Dune: Spice Wars is a grand strategy set in the Dune universe,built upon Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel. In Shiro Games’ premium tactics game, you get to lead a faction as you crush others and take control of the desert world of Arrakis.

As it features different levels of strategic gameplay, Dune: Spice Wars matches Civilization 6 in complexity but without turn-based restrictions. Gameplay-wise, it’s closer to StarCraft II or Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, but with better graphics quality—all this, plus the fact that it’s built on a literary classic.

A hybrid strategy game

It is important to note that Dune: Spice Wars is not entirely real-time since it has slow pacing by default. However, players have the option to pause and fast-forward in-game events. This feature works since it allows you to appreciate and explore Arrakis—an incredibly detailed desert world with a variety of biomes still tied to the overall environment. Despite the scale, this keeps the game immersive.

This carefully crafted world also affects gameplay, creating natural barriers and passageways that could help define your strategy. Although maps are procedurally generated, there are key features directly lifted from the book. There are seven factions currently available, although developers have announced the creation of more factions in the following releases. How each of them varies makes for the game’s replayability.

One curious feature of the game is its rather cartoonish design for units and buildings, which makes the game feel weird, given the serious overall tone of Dune as a franchise. Its design choices are closer to Civilization games than those of, say, StarCraft. Additionally, its pacing makes the game last longer than it should, making you more likely to press that fast-forward button.

The seventh faction revealed

Dune: Spice Wars introduces its seventh playable faction, House Vernius of Ix, renowned for its group of brilliant minds, including engineers and scientists, known for their creation of self-learning techs and combat drones. The cyborg leader, Earl Rhombur Vernius, leads the faction sustained through cybernetic enhancements. Ix introduces the innovative gameplay system, Neural Node, and boasts a formidable arsenal featuring three drones and two human units equipped with enhanced fuel cell dynamics.

The worthy flagbearer for the franchise

There have been a lot of Dune video games over the years, but it’s safe to say that Dune: Spice Wars is the best thing to come in a while. It uses familiar elements while allowing players to create their own stories of bringing the entire Arrakis under one rule. The design choices and the pacing are but minor considerations some players might take issue with.