Dune Awakening Gamescom Q&A – Funcom Talks Endgame, Post-Launch Updates and More

Gamescom 2024 was a crucial step for Dune Awakening. Funcom finally shared the early 2025 release window (for PC, with consoles to come later) and showed off the first solid chunk of gameplay in a presentation posted on YouTube.

The developer also allowed the press to get their hands on the game for the first time, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity, having been waiting for Dune Awakening since its announcement.

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The first impact was harsh in the sense that Arrakis showed its teeth right away. The demo didn't have a tutorial, so we were basically dropped into the desert without much guidance. Even so, it didn't take long to figure out that the player character doesn't last long without water. Initially, you need to extract water from plants, although that only works up to a point. You also have to be mindful of not staying too long in the sun, lest you gain a rebuff called sunstroke, which accelerates the rate at which your water level depletes.

As with any survival game, harvesting is very important in Dune Awakening, too. To spice things up, Funcom has added a sort of mini-game to cutting metals. The cutter analyzes a structure to find its weak points, and you'll then have to aim the cutter accordingly to get the best mining efficiency.

It wasn't long until I stumbled into an NPC outpost. At this point, the developer who was overseeing demo stations 'cheated' to unlock certain skills on our characters, such as the Shigawire grappling hook and the suspension belt. Between this and the freeform climbing, it is possible to approach an enemy base from various angles.

Combat felt pretty good, although there is room for improvement in the next few months. Graphically, I was expecting a bit more from the game. While Lumen's lighting prowess was on full display, the sharpness wasn't great. However, I quickly learned from the graphics settings that the