Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
“Find the Fremen, wake the Sleeper”. You probably don’t remember that from either Frank Herbert’s original Dune novels or Denis Villeneuve’s films, but it’s the starting impulse for this survival focused MMO, set in a timeline where Paul Atreides was never born.
Wait – didn’t we do this before? Yes, Dune: Awakening is back, and like Malibu Stacy in that one episode of The Simpsons, she has a new hat – or rather, a new, dedicated single-player mode, updating the survival MMO into more of a survival RPG.
A single-player mode was, by Funcom’s own admission, one of the most requested features right from the game’s debut, and credit is deserved for delivering on that.
It’s an interesting direction for developer Funcom to take, given its ambition for the original 2025 release was to create a world that presented the desperate struggles and ever-shifting political landscapes of Herbert’s distant future, all while player interactions, territorial raids, and battles shifted the balance of power in real time. Yet from the off, the game’s isolationist framing – particularly the early hours, roaming the deserts of Arrakis, scavenging materials and piecing together basic facilities and tools to aid survival, all while dodging predatory sandworms – felt like a solo experience, even once you reached more populated sections. A single-player mode was, by Funcom’s own admission, one of the most requested features right from the game’s debut, and credit is deserved for delivering on that.
The new single-player focus, which comes as the game finally launches on PS5 (version tested) and Xbox Series X|S, doesn’t wholly supplant the multiplayer version though – if you’ve been enjoying the game in its original form, or want to jump into that competitive online world now, that version still exists. The solo mode runs alongside it as an entirely separate instance (meaning you can’t take your player character, with all its progress, online), intended for those who want to experience this alternate universe slice of sci-fi without interference. It also introduces some welcome difficulty tiers – a more story-focused one for those who prefer not to spend all their gaming time hunting down dew drops to stave off dehydration, and a more challenging one for survival experts. There’s also the option to customise difficulty parameters to your liking.
Aspects of the game that were once driven by player activity are now virtualised, turning the Exchange marketplace into more conventional in-game shops, while Awakening’s version of the Landsraad – the political body representing Dune’s great houses – now simulates the machinations of rival powers. The 2026 update also streamlines a few things across the board, such as making powerful sandstorms a bit less destructive, making progress in the dangerous “Deep Desert” areas a touch less gruelling, while construction has slightly more forgiving resource requirements.
One of the most welcome improvements is to combat, especially melee. Parrying incoming blows now feels a lot more predictable, while the ability to dash past foes helps encounters feel less like a staid trading of blows as you try to pierce Holtzmann shields. It’s still not amazing – Onimusha has nothing to fear when it comes to precise, thrilling swordplay – and Awakening’s ranged weaponry still feels a bit ‘spray and pray’, but is a material improvement on 2025’s effort.
That said, many of the problems of the original version remain untouched. Even with quest markers, progress can feel a bit directionless, while the actual act of building bases – placing floors, walls, roofs, one panel at a time – can be incredibly tedious, especially early on. The UI remains cluttered too, despite some degree of overhaul for the update. It’s clearly still designed for a PC-first experience, making navigating basic functions on console confusing. Crafting in particular is often obscured by pop-up menu elements, which can lead you to craft the wrong item – producing a dozen basic helms when trying to produce ammo was a ‘fun’ way to both waste precious resources and instantly flood inventory. Hopefully, future updates will continue to improve matters here though.
Is the 2026 version of Dune: Awakening enough of an improvement to turn it into a bona fide must-play destined for gaming’s hall of fame? Probably not. But it is significantly more accessible for anyone who wants to conquer Arrakis on their own terms, while across the board quality of life improvements and refinements also benefit the multiplayer side. Ultimately, the main attraction remains the game’s zig-zagged timeline, packed with big, bold ideas that make this a mesmerising “what if?” – but if you’re not already a hardcore Dune fan, its charms may still flicker out of view like a desert mirage.
