All eyes are on the Dune franchise now, with the Timothée Chalamet-led Dune: Part Two finally releasing, and we got our first look at some gameplay for the upcoming Dune Awakening, a highly-anticipated survival MMO from the developers of Conan: Exiles which looks spectacular.
While we haven't got the chance to actually play the game yet, despite Funcom hosting a few beta tests for Dune Awakening since it was revealed, it looks absolutely stunning. It's certainly one of the best looking MMOs thus far, and pairing it with the best graphics cards and the best gaming monitors will definitely create a feast for the eyes.
You won't be playing as Paul in this game. Instead, your custom character will be attempting to survive the dangerous world of Arrakis, with a focus on finding water, creating a home as a safe space to live, and fighting (or raiding) enemies and players alike. And, of course, you'll have to try and avoid the native Sandworms, or Shai-Hulud, as they're officially called.
While the Sandworms are known to be devastatingly scary creatures, the Fremen are able to ride the large species, allowing them to travel at breakneck speeds across the vast deserts of Arrakis. Unfortunately, Dune Awakening will be missing out on this feature, meaning you can't go ahead and tame a Shai-Hulud. At least, not at launch.
Speaking to Eurogamer, the game's Creative Director, Joel Bylos, said that they looked into having rideable Sandworms as a feature, but "It's just a very strong technical cost". But, according to Eurogamer, Bylos didn't rule out the feature, stating that it wouldn't be available "at launch".
However, the enormous desert-dwelling Sandworms still play a huge part in Dune Awakening's world. In the first gameplay shown for the game, the Sandworms are prevalent throughout, as a constant threat to the player and their survival in Arrakis. In fact, when speaking to Eurogame, Bylos also stated that "You don't lose a lot of items unless you get eaten by a Sandworm. If you get eaten by a Sandworm, then you wake up naked - but if another person kills you, you drop, like, some resources and maybe some bullets that you're carrying."
It certainly seems like Sandworms are the main threat to avoid during your time on Arrakis. Unfortunately, Dune Awakening doesn't have a release date just yet, but we're certainly eager to experience the vast world of Arrakis for ourselves once it arrives.