(Photo : Funcom / Screenshot taken from Steam)
The survival game "Dune: Awakening" is based on Frank Herbert's sci-fi universe, and early reviews paint a picture of potential.
It seems like the game is authentic to recent Hollywood movies but also makes an effort to flesh out the Villeneuverse. The latter is done by adding new ideas that fans have not yet seen on screen or in the books.
Dune: Awakening Early Reviews
Funcom revealed last year that "Dune: Awakening" is set during an alternate history timeline of the "Dune" story. This is when protagonist Paul Atreides is not born and is where Lady Jessica has a daughter in his place.
What this means is that the game will not have a story that plays out like how fans remember it on the planet Arrakis. This also means that "Dune: Awakening" is sort of a "What If?" version that fans can take in as a new source of lore for the franchise.
The game's story has the Fremen all but wiped out, as well as the existence of a power vacuum on the desert planet. This all comes as it simultaneously gives Funcom the freedom to create something new inside this expansive universe, according to the Video Games Chronicle.
Read Also: Dune: Imperium's Digital Version Adds Rise of Ix Expansion This July
A Fresh Take on the Story
Game director Joel Bylos said that all of this was the result of one happy accident. He said that the reason they have an alternate timeline in "Dune: Awakening" is they originally planned to launch the game before the release of the second movie.
He added that Villeneuve had not fully developed the second movie Fremen when they started talking about the game's overall timeline. This meant that what they were allowed to do was add the Fremen in an update after the second film's release.
Game producer Nils Ryborg also said that it was the studio's point to make "Dune: Awakening" not feel like other survival titles currently available in the market. He noted that one of their design models was to make the game fit "Dune" and not "Dune" fit the game, PCGamer said.
Some players who were able to have a hands-on preview of "Dune: Awakening" said that it did not have the core formula that is featured in titles like "Valheim" and "Grounded." However, the game is still able to make itself stand out. All of these combine to make the game something that is worth playing, at least in our opinion.
Another neat feature in "Dune: Awakening" is its character creation, which gives players a lot of options for making their own unique characters stand out from the rest of the pack, according to Games Radar.
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