It’s crazy to think how massive the two Avatar movies by James Cameron have had on pop culture. These two movies have grossed over 3.5 billion dollars, earned numerous awards, and even have their own section in Disney theme parks. It was bound that video games were to be made, and Ubisoft is the latest developer to take a crack at it. After Avatar: Way of the Water, it seems like a pretty good time to do so. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora embraces its world beautifully despite some of its missteps with characters and gameplay.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is now available for $69.99 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game is also available on the Ubisoft+ subscription service.
Story: A Standard Avatar Story
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora starts off very strong by introducing you as a Na’vi who has been taken along with other Na’vi orphans when they were young and raised by the RDA as soldiers. The RDA discourages any embracing of Na’vi culture and prohibits you from exploring Pandora. Everything changes when you rebel against the RDA and set forth to explore new lands. The opening perfectly captures the facility’s cold nature and the organization’s strict teachings. Everything feels colorless and depressing, so when you finally get a chance to leave the place and see nature for the first time, it’s pretty impactful. It feels similar to the opening of Breath of the Wild when you exit the cave and see Hyrule for the first time.
Everything else after that feels a lot more basic, which isn’t that shocking considering the Avatar movies. You become more understanding of your indigenous culture and start to bond with other tribes. The enemy is the big bad government that’s trying to mine resources and, in the process, pollute Pandora. If you’ve seen the films, then you should be used to this, but for newcomers, then you might be disappointed.
Boring Baddies
While the story is basic, the main villains are so much worse. Say what you want about the plot, but at least you remember essential elements. I can remember only one instance from the main villain, John Mercer, and that’s when he kills one of the Na’vi orphans in the prologue. I’m not asking for complexity, but just something to remember them by. Now, the overall threat has much more of an effect here. The facilities and oil drillers that emit black smoke that pollutes Pandora have much more of an effect on me than any cutscene with Mercer.
Even the animals are experimented on by the RDA.
Gameplay: Not So Much a Far Cry From Far Cry
For anyone who played a game from the Far Cry series, this kind of gameplay should feel familiar to you. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person open-world game with you taking on enemy camps while completing side-quests and unlocking collectibles. These are pretty typical Ubisoft open-world activities that are mostly good. Any chance that you have to explore Pandora is well worth it. The sheer number of side activities dealing with the nature of this place is pretty overwhelming.
Think about how much creativity went into creating unique floras and animals that we haven’t seen before. The world is filled with them, which makes crafting and hunting quests a lot of fun. There are also numerous side-quests from the different tribes in Pandora, which makes the world much richer. But you’ll need to continue to upgrade yourself as the main quests get harder and harder. That’s when the fun starts to drag, as you have to do the same collectibles and outpost missions repeatedly to get better gear. It wouldn’t be that much of a problem, but it starts to get boring when you want to continue with the main story and instead have to do the same activities again.
The Ikran
Navigation at first is tricky as trying to traverse up cliffs gets annoying, even with vines that’ll lift you up. That quickly changes when you’re introduced to an Ikran, a winged creature that you bond with early on. From then on, exploring becomes really fun and exciting. You know it’s good when you choose not to use fast travel. The controls are very smooth and easy to control as you navigate through the skies. Besides, any excuse to see Pandora’s breathtaking skies is well worth it.
Take to the skies with your Ikran.
Graphics & Audio: Exploring Pandora
The biggest strength of this game is the stunning beauty of Pandora. Every aspect of this place needs to be explored to the fullest. It helps invest in our own character avatar as we experience the moon for the first time with them. Also enhances the need to defeat the RDA as they try to mine the resources. Pandora isn’t just one region type but houses a diversity of environment types, from rainforests to vast plains and hills, which is astonishing. The best compliment you can give is to say you’re playing through an Avatar movie, and considering its breathtaking effects, it’s high praise. The colors pop out of the screen as neon blues and greens take up the night sky. And the face animations for the Avatars are subtly good as they have little nuances to them.
Pinar Toprak composed Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and she did a spectacular job. If you had to sum it up in one word, it’s triumphant. You feel the pride of the clans as you’re soaring through the skies with your Ikran. The music is so good that you won’t care if you fail at stealth sections because the music turns epic as you fight against RDA forces.
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- When hunting, stealth is your best option.
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- Welcome to the resistance.
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- Always have a bow at the ready.
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- One of the many clans throughout Pandora.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was reviewed on PlayStation 5 with a key provided by Ubisoft.
