As a part of Dune Direct, Funcom concluded their presentation with the recent gameplay trailer. While the character design still feels slightly underdeveloped compared to recent progress, the game is still in early phases of testing, and I will be anticipating further previews of their abilities to express a range of emotions, and the character customization that has been recently confirmed.
The open world, however, looks magnificent and crafted to perfection, thanks to Unreal Engine 5’s recent release enabling a more promising future for open world design. The lighting is particularly impressive. Players are challenged to adventure across the sand dunes, avoid the gigantic, deadly sandworms (which also happen to be immortal, good luck killing that one!). Those beasts are not the only challenges: one must brace the scorching heat, partake in spy missions, combat, and engage with the technological advancements of Arrakis.
One of the most impressive features is the ability to collect supplies and resources to survive the open world of Arrakis, crafting items and upgrading your base to increase your survival rate. Base building within Dune: Awakening looks to be particularly promising due to being built upon the fundamentals of Conan Exiles, another impressive survival MMO. Crafting and collecting is one of the most vital components to an immersive and fulfilling gaming experience, as most video game completists will agree. Unfortunately, the multiplayer gameplay remains unknown, but this survival MMO has a lot to live up to, being one of the most ambitious projects Funcom has worked on.
While there is currently no release date announced for Dune: Awakening, making fans fear for another incident of Elder Scrolls 6, it has been previously announced to be available on PC, PS5 and Xbox X/S.
