Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two once again showed the only thing more brutal than Harkonnens is Arrakis itself. Surviving that harsh desert planet is challenging enough for natives, let alone outsiders. That is, it’s hard if you actually step foot on the Fremen home world. Fortunately you’ll soon be able to travel to the land of sandworms and spice without needing to strap on a stillsuit. Funcom is bringing the iconic planet to you with its upcoming open-world MMO Dune: Awakening, and the game’s first Direct event showed fans just how immersive this version of Arrakis will be in a new trailer.
With a whole lot of natives heading to theaters on this planet to see Dune: Part Two, Funcom capitalized on the film’s release with a display of what gamers can expect from Dune: Awakening. Soe Gschwind hosted the first episode of the game’s new online Direct series. It included insight from the creative team, all-new game footage, and a trailer. It also offered insight into game mechanics and features. (Including how a weekly coriolis storm will completely reform the game’s terrain!) And it also showed a featurette that explained how the game takes inspiration from both Herbert’s book series and Villeneuve’s films.
While players will be eager to hear about character and weapons creation, as well as different game play options, long time fans will be most excited to see yet another interpretation of Frank Herbert’s world come to life. Every image and clip from the game looks absolutely beautiful. Even the sandworms look majestic. Majestic and terrifying, yes, but still majestic.
Of course, Arrakis might be beautiful to look at, but it’s not an easy place to survive. That will still be true in the game, where players—whether working together or against one another—will test their mettle. Here’s the official synopsis from Funcom for Dune: Awakening to bring the game trailer into focus:
Rise from survival to dominance on the most dangerous planet in the universe. Dune: Awakening combines the grit and creativity of sandbox survival games with the social interactivity of a large, persistent multiplayer game to create a unique and ambitious Open World Survival MMO.
Eager Dune fans can sign up for the game’s beta test, but Awakening still does not have a release date. Funcom says it’s not rushing it out until it’s ready. We’re bummed we have to wait, too. But we cna always use this extra time to store up on water. Not because we’ll run out of it on Earth, but because we might not want to get up while playing.
