Dune Strider

Dune Strider is the kind of project that immediately reveals its origins as a student-developed experiment, but in doing so, it also exposes a surprisingly cohesive vision underneath its rough edges. Created by Dust Bunnies and published by Breda University of Applied Sciences, it places you in control of a sand-sailing merchant vessel navigating a vast desert, blending elements of trading simulation, open-ended exploration, and light combat into a single, interconnected loop. It doesn’t attempt to overwhelm with systems or narrative, instead focusing on a core idea: surviving and profiting in a harsh, shifting environment where every journey carries both opportunity and risk. The primary gameplay revolves around moving between settlements, buying and selling goods, and gradually building a more efficient trading route. At its best, this loop taps into a familiar but satisfying rhythm—identify where resources are cheap, transport them across the desert, and sell them where they are scarce. The game encourages players to learn its economy through observation rather than explicit instruction, which gives early progress a sense of discovery. As you begin to recognize patterns and opt…

[b]TLDR[/b]: a short, atmospheric game of exploring a desert, but unfortunately somewhat frustrating and not that deep. It may be worth getting if you have a couple of hours to kill, but has limited replayability.   This is one of those games where I wish I could give a neutral rating. I really like the art design (the stylized visuals, in particular), and enjoyed exploring the corners of the (surprisingly varied) desert map. Besides exploration there are also trading, upgrading, and combat mechanics to play with, all of them with more detail than you would expect from such a short game. However, neither combat nor trading is very developed, and the desert map can be fully explored in an hour.   Frustratingly, the game also lacks 1) a save game system (there’s not even an auto-save!); and 2) an unstuck command. Getting your vehicle stuck will therefore force you to start a new game; and this happened to me multiple times at the ramp leading to the final objective. Tip for new players: press T to furl your sail, and use this to enter the temple slowly.   Overall, the game feels like a concept demonstrator: the basic idea is there, but the developers still need to add a story, questl…

Dunno how to review but game keeps getting stuck on rock and not moving whatsoever

I think there was a good idea here but progress cannot be saved. I wanted to save and keep going but no save in 2022/2025 is insane

Hey, I think this is a really great little game with a lot of potential! With some more development, it could turn into something truly amazing. It has that freelancer sort of vibe but set in the desert and bit untapped and not fully polished yet. Sadly, it seems like it might be a dead game now, but I’d love to see it get some love and more updates someday!

no way to save progress that i found