It’s safe to say that Dune: Awakening has exceeded the expectations of many players, providing an immersive open-world survival experience on the sun-scorched sands of Frank Herbert’s Arrakis. This game artfully combines exploration, combat, survival, and base-building elements, ensuring there’s something for everyone. Its ability to cater to various play styles might explain how it successfully maintains a devoted player community even a month after its release.
For fans of Dune: Awakening, a selection of similar games offers rewarding experiences that echo its thrilling gameplay mechanics. While these titles may not inhabit the Dune universe, they feature various comparable elements such as extensive crafting, MMO dynamics, and survival themes. Dive into these recommendations when you’re ready for a change from evading the relentless sandworms of Arrakis.
8 Once Human
Eldritch Mutants In The Night
If you relished the crafting and combat dynamics of Dune: Awakening, consider adding Once Human to your collection. Set against a backdrop of a mutant apocalypse, players must carve out their territory while constructing fortresses and unveiling the secrets of an expansive open world.
Encounter a range of environmental hazards and colossal bosses while enjoying a rich crafting system. Although the game starts off slow with basic survival tools, players can unlock blueprints to create advanced weapons, armor, and vehicles.
Newcomers to MMOs will find the transition to Once Human relatively seamless, given its similarities to Dune: Awakening. Despite its supernatural horror theme, it’s more engaging than frightening, leaning towards psychedelic experiences.
Moreover, it’s free-to-play, so players can enjoy substantial content without spending money, even though in-game purchases and battle passes are available.
7 Planet Crafter
Terraform Your Utopia
Starting with one of the finest sci-fi crafting games, Planet Crafter requires you to transform a desolate desert planet into a flourishing paradise through survival and extensive base-building efforts.
This immersive experience offers cooperative multiplayer options, amplifying the enjoyment. While the concept of terraforming your entire planet may seem overwhelming, each action towards this objective feels impactful.
Though combat is absent, players must contend with environmental challenges such as meteors and manage survival needs like hunger and oxygen.
6 Valheim
A Highly Regarded Viking Survival Game
Valheim stands out as one of the most acclaimed open-world survival games, boasting a remarkable 94% positive rating on Steam. This title excels in crafting, combat, and its charming aesthetic steeped in Viking lore and mythology.
Players encounter a realm filled with jotuns, dragons, and other fantastical creatures.One of my favorite moments has been crafting a Viking longboat and sailing into uncharted waters.
If you appreciated the base-building in Dune: Awakening, Valheim elevates this experience, showcasing impressive player creations and innovative solutions for overcoming environmental obstacles.
5 ARK: Survival Evolved
A Classic MMO With Dinosaur Madness
Imagine a world where you can tame sandworms like pets, similar to what you can do in ARK: Survival Evolved. This beloved MMO, over a decade since its launch, has expanded into one of the most intricate titles in the genre.
Players can craft an array of weapons and armor while also enhancing dinosaurs through genetic mixing, creating unique new breeds with special abilities.
ARK’s charm lies not only in its dinosaurs but also in engaging survival and base-building mechanics. While starting simple with bows and arrows, players soon craft advanced weaponry.
4 Conan Exiles
The Barbarian Dune Awakening
Conan Exiles, developed by Funcom—the same creators behind Dune: Awakening—could be the perfect fit for players seeking familiar gameplay mechanics and atmospheres.
Set in a mythological prehistoric world rather than a futuristic sci-fi backdrop, Conan Exiles features a much broader range of activities, benefitting from nearly a decade of development.
The game supports both online and single-player modes, though PvP combat can be marred by hacking issues. For those focusing on crafting and surviving, a PvE environment is recommended.
While it may not boast the graphical fidelity of Dune: Awakening, Conan Exiles remains visually appealing and provides various biomes to explore beyond the sandy terrain.
3 Grounded
A Miniature RPG Adventure
When considering RPGs rich in base-building and crafting, Grounded by Obsidian Entertainment immediately comes to mind. Players take on the role of children shrunk by a scientific mishap, battling through a world teeming with dangerous ants and spiders.
With environments ranging from deep ponds to towering grasses, Grounded offers an abundance of activities beyond crafting. You can explore community creations that showcase fellow players’ imaginative playgrounds.
Fans of Dune: Awakening who enjoy a quirkier adventure should certainly consider delving into Grounded.
2 No Man’s Sky
Expansive Sci-Fi Exploration
No Man’s Sky is renowned for both its ambition and controversy within the sci-fi realm. Despite its procedurally generated planets and creatures, it offers one of the vastest open worlds—an entire galaxy to explore.
Similar to Dune: Awakening, your main objectives include survival and resource gathering, along with building extensive bases and customizing spaceships. The game has evolved tremendously thanks to Hello Games’ commitment to continuous free updates, transforming it into the experience players initially hoped for.
1 Star Wars: The Old Republic
A Sci-Fi MMO Classic
Star Wars: The Old Republic is widely regarded as one of the finest sci-fi MMOs, offering a fusion of Guild Wars 2 and the Mass Effect franchise within the Star Wars universe.
What sets SWTOR apart is its deep storytelling and diverse quest offerings across its expansive world. Although it lacks the crafting and open-world mechanics featured in Dune: Awakening, it excels with captivating combat and narrative depth. Players can choose sides between the Empire and Republic, selecting from numerous classes such as Sith Warrior or Jedi Knight.
Since its launch in 2011, the game continues to receive regular updates and hosts seasonal events, maintaining a daily player count of around 4, 000 to 5, 000.
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