Dune Awakening’s best feature takes the spice away for Steam Deck

Dune Awakening is the type of game that’s ideal for quick sessions of harvesting and base building on the go. Whether you’re playing on Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or other handheld PCs, Funcom’s MMORPG is exceptionally easy to pick up and sink hours into. However, it isn’t exactly the easiest game to run on lower-spec platforms. If you don’t mind the spice of the game’s visuals taking a downgrade, then arguably the game’s best feature can pump up those frames.

No matter which one of the many portable gaming consoles you own, there’s always tinkering to be done with the graphics of any Steam Deck games. Some games are fine out of the digital box, while others, like Dune Awakening, need some fine-tuning. Funcom incorporates a feature into its latest action game that specifically targets low-end laptops by massively reducing many of the game’s visual aspects in return for a huge performance boost.

Typically, I’d rely on frame generation and upscalers to help mediate performance on more demanding games on my Asus ROG Ally Z1e. It feels refreshing to see developers cater to rigs and platforms that aren’t quite as beefy as desktop setups.

Even if the game’s world can be punishing, Funcom is ensuring anyone is welcome to give it a try. I’m happy to take the hit on elements like texture detail and post-processing because Dune Awakening is just that fun to play.

After getting my mitts on it at Gamescom last year, stepping onto Arrakis in the full game is already proving to be an experience I can’t put down. Just last night, I spent three hours playing Dune Awakening, lying in bed with ROG Ally, building bases, completing contracts, and evading a grizzly sandworm demise. I recommend giving the game a shot, especially if you’re not too fussed about losing its graphical sheen.

Dune Awakening follows Funcom’s last huge multiplayer title, Conan Exiles, which left early access in 2018. Like that game, Dune Awakening is slated to get console versions on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, but could a Nintendo Switch 2 version come out too? It’s certainly possible. Set in an alternative timeline, Dune Awakening’s plot asks the question: What if Paul Atreides was never born?

As an undercover agent for the Bene Gesserit, it’s up to you to locate the Fremen and awaken the ‘sleeper’. Before you do that, you can live out your wildest Dune fantasies on Arrakis, whether that’s joining House Atreides or forming a guild of your own.

Need Dune Awakening base-building tips or general Dune Awakening guides? Our friends at PCGamesN have got you covered.

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