Dune: Spice Wars doesn’t bring anything new to the Dune table

polygon.com:

An hour into Dune: Spice Wars, I felt a nostalgic pang for the old Westwood Dune games, when the graphics were fun, the writing was campy, and things were stylized away from the real-world gravity of Frank Herbert’s books. The original Dune’s vibrant jewel tones and awkward vibes made for an amusing translation of the 1984 David Lynch film adaptation. Dune II is widely considered the godfather of modern real-time strategy games, but it was also delightfully weird, and had a banging score by Frank Klepacki. 2001’s Emperor: Battle for Dune had great cutscenes starring Michael Dorn and Mike McShane, which elevated its delightfully gawky UI and visuals into a memorable part of early full-motion video game history.

These games didn’t really dig deep into the real-world ugliness of Dune, because playing up the franchise’s weirdness, especially using the idiosyncrasies of old-school graphics, helped to soften Arrakis into a fantastical escape. Spice Wars — at least in its current early access state — breaks away from this stylish legacy to make an uncomplicated 4X real-time strategy game with uneven results.

Generally speaking, Dune is a psychotic space parable full of god-worms, interstellar drugs, and neo-feudal brutality. Its most famous character, Paul Atreides, rises to power as a messianic icon, only to birth eons of tyranny. While many (including myself) consider Dune a cherished part of their youth, it doesn’t mean Herbert’s work is immune to a higher standard of criticism. For starters, Dune is often used as a lazy validation of alt-right viewpoints, sort of like fascists’ love of Warhammer 40k. With its story set around a coveted exotic resource — the spice melange, which powers interstellar travel — the Dune world