Summary
Games in the same genre, likeDune: AwakeningandStarfield, often include similar elements, so it isn’t too surprising to see that the former will be using a feature from the latter. AlthoughDune: Awakeningmay be borrowing an element fromStarfield, it will likely be a very different overall experience.Duneis more of an open-world survival game that allows for large numbers of playersto play online together. This is a pretty big departure fromStarfield’s single-player experience.
Dune: Awakeningdrops playersonto the hostile planet of Arrakis, where the events of theDunenovels largely take place. Players are tasked with evading sandworms, deserters, and unfriendly players to try and survive. One useful tool from theDuneseries will be present to help players, and the game hastaken some inspiration fromStarfieldfor how it is handling its inclusion.
Dune: Awakening Makes One Change From The Book & Movies With Major Implications
Dune: Awakening will have an alternate history, creating major departures from the original books and movie adaptations.
Dune: Awakening Features Custom Ship Building
Players Can Build Their Own Ornithopter
The safest mode of transport through the sands of Arrakis is an Ornithopter, a flying vehicle that resembles a large mechanical dragonfly. Once players have progressed far enough in the game, they will be able to build their own Ornithopters to explore the planet safely and more quickly. Like the ships inStarfield, players will have some options forcreating their own customized Ornithopters.
Though the gameplay reveal shared byFuncomon YouTube doesn’t go too in-depth with how much players will be able to customize their Ornithopters, it does give some hints. The teaser shows the Ornithopter building process where the demonstrator is putting together their vehicle piece by piece. It is safe to assume that players will have some options for what pieces to use when building their unique ship. This ties into some of what was presented at theDune: Awakeningeventthat happened in March.
A quick shot near the beginning of the video also shows what appears to be a double-wide Ornithoper, which seems to have the ability to drop bombs. This would suggest that there area few variants of the vehicle that players will be able to build. Another shot shows two characters sharing an Ornithopter, so players will likely be able to travel Arrakis together in a single vehicle.
Dune: Awakening Also Lets Players Build Bases
Bases Can Be Used To Create Safe Spaces On Arrakis
Ornithopters aren’t the only thing that players will be able to build inDune: Awakening.The gameplay reveal also showed off the game’s base-building mechanics. It showed several players working together to turn a rock outcropping into their own base of operations. It was on thisbase’s landing pad where players were seen building an Ornithopter. The game will likely require that an Ornithopter is landed somewhere safe like this so as not to risk attracting a sandworm.
Allowing players to explore Arrakis and build their bases raises an interesting question about the game’s story. The nativeFremen seem suspiciously absent from the gameplay reveal, and it has been said that finding them is part of the game’s story. However, it’s hard to believe the Fremen, as depicted inDune,would be so accommodating of players colonizing their lands the way they are shown to be in the preview material. This isn’t the only big change from theDuneseries that makesDune: Awakeninglook a little disappointing for a fan of the novels.
Disappointingly, Dune’s Combat Is As Standard As Starfield’s
Dune: Awakening Abandons Elements That Made The Novels’ Combat Unique
One less exciting elementDune: Awakeningshares withStarfieldseems to be largely conventional combat. That wasn’t a big deal inStarfield, as it wasn’t really sold as having any sort of revolutionary combat system. TheDuneseries, however,typically has a very unique take on combat.
In the novels and film adaptations, characters have to be careful about what weapons they are using in a given circumstance. Shields protect them from typical projectile weapons, making normal guns useless much of the time. However, if a lasgun hits a shield, it creates a massive explosion comparable to a nuclear blast. This results in much of the combat having to be fought with melee weapons, and characters have to use special techniques to slip a sword through a shield.
Unfortunately,Dune: Awakeningseems to have forsakenDune’s unique take on fightingfor a more generic third-person shooting style. There are shields and swords present in the game, but it seems like shields aren’t quite as effective as they should be. Lasguns also don’t interact with shields the way they should, removing a major piece of tension that could have madeDune: Awakening’s combat one of the most unique systems in gaming.
