By Dune Awakening got off to a strong start at launch with over 189k peak players.
But the player numbers started to decline every month, hitting an all-time low at around 5k average players.
Players complained about the forced PVP and the shallow endgame activities. Some gave up on the game while others took a break in hopes of returning at a later time.
Many months have passed since those troubled launch days and a few big updates have also been released for the game.
So, now those players are wondering whether Dune Awakening is worth playing right now. It’s a bit complicated to give a direct answer to that question.
Let me put it this way. Dune Awakening is perfect for players who are fans of the Dune universe and those who enjoy playing MMOs solo. For others, this game is still not ready yet.
I’ll explain everything.
What Is Dune Awakening?
Dune Awakening is a survival RPG that’s also classified as an MMO. It features many MMO-esque features and mechanics, as well as RPG skills and leveling systems.
What makes Dune Awakening special is its massive open world map that features a huge desert, inspired by the Dune universe.
Dune Awakening is fantastic for fans of the Dune books and movies. But it’s not mandatory to be a fan to play this game. Dune Awakening features a story campaign that’s inspired by the latest Dune movie.
In Dune Awakening, you explore a story in a sort of alternate timeline where the events of the movie took a different turn. I can’t go into much detail without spoiling the movies or the game, so I’ll stop there.
Stunning Desert & Visuals
The graphics of this game are absolutely stunning. Even though I have a low to mid-range PC with an RTX 4060 and i5 processor, I was able to run the game at max graphics settings with DLSS, averaging 90fps. And it looks gorgeous.
The desert looks incredible with massive rocky formations, dust storms, caves, and structures. The map is divided into different regions that you get to explore as you level up your character.
Each region features unique aesthetics and characteristics that create a diversified experience across the map, which is something very difficult to achieve on a map that has nothing but a desert full of sand.
Sometimes I drive around the map farming materials and doing nothing, just to explore and discover new areas. Each time I come back feeling rewarded as the game rewards exploration quite well.
Combat, Skill Trees, And Gameplay
Dune Awakening lets you choose from five different skill trees according to your playstyle.
When creating the character, you can choose one skill tree, and then you can gradually unlock others as you play the game.
These skill trees define how you want to play the game. There are skill trees specializing in melee weapons, guns, mind control, survivability, and resource gathering. It’s up to you to choose which area you want to master.
Combat in Dune Awakening is decent, but there’s plenty of room to improve. Melee combat especially needs a lot more work. Right now, it’s limited to just a few moves that you repeat in each encounter.
There are different guns in the game, but they also feel a bit too basic, where you just point and shoot. When comparing with other MMOs that feature tap-target combat and repetitive combat moves, there’s nothing to complain about.
Considering how the game feels in terms of exploration, base building, survival mechanics, and the satisfying resource gathering systems, it was easy to forgive the lack of engaging combat.
We also have to mention the Shai-Hulud, the giant sandworm that eats you up. When traveling the desert, you always have to keep an eye on the noise you make.
If you stay in the middle of the desert for too long, the Shai-Hulud pops up and eats you alive. And then you’ll lose everything you have in your inventory. But man, was it a sight to see!
Core Gameplay Loop
Dune Awakening features a lengthy campaign that will easily take you around 50 to 100 hours to complete, depending on your pacing. This campaign and the side missions take you across the map and introduce you to the basics as well as the endgame content, which takes place in the deep desert.
From the beginning, the core gameplay loop is all about grinding for resources to build your base, level up your gear, and to master the deep desert.
That’s actually easier said than done because the grind to level up your gear through six different tiers is brutally painful. At one point, I stopped playing the game out of frustration and questioned my life.
Then I returned to the game after realizing that I didn’t need to chase after these gear levels as long as I focus on the activities that I enjoy doing.
You only have to struggle until you get your first Ornithopter. After that, the game opens up in a huge way, and exploration becomes even more fun.
Endgame Just Got an Update
With the Chapter 3 update, the developers introduced some massive and good changes to the game.
The endgame now has more meaningful activities, including specializations to grind for. Having to pay taxes for bases was also removed from the game.
Additionally, new locations, faction ranks, new challenge locations, new weapons, and a lot more were introduced to Dune Awakening.
The good news is that the developers are listening to player feedback and making important changes to make the game better. And more updates are on the way.
Room To Improve
Dune Awakening still needs a long way to go before being perfect. Especially the grind and the repair system needs to be balanced to offer a more satisfying gameplay experience.
There are way too many tools you need to craft for different activities in the game. For example, you need one tool to repair vehicles, another to store vehicles, another to store bases, another to build the base, another to farm resources, another to farm water, another to farm blood, and the list goes on.
There’s not enough space in the inventory to carry all these tools and weapons at once. I often keep them at the base and it forces me to go on multiple loot runs to farm different resources.
Combining all these tools into a couple of multi-tools is absolutely necessary. And the grind to craft gear and stations needs to be reduced. These things almost made me quit the game.
Is Dune Awakening Worth Buying?
Having said all that, I would still recommend Dune Awakening.
I’m not even a huge fan of the Dune universe. Having only watched the recent movies, I was intrigued by the world of Dune and wanted to try the game. And I loved it.
If the developers continue to listen to players and deliver great updates, this game has the potential to be an amazing MMO.
Right now, you could easily get at least 100 hours of gameplay value from this game. Even if you decide to quit, it’ll be worth the price.
For solo players, this game is like heaven. Mostly because the servers are often empty. But some dungeons are brutally hard and not made for solo players. Keep that in mind when you’re venturing down the deep desert.
