Dune: Awakening Console Release Review – A Better Way to Experience Arrakis

I've always been a big fan of the Dune universe, so the idea of being able to explore Arrakis myself was something I was really looking forward to with Dune: Awakening.

But when the game originally launched on PC, it wasn't quite the Dune experience I was looking for.

Dune: Awakening was built around a multiplayer survival experience, and while that worked well for a lot of players, I wanted something more personal. I wanted to explore Arrakis, build my own base, follow the story and take my time without feeling like I had to participate in the MMO side of things.

Now, more than a year after its PC release, Dune: Awakening is finally coming to consoles, and Funcom is bringing something that could completely change how the game is experienced: a full single-player mode.

The PS5 release also comes with a huge list of improvements and new features, including scalable difficulty, optional PvP, a rebuilt endgame, the conclusion of Book One's story, and a UI and control scheme designed specifically for consoles.

After spending time on Arrakis, I think this is the version of Dune: Awakening that makes the most sense for players like me.

It's still far from perfect, but being able to experience this world at your own pace makes a huge difference.

Finally, a Proper Single-Player Experience

The biggest addition to Dune: Awakening is obviously the new single-player mode.

And honestly, this is what makes the console version so interesting.

You can now experience the entire game on your own, including its story, exploration, crafting, building and progression.

You're not required to play alongside other players, and you don't have to worry about PvP getting in the way of your exploration.

For me, this makes Arrakis feel much more personal.

Instead of constantly thinking about what other players are doing, I can simply explore.

I can stop and look around, spend time building my base, collect resources, follow the story or just wander through the desert.

That's exactly how I wanted to experience Dune: Awakening from the beginning.

The single-player mode also comes with a lot of customization.

You can adjust different aspects of the survival experience, including how quickly you gather resources, and even change certain difficulty settings. You can make the game more challenging if you want the full survival experience, or make things easier if you'd rather focus on exploration and the story.

It's a simple addition, but it gives players much more freedom.

Arrakis Is Beautiful

If there's one thing Dune: Awakening gets absolutely right, it's Arrakis.

The desert is massive, and there are plenty of moments where I simply wanted to stop moving and take in the view.

The huge sand dunes, storms, rocky areas, caves and abandoned structures make the world feel much more alive than I expected from a survival game.

And then there are the sandworms.

There's still something terrifying about travelling across the sand and realizing that a giant worm could appear underneath you at any moment.

The game does a great job of making Arrakis feel dangerous without constantly throwing enemies at you.

You're always thinking about water, heat, resources and where you're going next.

As you become more familiar with the planet, though, that fear slowly turns into confidence.

You learn how to survive.

And that progression is one of the best parts of Dune: Awakening.

Building Your Own Home

Building and crafting play a huge role in Dune: Awakening, and I enjoyed watching my character slowly become more capable.

You start with very little, but eventually you can create a proper base, improve your equipment and unlock new technologies.

There's something satisfying about returning to your base after exploring the desert and seeing how much you've built compared to where you started.

The problem is that the game can sometimes ask for too much.

Resource gathering becomes repetitive, especially when you're trying to unlock several upgrades at once.

There were moments where I wanted to continue with the story or explore a new area, but I had to stop and collect materials for another upgrade.

Thankfully, the new single-player customization helps with this.

If gathering resources for hours isn't your idea of fun, you can adjust the experience to make progression less demanding.

The Story Is More Important Than You Might Think

Dune: Awakening isn't just about surviving in the desert.

There's a proper story here, and the game's alternate version of the Dune universe gives Funcom plenty of room to do its own thing.

Paul Atreides was never born in this timeline, which changes many of the events we're familiar with while still allowing the game to use the characters, factions and ideas that make Dune so interesting.

I enjoyed seeing how the game plays with the Dune universe rather than simply trying to recreate the movies.

The console release also includes the final chapter of Book One, meaning new players can experience the complete first part of the story.

And surprisingly, the story works quite well with the survival gameplay.

It gives you a reason to keep exploring instead of simply collecting resources and building a bigger base.

Playing on PS5

The PS5 version has also received changes specifically for console players.

The interface and controls have been redesigned around a controller, which is important considering how many systems Dune: Awakening has.

You have inventory management, crafting, abilities, equipment, maps and plenty of other menus to deal with.

Thankfully, the controls don't feel like a PC game awkwardly squeezed onto a controller.

The PS5 version also offers a Performance Mode targeting 60 FPS, alongside a Quality Mode focused more on visual quality.

I personally prefer playing in Performance Mode.

Dune: Awakening involves a lot of movement and exploration, so the smoother experience suits the game much better.

And considering how large the world is, the game still looks very impressive.

PvP Is Finally Optional

Another important change is that PvP is no longer something you have to worry about if you don't want it.

Funcom has made PvP optional across the game, including the Deep Desert.

This is particularly important for the new single-player experience.

If you're someone who simply wants to explore Arrakis and experience the story, you can do exactly that.

If you enjoy PvP, it's still there.

I like having the choice.

Combat Needs More Work

Unfortunately, combat is still one of my biggest problems with Dune: Awakening.

It isn't bad, but it doesn't feel nearly as polished as the world around it.

There are different weapons, abilities and ways to approach enemies, but the combat rarely becomes the highlight of the experience.

I'd often find myself more excited about exploring a new area or discovering something in the world than actually getting into another fight.

Considering how good the rest of the game looks and feels, I think the combat could have been much deeper.

It's functional, but it doesn't have the same impact as the exploration or survival systems.

The Grind Is Still Here

The other problem is the grind.

Dune: Awakening is a survival game, so collecting resources is obviously part of the experience.

But there are times when it feels like the game is stretching the progression a little too much.

You'll find yourself looking for specific materials, crafting something, needing another material, travelling somewhere else, and then repeating the process.

For players who love survival games, this probably won't be a major issue.

For me, it occasionally interrupted the fun.

The good thing is that the new customization options give solo players more control over this experience, which makes the grind easier to manage.

A Bigger Endgame

Funcom has also made changes to the endgame for the console release.

The endgame loop has been rebuilt, while the Landsraad and other systems have received changes.

This is important because Dune: Awakening is designed to be a game you can spend a lot of time with.

There's a lot more content here than there was when the game first launched on PC, with more than a year of updates being included in the console version from day one.

It's still the kind of game that can become repetitive if you're not into the survival grind, but there's plenty here to keep you busy.

Final Verdict

Dune: Awakening is a game that took me a little while to fully appreciate.

At first, I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy its survival and MMO elements. But the more time I spent on Arrakis, the more I started enjoying the freedom the game gives you.

And the new single-player mode makes that experience much better.

This is the biggest reason I think the PS5 release is worth talking about.

Funcom hasn't simply taken the PC version and put it on consoles. The console launch comes with a full single-player experience, new customization options, optional PvP, an updated endgame, the conclusion of Book One and controls designed specifically for consoles.

For someone who wants to experience Dune without committing to the multiplayer side of the game, this is a much more appealing package.

I still have problems with it.

The combat needs more depth, the grind can become tiring, and some of the systems can feel overwhelming.

But when Dune: Awakening gets it right, it really gets it right.

Walking across the enormous deserts of Arrakis, seeing a sandworm in the distance, flying across the planet in an ornithopter and slowly building your own place in this world can be incredibly satisfying.

The PS5 release doesn't completely fix everything, but it gives players more freedom to experience Dune: Awakening the way they want.

And for me, that's exactly what the game needed.

Game score: 7.5/10

Reviewed by: Ruba Jaiousy

Reviewed On: PS5