Poll: What Do You Think Of Dune: Awakening On Xbox Game Pass So Far?

Is it a certified banger, or not really?

by Craig Reid
Sat 26th Sep 2026

It's been an interesting week for Xbox Game Pass! Well Dweller surprised most with its stellar review scores, and just a few days ago, Dune: Awakening finally joined the subscription service, and we're itching to hear what you make of it.

I sat down with a hands-off preview of Dune: Awakening during Summer Game Fest 2024, and I'll admit the game was buggy as hell. I thought there was no way this works on Xbox consoles, but lo and behold, It's on Game Pass Ultimate and I'm having fun with it on my Xbox Series X.

For those who aren't up to speed, Dune: Awakening is an open world survival RPG set within the same sandy planet as the popular books and movies. Your goal is to explore, craft, survive, and generally just vibe amongst other players online and hefty sandworms, in order to become a legend of Arrakis.

You have been chosen by the Bene Gesserit to go to Arrakis as their agent and uncover the mystery of the missing Fremen. Visit locations such as Arrakeen and Hagga Basin and meet familiar characters such as Duke Leto Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, as you unravel an epic Dune story never told before: yours.

Whether you prefer to play alone or with friends, Dune: Awakening gives you the opportunity to explore a vast, open world Arrakis brimming with secrets to discover, stories to investigate, gadgets to craft, vehicles to assemble, and bases to build. You choose which path to take as you rise from survival to greatness.

So, for those who have been getting royally stuck into this one already, what do you think of Dune: Awakening so far? Is it something you'd recommend to other Xbox Game Pass members, or should they avoid it and play something else over the weekend?

If You've Played It, What Do You Think Of Dune: Awakening So Far? (934 votes)

It's amazing, I'm loving it!18%
It's good, I'm keen to play more22%
It's alright, not bad10%
Not really gripping me yet, but it's not terrible10%
I really don't like it actually!9%
I haven't played it yet, but I will...21%
I haven't played it yet, and I probably won't...11%

Let us know how you're getting on with Dune: Awakening in the poll above and comments down below.

Craig is a Staff Writer and former Video Producer at Pure Xbox, where he covers the biggest games in the world of Xbox.

1
badboidre
Sat 26th Sep 2026

Can you power up and become the Shai-Hulud? No? Ok.

2
Squincher
Sat 26th Sep 2026

It is just another survival/crafting game. The same as 7 out of every 10 games that get made. The industry is just so wildly uncreative.

3
uberdaddypig
Sat 26th Sep 2026

@Squincher I feel the same. Increasingly pretty versions of the same few games, over and over for the past 10 years or more. I miss 90s gaming.

4
RiverGenie
Sat 26th Sep 2026

Having a fantastic time exploring this alternate universe version of Dune. Plenty of potential for expansion even beyond the new zone that is supposed to be releasing (for free) before the end of the year.

5
awp69
Sat 26th Sep 2026

I like exploring the world of Dune but I’ve never been a fan of games requiring a lot of crafting. Wish there was an option to just get fully functional loot with no crafting involved! 😀

6
RiverGenie
Sun 27th Sep 2026

@awp69 In a single player world custom settings adjust crafting cost & crafting speed to zero. You will have access to everything you research at no cost & no delay.

Other than that missions reward you with gear & equipment sometimes (it usually says something like "this quest chain will reward a unique weapon" in the quest description.)

You can also find stuff in chests & lockers but that will usually be damaged so will need repairing but you can get some use out of them before it totally breaks.

7
Exerion76
Sun 27th Sep 2026

Just hearing about yet another open-world and crafting, makes me wanna puke.

8
Markatron84
Sun 27th Sep 2026

I've tried several of these sorts of survival crafting games and none of them have clicked. If you're into them then you're eating well these days, but they're certainly not for me.

9
dreadful
Sun 27th Sep 2026

@Squincher it's hilarious because there was some Dungeons and Dragons game that's identical but D&D release like the same week lol

10
Fiendish-Beaver
Sun 27th Sep 2026

I always scratch my head whenever someone says they miss a bygone era of gaming, @uberdaddypig. It just strikes me as impossible not to have games release now that are not similar to games that released in the past. The difference between the 90s and now is that in the 90s gaming was still it its infancy. It is much further along now, and so most things have already been tried and tested. Same for television shows. Same for films. Same for music. Same for life in general.

With all that said, yes, new games did new things back in the 90s, but generally those same things now are done better...

11
scorpioMKD
Sun 27th Sep 2026

Looks interesting, and yes there are a plethora of open world, survival games out there. But the whole point is to find the one that suits you. Would you rather there be just one or two and that's it, and none of them match your preference in what your looking for. It's baffling to see people so spoilt on choice, who were gagging for choice before and now crying about it...Jeeeez, get a grip and enjoy what's out there 'for you'.

12
AndroidBango
Mon 28th Sep 2026

Imagine if there was a Dune RPG instead of another survival crafting game. A man can dream

13
uberdaddypig
Mon 28th Sep 2026

@Fiendish-Beaver the creativity isn't the same. Nor is the physicality and ownership. If you weren't at least a teen in the 90s you're too young to get it. It's all flash and no substance now, tailored to part you from your cash and nothing more.

14
Fiendish-Beaver
Mon 28th Sep 2026

Everything has changed, @uberdaddypig. Absolutely everything. Almost everything has been done before, and more often than not, it is done to a higher standard now. There are an awful lot of rose-tinted glasses lying around when it comes to games of the past. Held up to todays standards, and most would be seen that way. Games that scored 9 out of 10s in the past would be lucky to hit a 7 these days because reviews have become more critical of games as time has gone by. That's not to say that old games are bad, that is not what I am saying at all, but held side-by-side with modern games that are similar in nature, most modern games are either better or do the same things better. Obviously some people just like playing old games, and can overlook the poor graphics, poor frame rates, smudgy faces, and clunky movement, and that is absolutely fine. It is all about personal preference after all.

As for the 90s, believe me, I was there! Let's just say that on the 1st of January 1990, I had a daughter aged 1 and half, and a son that was 3 months old, and I was a Police Officer, having already served in Bomb Disposal in the Army and having gone to the Falklands...! 🤣

15
Titntin
Mon 28th Sep 2026

I also didn't install based on yet another crafting game. I'm sure you can set it up so you don't need to go around finding the materials, but if that's the mechanic that the game was built on then its totally wasted on me as I get bored of that mechanic almost instantly and I'd rather play a game which had loftier goals than making me wander about looking for items on my shopping list. Good luck for those that enjoy the crafting experience, they certainly have loads of games to choose from!