Frank Herbert's science fiction masterpiece, Dune, is a novel ripe for video game adaptation. With the recent rise of popular science fiction games, Dune seems like a perfect setting. It is philosophically dense, speculative, and is full of really rich lore. Not only that, but it also has some wonderfully realized characters, each with rich histories and (often clashing) ideological positions about the world around them. Dune is a great example of "soft sci-fi." With an upcoming movie in the works, a Dune game following afterwards seems entirely possible.
This type of science fiction deprioritizes specific technology and scientific formulae, so the people in its stories can take prominence. What sets Dune apart from other soft sci-fi settings is its incredibly rich lore and history. While Herbert does not emphasize hardcore science, his worlds are still incredibly detailed and granular. Not many authors strike this balance as well as Herbert, which contributes to the 1965 novel's continued prominence. As with many game adaptations of books, doing the source material justice would be difficult.
While Dune games do exist, they are over 20 years old, so can't exactly be called modern. As such, a modern Dune game would need to figure out how to bring across the classic 1965 sci-fi sensibilities of the source material into modern gameplay trappings. Thankfully, there is a wealth of different ways a modern Dune title could manifest. Be it an Obsidian Outer Worlds-style game, a courier game, or a frenetic magical stealth-combat game like Dishonored, a modern Dune game has a lot of fascinating options to play with.
Obsidian Could Make An Amazing Dune Game
The most obvious team to take on a modern Dune game would be Obsidian. After the recent E3 2021 announcement of The Outer Worlds 2, the studio seems to be continuing the creation of off-beat science fiction set among the stars. Although Dune's setting is certainly more serious than the hilarious The Outer Worlds 2 trailer, Obsidian have plenty of evidence that it can handle a less tongue-in-cheek tone.
In fact, the ideological diversity among the various factions of Frank Herbert's universe is similar to the deep, complex groups vying for dominance in Fallout New Vegas. The brilliance with which the studio gives realistic motivations to its factions in an open world game would suit the complex intentions at play throughout Dune's politics.
Use The Dune Board Game
Dune's successful board game adaptation is a fan favorite, blending the soft, sociologically-minded sci-fi of Herbert's universe with some tabletop wargaming, deckbuilding, and social manipulation mechanics. Obviously, that is not an easy sell as a video game, but there are examples of these mechanics at play in other titles. For example, Hand of Fate successfully incorporates deck mechanics into a sprawling adventure RPG. As such, creating a deck-based factional wargame would not be too outlandish, and could provide a wider, bird's eye view perspective on the politics of the Dune universe.
A Dune Game Could Use Death Stranding's Courier Mechanics
Death Stranding is an utterly bizarre game to play. Despite its weird plot, oddly named characters, and quantity of unnerving babies, Death Stranding is still undeniably compelling. Its occasionally monotonous but strangely satisfying gameplay is a sublime depiction of travelling from place to place. Using this as a basis, a spice-running game set across Dune's universe would be amazing.
Spice is the engine of commerce in this setting, and a game like this would explore the perspective of someone involved in that transport process rather than the more detached perspectives of the nobles explored in a large portion of Dune's canon. Death Stranding is also a great example of a modern game exploring some really ambitious science-fiction lore, which would marry it well to Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece.
Dishonored: Dune Would Be Fascinating
Dune features a secret quasi-religious sect of assassins, master spies, and political agents known as the Bene Gesserit. Made up entirely of women, this group set about altering the course of galactic politics and society to bring about a central prophecy around a "chosen one" character. Wielding weapons like the "crysknife" and a whole host of psychic abilities, there is a really obvious option for a Dune adaptation in the vein of Dishonored. Players could embody one of the Bene Gesserit in the Arrakis capital of Arrakeen, socially engineering the city using infiltration, deception, and ultimately assassination.
Arrakeen would be a wonderful location for a Dishonored game. Fans of the series generally associate it with the looming spires of steampunk Victorian architecture, so taking its mechanics and placing them into the alien metropolis of Arrakeen could provide a really novel take on a beloved gaming franchise. Watching the politics of Arrakeen unfurling around a stealthy, manipulative assassin figure would also be a fun take on Dune's universe and themes from a Bene Gesserit perspective.