Game news The World of Warcraft of SF? After Dune 2, this cult saga expands its universe with the ambitious MMO Dune Awakening
Dune will experience an unprecedented revival of interest in 2024. The cinema release of Dune Part II shines the spotlight on this science fiction saga initiated in 1965 by novelist Frank Herbert. In addition to the film directed by Denis Villeneuve, a video game adaptation is also on the agenda. Funcom’s MMO Dune Awakening (Conan Exiles, The Secret World) has great ambitions, but can it claim the title of “SF World of Warcraft”? Here are the first elements of the answer.
Summary
- The Dune Chronicles
- Dune Survival
- The world of Dune
- The Messiah of Dune
- The Dune Cycles
The Dune Chronicles
“From the book to the film to the game”, this is Funcom’s approach to bringing the Dune universe to life on PC and latest generation home consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S). Dune Awakening is an integral part of the lore imagined by Frank Herbert in 1965, then reimagined in 2021 by Denis Villeneuve. Funcom’s MMO begins precisely eight years after the events of the film Dune Part II (2024) as the Holy War (or jihad) engulfs the entire universe.
Dune Awakening begins in orbit around the planet Arrakis. Captured by the Bene Gesserit (the famous feminine and matriarchal organization of political, spiritual and religious power), your avatar is doomed to mine the spice as a slave before his prison ship crashes in the desert. The only survivor on board, you wander the desert with the sole objective of surviving before becoming an essential cog in the history of Arrakis. Funcom’s MMO wants to expand the Dune universe and to do so relies on the novels as well as the two films. Several key characters are expected to appear although no names have been mentioned yet.
Dune Survival
Funcom defines Dune Awakening as an open-world survival MMO (massively multiplayer online video game), which could both intrigue and frighten fans of the franchise as well as players. It is rare to combine these three elements within the same experience, but this video game adaptation dares to think outside the box in a genre that struggles to emancipate itself from its own codes. The mere fact of attempting this type of off-piste in 2024 is to be welcomed as the risks taken are great.
Dune Awakening stands out from the competition with its unique universe, but not only that. Survival is at the heart of an experience that literally drops you into a hostile environment with the only glimmers of hope being your resourcefulness and your natural curiosity. This sci-fi title promises to merge the best of two worlds – survival games and MMOs – with a primary focus on exploration, creation and (social) interaction. Funcom displays its ambitions here. It remains to be seen whether this recipe, which is tempting on paper, will live up to the legend of Arrakis.
Water is an essential element for the survival of living beings, and this could not be more true than on the surface of a planet that spares nothing and no one. Thirst will be one of the most formidable enemies encountered on Arrakis, well before the Fremen and other players. Obtaining water conditions your ability to explore the star and build your legend. Sandstorms and sandworms are also formidable adversaries that must be respected and, above all, avoided or risk perishing.
The world of Dune
Arrakis is considered the most dangerous planet in the universe as written down by Frank Herbert. Hostile… this desert world certainly is, but it is also full of mysteries and wonders to discover. Visually speaking, Dune Awakening takes up the aesthetic of Denis Villeneuve’s films. Cinematographer Greig Fraser served as an advisor on Funcom’s MMO. It is therefore not surprising to find on Awakening the striking visuals of Dune (2021), which won an Oscar in 2022.
This video game adaptation puts all the chances on its side to appeal to fans of the saga, science fiction and/or massively multiplayer online games. The Dune Awakening experience is based on the performance of the Unreal Engine 5 which has nothing left to prove. The developers mainly focused on depth of field, lighting both outdoors and indoors and environmental achievement to create an unforgettable journey on Dune. This also helps break the visual fatigue possibly felt after several hours trudging through the desert.
However, the “Dune” star is not limited to stretches of fine sand. On the contrary, the environments promise to be “varied” with canyons, underground networks, laboratories where nature has reclaimed its rights and of course Sietch (living places of the Fremen people). The planet Arrakis is an invitation to exploration and intends to reward the curiosity of the most determined hoping that said secrets and other rewards are numerous and conducive to wonder.
The Messiah of Dune
As an MMO, Dune Awakening cannot decently miss the main mechanics inherent to the genre in which it fits. The creation of a character, their rise to power and their partial control over the persistent world that surrounds them are all fundamental principles serving as pillars of the experience imagined by Funcom. Whether it’s appearance, character traits or even unlocked skills… your avatar evolves naturally according to the missions completed and its feats of arms.
The actions undertaken on Arrakis or the alliances forged should have a direct (or indirect) impact on the destiny of your avatar. The latter can take part in the spice war which is igniting Arrakis, rise to the top of a faction (Harkonnen or “Atreides”) through political games or simply live his life on the sidelines of the historical events which take place under his control. eyes. Your character’s destiny is in your hands and those of no one else.
It is possible to become a soldier and an explorer (these are obvious on Arrakis), but also a spice harvester, an architect and so on. Dune Awakening is a “survival” MMO and therefore gives players the tools necessary to survive. The latter are encouraged to create their equipment, their weapons, their vehicles, but also their bases and other fortresses to protect themselves from the dangers that await them (sandstorms, sandworms, Fremen, etc.). However, if living conditions are “acceptable” in the North, it is different in the Southern Hemisphere
The Dune Cycles
On Arrakis, the factions wage a merciless war to control the production of spice so essential to the empire. If the clashes are “sporadic” and small-scale in the North, the deep desert located in the South is the scene of violent battles. This PvP zone (players against players) presents the richest deposits on the entire planet, which therefore arouse everyone’s desire. Harkonnen and “Atreides” must take possession or risk losing their hold on Arrakis.
The southern hemisphere is a unique place that suffers the wrath of the elements. Every week, the desert is reshaped by incessant sandstorms that destroy everything. Places of interest and the environment change radically, which has the effect of encouraging players to keep coming back to discover hidden places, harvest natural resources or simply boost spice production in order to dominate a market. ultra competitive.
To guarantee the security of installations, it is advisable to forge alliances and group together into guilds. This allows, among other things, to gather resources more quickly, build huge structures and resist attacks orchestrated by enemy groups. During the clashes, Dune Awakening takes on the appearance of a third-person action game involving dozens, even hundreds of belligerents both on the ground and in the air, on foot or in vehicles. Arrakis then turns into an open-air battlefield where destinies collide.
- Dune Awakening will be released on a date still unknown on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.