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I never got round to playing Shiro’s 4X-plus-RTS adaptation of Dune, but chuckling spice baron Nic Reuben deemed it “intricate”, “polished” and “well-considered” in his early access review last year, and I trust his nose for these things. The game now has a 1.0 release date – 14th September 2023 – which will also bring a sixth major content update featuring the politically adept House Ecaz faction – who, if the press release speaks true, “wield power like a paint brush”. You love to see it!
Dune: Spice Wars sees you tussling for control of planet Arrakis, home to vast sandworms and the mystical, ultra-valuable substance known as spice. The other factions are House Atreides, who can expand via peaceful annexation, the Harkonnens, who can oppress villages for bonus resources, the Smugglers, who lurk within opposing settlements, like Warhammer’s Skaven, the desert-dwelling Fremen, who can ride the aforesaid sandworms, and House Corrino who can play the market and deploy elite Sardaukar units. Regarding House Ecaz, they can apparently manipulate the game’s Landsraad – a sort of interfactional parliament that votes on campaign modifiers – using “the prestige of their artworks”.
Victory may come about via political intrigue, industrial production, open warfare or subterfuge – probably, it’ll be some combination of the above. Shiro has added multiplayer since Nic’s review, and it all sounds like a pretty good time. Have you been playing the early access build much? I like Frank Herbert’s admittedly hyper-orientalist setting, and am keen to get properly to grips with the game as somebody who enjoys 4X but seldom has time nowadays to see an imperial dynasty to its conclusion.
It seems a strong contender for our list of the best strategy games.