Summary
Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel,Dune, was a game-changer for science fiction. Due to its immense popularity and sustained place in the mainstream of science fiction, it’s seen many adaptations. FromDavid Lynch’sDuneto the original 1992 video game, Herbert’s world has long been a playground for creatives.
With the recent release ofDenis Villeneuve’sDune: Part 2and the popularity surrounding it, there’s never been a better time to delve into theDuneuniverse. Over the years, there have been a plethora ofDunevideo games, though some have been more successful than others.
6Frank Herbert’s Dune (2001)
A Bizarre Third-Person Adventure
This bizarre,third-person action adventuregame followed the events of Frank Herbert’s novel fairly accurately, but its gameplay left much to be desired. Developed by Cryo Interactive, the developers of the originalDunegame from 1992,Frank Herbert’s Dunewas, unfortunately, far from a success.
AlthoughFrank Herbert’s Duneeventually spelled the end for Cryo Interactive, it made a valiant attempt to stay faithful to its source material. Unfortunately, it’s let down by rough-edged third-person action that was poor even for its time.
5Dune (1992)
An Old-School Point-And-Clicker
Developed by Cryo Interactive, this initialvideo game adaptationof Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 novel is one of the most ambitious adventure games to date. Despite its 1992 release and increasing age,Dunefeatures considerable graphical style.
Dunefeatures classic,old-school adventure gameplayin the form of exploring several mostly-static locations via in-game menus and speaking with NPCs. However,Dunecombined its adventure game mechanics with classic strategic gameplay, managing to blend the two ideas to relative success.
Arguably the most definitivereal-time strategy game,Dune 2is an old-school masterpiece that may be showing its age, but it laid the foundations for the entire RTS genre. It could also be argued thatDune 2’sinnovative combination of base building, resource gathering, and unit production paved the way for the boom ofRTS games in the late-90s.
WhereDune 2shows its age is in its user-interface, making the game a pain to play until players can memorize the variety of keyboard shortcuts. Furthermore, the game lacks a group-select function, forcing players to command each unit individually. Despite these downsides,Dune 2remains a fantastically thematic real-time strategy game. There was also a remake in 1998, titledDune: 2000, which made several changes.
3Emperor: Battle For Dune (2001)
A Competent But Familiar RTS Set In The Dune Universe
This direct sequel toDune 2000(the aforementioned remake of 1992’sDune 2) was, like its predecessors, developed by Westwood Studios. For fans of Westwood’s style,Emperor: Battle For Duneprovided more of what people had come to know and love. However, by this point, the market was flooded with RTS games, making it a competitive space; games such as the originalStrongholdandStar Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, for example, were released in the same year.
Surprisingly,Emperor: Battle For Dunefeatures asymmetric factions that manage to remain thematically in line with Herbert’s sci-fi world. Furthermore,Emperor: Battle For Dunealso includes small details such as laser weapons reacting poorly when used against enemies with shields, making this a shockingly faithful adaptation.
Developed by the team behind the hit indie strategy game,Northgard,Dune: Spice Warsis a highly polished, modern RTS set in the universe ofDune.Dune: Spice Warsfeatures a variety of asymmetric factions that give the game a great deal of replay value, featuring unique abilities and ways to play.
Dune: Spice Warsfeatures a wonderful visual style that manages to make the bleak deserts of Arrakis a consistent joy to look at, and each of the factions' units is immediately recognizable.Dune: Spice Warsalso features elements of the 4X genre, including diplomacy, making it one of the more unique real-time strategy games to have been released in recent years.
1Dune: Imperium (2024)
A Highly Polished Digital Board Game
This digital adaptation of the board game of the same name is arguably one of the best digital adaptations of a tabletop game, thanks to its polished user-interface and faithfulness to its source material.Dune: Imperiumis a unique combination of deck-builder and worker-placement, the latter of which is rarely utilized in video games, makingDune: Imperiumrather distinct.
Dune: Imperiumis a highly tactical strategy game of intrigue and exciting skirmishes, featuring a variety of asymmetric leaders that round out the experience and add plenty of replay value. Visually speaking,Dune: Imperiumis a fairly static game, with relatively standard visuals that may turn some players away. However,Imperiumis strategically deep and surprisingly thematic, arguably making it one of the bestDunegames currently available.
Special Mention: Dune Awakening
This open-world survival game is an upcoming MMO set in Frank Herbert’sDuneuniverse. Though unreleased, the game promises to combine the creative mechanics of sandbox survival games with the social interaction that an MMO can provide.
Set to feature a crafting system, base-building, and deep character creation,Dune: Awakeningcould be a timely hit if it fulfills its promises. Furthermore, the game’s visuals are fairly impressive, and from what has been shown,Dune: Awakeninglooks to remain faithful to Frank Herbert’s iconic world.
