We thought we'd been spoiled yesterday with a five-minute look at the frankly stunning Dune: Awakening, a survival MMO headed for PS5 in 2025. Imagine our surprise to find 25 minutes of developer-led gameplay, fresh from Gamescom, awaiting us today.
In the presentation, we see the early-game experience, a tutorial jaunt before being dumped into the harsh deserts of Arrakis. Developer Funcom brings its free-form climbing system over from Conan Exiles, which has received some exciting upgrades thanks to the sci-fi setting. Traversal looks emergent and fluid, with jump packs, grappling hooks on offer, and the more esoteric suspensor belts.
To survive, players must manage heat and sunstroke and harvest water from plants and fallen foes. At its core, the game is a third-person shooter with melee and special abilities, a trinity that the developers call "combined arms."