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
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.INTO THE DESERT
“We need to get trust and a first wave
of feedback from players: what theyBELOW: Kislev really
does love its critters.
Bears, big cats, more
bears. OK, so it’s
mostly bears.Dune: Spice Wars
COVER FEATURE
A masterful sci-fi adaptation that shaped the
future of the RTS? That would be DUNE II.
By Will Freeman