Dune: Awakening hits PS5 and Xbox on September 22 with a new single-player mode, as heise's review calls Arrakis beautiful but a bit empty
- Dune: Awakening arrives on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on September 22 (also in Game Pass), and the same update adds a proper single-player mode, continues the story, and reaches the existing Windows version.
- heise tested the PC build specifically to answer whether the game works for someone starting fresh in single-player, and its verdict in the title is: big, beautiful, and a bit empty.
- The game shipped as a multiplayer online title about a year ago, drew a good reception at first, then lost players once they finished the included half-campaign and hit the endgame.
- The desert carries the game: stepping out of a cave, water supply evaporating in the sun, a heatstroke meter climbing into threatening territory within seconds, and sandworms that interrupt harvesting and rumble constantly.
- Visuals borrow from Denis Villeneuve's Dune films down to the assets and the sun-bleached lack of color, while the plot runs in an alternate reality without Paul Atreides; conversations are mostly well-acted monologues from characters standing idly.