Dune Awakening’s spice is in full flow, and its biggest bug is its best feature

Sticking a media playtest for a Dune game in the frigid depths of a Norwegian January is peak comedic irony. Yet there I was, layered up, exploring the unforgiving Arrakean desert from Oslo’s former multiplex-turned-gaming hub, Eldorado, having been invited by developer Funcom. While the venue may serve a different purpose nowadays, I still witnessed moments of absolute cinema during my six-hour Dune Awakening preview as I wrestled with raiders, legged it from sandworms, and familiarized myself with the laws of the desert. God made Arrakis to test the faithful, and Funcom’s making Dune Awakening to test the gamers.