With the solar beating off your pores and skin, the enjoyable sound of the wind blowing the sand round, and a bunch of large sandworms seeking to ahead to consuming you for lunch – Arrakis is not your typical vacation vacation spot. Nonetheless, Dune Awakening is among the greatest survival video games of the 12 months, delivering an expertise worthy of Arrakis. If you have not performed Funcom’s wonderful tackle the traditional franchise, it is bought an enormous low cost over at Fanatical, and Dune Awakening is really value taking part in.
2025 has seen quite a lot of new additions to our checklist of the greatest PC video games from Expedition 33 to Doom: The Darkish Ages. We have been consuming good. Nevertheless, if I needed to say which of this 12 months’s high hits I spent essentially the most time with, it will be Dune Awakening – maybe it is my love of the Arrakeen warmth or the hazards that lie ready within the sands, but it surely’s a really immersive survival sport.
Set in another universe the place Paul Atreides was by no means born, and his father, Leto, survives the assault on his life, you will play as an secret agent of the Bene Gesserit who is distributed to Arrakis to find the Fremen. Whereas there’s an enticing narrative, one which will surely work as a Frank Herbert novel, it is primarily simply setting the stage in an effort to let lose within the sandworm-infested deserts.
Whereas the MMO facet of the sport has been closely marketed, I believe it’s way more strongly outlined by its survival parts. Beginning with out tools, with the 2 suns boiling your blood until you discover shade, you will slowly be taught extra in regards to the know-how of the sci-fi world, permitting you to traverse the harmful dunes and keep away from being a Sandworm’s dinner. Even in these temporary moments the place you’re feeling like you may put your ft up and calm down, you are by no means actually protected in Arrakis.

As a Dune fan, I actually admire the extent to which it permits you to immerse your self on the earth of the enduring franchise, treading new floor on acquainted territory whereas staying true to the supply materials. Nevertheless, suppose you are a newcomer in search of an thrilling survival sport to play – in that case, Dune Awakening remains to be appropriate for you, because it does an amazing job at introducing you to the stakes with out requiring an excessive amount of exposition.
If you happen to’ve been ready for the appropriate time to play considered one of my private favorites of this 12 months, Dune Awakening is simply $33.49 / £28.13 at Fanatical, dropping the sport to its lowest value ever, and providing you with a first-class ticket to Arrakis at a fraction of the value. Nevertheless, if you would like extra of the longer term content material, the Final Version is simply $67.49 / £56.24 through the sale. I am actually excited to see what occurs within the upcoming The Water Wars enlargement.
Contemplating Dune Awakening is partly MMO and must be on-line on a regular basis, you might need to give the greatest sandbox video games a glance when you’re after choices that you could play offline. Alternatively, you may at all times take a peek at our greatest single-player video games checklist for some solo enjoyable with out the concern of somebody killing you once you’re making a espresso.
Dune you need an amazing place to hang around with some like-minded gamers and chat about your adventures on Arrakis? Fortuitously, we’ve got the right house for you, with our PCGamesN Discord server, brimming with life, optimistic vibes, and no Sandworms.