DESERT POWER

For the first time in 20 years, war returns to Arrakis in real-time 4X DUNE: SPICE WARS

- Wes Fenlon

I thought he who controlled the spice controlled the universe, but it turns out he who controls the spice mostly just pays hellish taxes.

Here I am on Arrakis, spreading Fremen warriors to more and more territories so I can collect enough spice to rule the desert planet. And yet I have to pay most of my haul to the Spacing Guild as a bribe? And they want more every month? Forget this competition between the Atreides, Harkonnen, Fremen, and Smugglers factions: I hope 4X strategy game Dune: Spice Wars eventually includes a win condition that lets me tell the Spacing Guild to get lost. They’d probably nuke me from orbit, but I worked hard for that spice, braving sandworms and massive storms and treacherous spies. If I’m gonna go out I want to end my rule like Tony Montana, mountains of spice glistening on my impressively over-sized desk.

Dune: Spice Wars is the first videogame based on Frank Herbert’s books in two decades, and it’s an ambitious project for developer Shiro Games. When I think 4X, I think enormous games like Civilization and Total War made by hundreds of people, packed with so many menus and tooltips I’m intimidated before I’ve even left the title screen. Shiro Games, meanwhile, has a team of only 22 working on this new 4X strategy adaptation of Dune. (Shiro developed its breakout game, Northgard, with a team of just nine or so devs). Spice Wars launched in Early Access at the end of April, with a single-player mode for now and open-ended plans for future growth.

HOW YOU DUNE?