It's a 4X game that doesn't take 12 hours to play, an RTS that relies on adapting to an antagonistic terrain and strategic deployment of units rather than APM and memorized build orders. It's at its core a hybrid of these genres and neither of them totally, which is both the root of my love for the game but also the reason for so many negative reviews you may read. Your territory, your cities, your army make-up, and your tech order will be different every game based on what resources are readily available or what you can politic your way into. There are many win conditions to go for, and your win con or even approach to play may pivot on a dime based on what your opponents are up to.

Included in its variety is Spice Wars's other strength: Flavor. Each faction is different in dozens of ways, all shaped by who they are in the novels. The new Ixians play a shadowy game manipulating the entire lobby's tech trees and treat their political standing as a resource. The Harkonnens oppress their own people to squeeze extra resource production while pumping their units with harmful combat drugs. The Atreides are the archetypical "vanilla" faction best for learning the game, but even they stand out with their abilities to peacefully annex territories and make quick alliances with neutral factions. The Fremen own the planet until its been colonized enough, and can harvest from it freely or move about it quickly and unseen, deadly in small groups and able to spark rebellions in enemy territories.

Conquest mode is not a linear narrative retelling of Dune, but instead a collection of interesting scenarios that challenge the player to learn different approaches to their faction. This, to me, is the right choice-- Spice Wars is at its core built as a Free for All game where you engage in the fantasy of playing your favorite faction or challenge yourself to learn a new one that feels completely different.

If you're hoping for a story-driven game in lock-step with the lore, you're already in the wrong place with an RTS arena where houses who have never been to Arrakis can blow up Duncan Idaho with nukes while in an alliance with Liet Kynes's Fremen. Spice Wars is its own thing with its own feel, streamlining two genres I love while injecting enough faction-fantasy that the result is a game unlike any other, and at its core: Dune.

It's a 4X game that doesn't take 12 hours to play, an RTS that relies on adapting to an antagonistic terrain and strategic deployment of units rather than APM and memorized build orders. It's at its core a hybrid of these genres and neither of them totally, which is both the root of my love for the game but also the reason for so many negative reviews you may read. Your territory, your cities, your army make-up, and your tech order will be different every game based on what resources are readily available or what you can politic your way into. There are many win conditions to go for, and your win con or even approach to play may pivot on a dime based on what your opponents are up to. Included in its variety is Spice Wars's other strength: Flavor. Each faction is different in dozens of ways, all shaped by who they are in the novels. The new Ixians play a shadowy game manipulating the entire lobby's tech trees and treat their political standing as a resource. The Harkonnens oppress their own people to squeeze extra resource production while pumping their units with harmful combat drugs. The Atreides are the archetypical "vanilla" faction best for learning the game, but even they stand out with their abilities to peacefully annex territories and make quick alliances with neutral factions. The Fremen own the planet until its been colonized enough, and can harvest from it freely or move about it quickly and unseen, deadly in small groups and able to spark rebellions in enemy territories. Conquest mode is not a linear narrative retelling of Dune, but instead a collection of interesting scenarios that challenge the player to learn different approaches to their faction. This, to me, is the right choice-- Spice Wars is at its core built as a Free for All game where you engage in the fantasy of playing your favorite faction or challenge yourself to learn a new one that feels completely different. If you're hoping for a story-driven game in lock-step with the lore, you're already in the wrong place with an RTS arena where houses who have never been to Arrakis can blow up Duncan Idaho with nukes while in an alliance with Liet Kynes's Fremen. Spice Wars is its own thing with its own feel, streamlining two genres I love while injecting enough faction-fantasy that the result is a game unlike any other, and at its core: Dune.