, that attention to Dune lore means many enemies are equipped with Holtzmann shields, repelling ranged fire and quicker melee attacks. That turns many encounters into dances where you'll try to pierce those shields with slow attacks — authentic, yes, but also a bit of a slog.
That slog is Awakening's only real issue — like Herbert's prose, the game occasionally flirts with the laborious, not helped by frequent shifts in focus. The initial survival factor gives way to something closer to a dense RPG, then pivots again to a brutal player-vs-player experience in an ever-shifting "Deep Desert", battling for the glory of House Atreides or House Harkonnen. It often feels like three games in one, its elements not always blending together smoothly.
Despite that, there's a real satisfaction in taming a world that wants to leave you as little more than a desiccated husk, one made doubly appealing by being so immersed in Dune lore. Awakening makes you work for every victory, and if you can rise to the not inconsiderable challenge, it will get its Maker hooks in you and refuse to let go.