Denis Villeneuve’smovie adaptations of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel,Dune,has become a cultural and commercial hit. That’s big for Team Hollywood, but I still have a hard time believing thatDunehas done more for movies than it has for video games — so long as you ignore the kerfuffle over whether itinfluencedStar Wars.
Even though theDunegamesare far from occupying our most vivid memories of the real-time strategy boom of the ’90s, the whole genre owes its existence to this series. Also, there’s more toDunegames than just RTS. Not all of the series’ forays into other genres generated success, but even its failures have stories worth telling. Let’s rank allDunegames out there.
7. Frank Herbert’s Dune (2001)
This was Cryo Interactive’s final game, a French studio that now solely exists in the memories of many as the creators ofaverage to not-very-good games.That’s an unfairly uncharitable description, but more on that later!
Even though it was not their best work, most knew Cryo for theAtlantisseries of adventure games — which they wrote off as boringMystripoffs. Whether the haters were right or not, even at their blandest, those games were at least playable.Frank Herbert’sDunewas not. Cryo developed it during its death knell and the game ended up coming out in a clearly unfinished state. The result is an attempt at a stealth-action game with political elements woven in that didn’t work on any level.
Frank Herbert’s Dunegot an expectedly poor reception from players and critics alike as a myriad of bugs prevented players from even getting to thejustmediocre parts.
It’s saddening that the worst possible adaptation is the one that puts the name of the poor guy who came up with the story right there in the title. If even David Lynch disowned his merely average adaptation ofDuneand credited it to Alan Smithee —a nonexistent guy Hollywood directors made up to pin their failures on— then imagine how much farther poor Frank Herbert would’ve tried to distance himself from this.
Luckily, over twenty years later, Funcom seems to behard at work on aDuneexperiencethat’ll revive the game series much like the movies just did.
6. Dune 2000 (not from 2000)
We might be living in the remake era right now, but remakes were already a thing whenDune 2000came out back in, ugh… 1998.
Dune 2000is the remake of a much better title that I’m not going to talk about here because that’d be just disrespectful.Dune 2000added those sweetC&C-style cutscenes with CGI backgrounds, but it simply failed to improve much upon a game that was just five years old at that point and also didn’t bring anything that new to the table. It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t feel that much better than its predecessor — nor as good as theCommand & Conquergames of its time.
5. Emperor: Battle For Dune (2001)
The good news for fans ofDune,back in 2001, was that Cryo’s unfinished game wasn’t the onlyDunegame to grace that year. Though probably too heavy on the average systems of the time for its looks,Emperor: Battle For Dunewas gorgeous nonetheless.
The first (and only) fully 3DDuneRTS still echoes in my mind, as I sometimes remember the first time I saw a massive sandworm showing up to destroy my army, just because it could.Battle For Dunewas a visual feast, though not all that innovative when it comes to gameplay, and that’s why it doesn’t get higher on this ranking.
4. Dune Wars (2009)
I find it hilarious that whoever holds the rights toDuneseems to always be either all too eager to sell the rights, or not at all.Dune Warscame about at a point when the fountain was seemingly dry, as it’s amod forCivilizationIVand not an actual licensedDuneproperty. Still, it’s too good to ignore. It’s also a unique title on this list because it’s not another RTS or political strategy sim, or inFrank Herbert’s Dune‘s case, an unplayable mess.
Give this turn-based foray into this universe a try if you want a new approach to a familiar thing done inside an already great game.
3. Dune: Spice Wars (2023)
IfDune Warsisn’t a spicy enough title for you, then perhaps you’ll likeDune: Spice Wars. To avoid confusion just for the sake of a great joke, I have to inform you that the two games are completely unrelated. This is an actual official release by Shiro Games that seems to accompany the 2021film, bringing theDunename back to its former glory.
It’s a 4X strategy game, which means that it gives players a mix of real-time and turn-based strategy mechanics that they can use to bring Arrakis to their feet. It also invites new great houses to the fold, looks great, plays great, and should get anyone hyped to see the future of the series under Funcom.
2. Dune (1992)
Hah, remember all the merciless clowning on that Cryo suffered throughout the years? It’s time for the studio to get its revenge, Atreides style. Way back in 1992, for DOS and the Amiga, Cryo made a political strategy adventure adaptation ofDunethat interwove the story of the book with some of the looks from the actual movie — and it was damn good.
Dunewas Cryo’s finest hour, not just for combining so many complex elements, but also because it featured one of the best soundtracks in the history of gaming. Yeah, much like David Lynch’s poorly received adaptation, the game also featured a banger of a soundtrack. Why am I talking about this? Because if that’s of any interest to you, the soundtrack of the originalDunegame has been remastered,and it’s just beautiful.
1. Dune II (1993)
Sadly for Cryo, even its finest hour wasn’t good enough to prevent the company’s greatest accomplishment from getting overshadowed by somethingevenbetter. In a move that history would later repeat, Cryo would end up having itsDunegame competing with adifferentDunegame.
Despite a title that indicates a continuation of both the themes and the mechanics of the original game,Dune IIwas anything but. Heck,Dune IIwasn’t even made by the same company asDune.It was helmed by Westwood, the studio that would later create the highly successfulCommand & Conquerseries, and you guessed it, this is where they wrote the blueprint that would dominate the gaming landscape for a while.
Though the old-time graphics might look off-putting nowadays, this game is still the stuff of legends.Dune IIwas not just a fresh concept by the time of release, but already a fully-fledged near-masterpiece all on its own. We’ve all been waiting for a newDuneRTS for too long now, and the task of dethroning this emperor is one that will still prove a hefty challenge.
