The reviewer’s early impressions of Dune Awakening are positive, highlighting engaging gameplay, solid mechanics, and promising potential for future updates, despite some basic combat and a less compelling story. They rate their experience 7.6/10, recommending it to survival crafting fans and Dune enthusiasts, with excitement for upcoming multiplayer and PvP content.
The video provides early impressions of the game Dune Awakening after less than two hours of gameplay in early access. The reviewer expresses overall enjoyment, highlighting the game’s engaging core loop of building, exploring, and resource gathering. Despite being in the early stages, they find themselves excited to progress further, which is a positive sign for the game’s potential. The game’s mechanics feel solid but not revolutionary, with the building and exploration aspects being the main draws at this point.
Regarding combat, the reviewer finds the melee system somewhat basic and average in the early game, hoping it will improve with future updates as more skills and weapons are unlocked. Gunplay is described as decent but not exceptional, with the science-fiction elements like shields and kinetic energy adding some coolness. They note that the game’s combat is typical for survival crafting titles, and support from the developers suggests it may evolve and become more engaging over time. The sandworms are also a feature, but they are currently not very deadly, which the reviewer hopes will change.
The game’s onboarding process is praised for its well-designed tutorial and gradual introduction of mechanics, which helps prevent overwhelm. The story setting is intriguing, presenting an alternate universe where key events diverged from the original Dune narrative. However, the reviewer finds the story less compelling, feeling it mostly serves as a backdrop rather than an engaging narrative focus. Instead, they are more interested in the gameplay aspects like scavenging, tech progression, and exploration, which seem to be the main motivators.
Performance-wise, the game runs smoothly on the reviewer’s high-end hardware, with settings maxed out and no technical issues encountered. They appreciate the game’s stability and the quality of the early access experience. While they acknowledge that the game is relatively easy so far, they expect difficulty to increase as they progress. They also mention the current PvE-only environment in the starting zone, expressing excitement about future PvP content and open-world chaos, which could add more depth and competition.
In conclusion, the reviewer sees Dune Awakening as a solid, above-average survival crafting game that is enjoyable despite not being groundbreaking. They plan to continue playing, especially with friends, to explore multiplayer and PvP aspects. Their overall impression is positive, especially given their initial skepticism, and they rate their early experience a 7.6 out of 10. They recommend the game to fans of the genre and Dune enthusiasts, emphasizing that it’s worth trying if you’re interested, while also noting the ongoing early access pricing model.