Dune Awakening PS5 review: Survival on Arrakis

Your base is where that progress starts to come together. It gives you a place to store supplies and turn raw materials into useful equipment, so expanding it is part of preparing for the next expedition rather than a distraction from the game. I also found building fairly easy to manage with the DualSense controller; placing and adjusting structures is less fiddly than I thought – unlike other survival games on consoles. And when a new sandbike or traversal tool lets you reach a distant area, you have a clear sense of what all that gathering was for.

Better gear does not make Arrakis safe, of course. It just gives you more ways to deal with what is out there, including the people trying to kill you. Combat has its moments, particularly when shields force you into close-range knife fights that suit Dune’s “slow blade” rule. But ranged combat is uninspiring and enemies do not always put up a challenging fight here – it’s probably one of Awakening’s weakest points. That undercuts the danger the game works so hard to establish elsewhere. Some of the main quests also slow things down, especially the Fremen trials, which unlock useful abilities but must be tackled in sequence. I found that frustrating when the game had already encouraged me to explore freely.

The new single-player mode is arguably the game’s highlight and allows players to discover the game at a more comfortable pace. You can adjust the difficulty and survival settings though, and then take your time with the story. That flexibility matters because every excursion involves weighing what to bring against how far you can safely travel. You need enough water and the right equipment to deal with the heat and whatever you find along the way, while deciding when it is worth pushing further and when to turn back. Playing alone does make Arrakis feel lonelier, and you cannot move a character between the single-player and multiplayer modes, but being able to shape the experience around your own pace is a welcome option.

On the PlayStation 5 Pro, Performance mode targets 60 frames per second, and I preferred the smoother response when moving across the desert or fighting enemies – Quality mode tone it down to 30 frames. Arrakis can look striking when the dunes stretch out in front of you, though the visuals are less consistent up close. The interface is a mixed bag, too. Building a base is straightforward, but finding objectives and the right inventory or crafting options can mean digging through several menus. That gets in the way because these are things you need to check regularly: what supplies you have, what you can make, and where you are meant to go next. When I had to stop and search through tabs for that information, it pulled me out of the expedition

Final thoughts

Dune: Awakening is at its best when its survival systems start changing how you approach Arrakis. A water purifier means you can stay out longer; better weapons let you tackle places that once felt too dangerous; and a vehicle turns a dangerous trip into a less tense expedition. That gives the familiar cycle of gathering, crafting and upgrading a purpose. It is less satisfying when combat feels flat or a drawn-out quest interrupts the urge to explore, and not every stretch of the game makes the wait for the next upgrade worthwhile.

That said, the single-player mode makes that progression easier to settle into. You can adjust the survival settings and take the story at your own pace, although Arrakis can feel awfully quiet without other players around. I still found enough here to keep me interested, especially when a new piece of equipment opened up more of the world. Dune: Awakening asks for patience, and it does not always pay that patience back evenly. But if you enjoy survival games or want to spend more time in Herbert’s universe, there is a satisfying journey here once you get past the early struggle.

Dune: Awakening is now available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.