I adore James Cameron's Avatar films. While they may be fairly divisive despite their staggering financial success, the depth of Cameron's world-building and richness of the flora and fauna of Pandora is unparalleled.
That's why I went into my two-hour preview of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brimming with excitement. While I haven't delved too deeply into Ubisoft's recent output, the scale of this vast open world left me astounded.
It may not convert those either jaded with the Ubisoft formula or apathetic to the Avatar series, but for a fan desperate to dive into Pandora first-hand, this is shaping up very nicely.
The array of missions I played during my preview take place around a quarter of the way into Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, with you playing as a native Na'vi torn from your family by the RDA at birth. It's then a quest to re-integrate yourself with your former tribe upon returning, which requires a fair amount of work. In this preview I took down RDA radars, learned to fly my own ikran, and clambered up Pandora's expansive vertical forest.
Movement feels absolutely incredible in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. As a Na'vi you can sprint for longer and jump far higher than humans, meaning you can leap up onto vantage points and run rings around human enemies in the more heavily industrialised areas. Some of the most fun I had in the preview was sprinting through the lush vegetation—which also looks incredible—leaping onto towering trees and soaring through the landscape, as if I was a Na'vi myself.
Aside from that, it's a very visually and canonically faithful expansion of the Avatar universe. The Na'vi character models are very impressive with unique quirks for each person, and I can't wait to see how the character creation system unfolds. The game is littered with lore pages to learn even more about the universe, which is perfect for making an already vast world feel even bigger.
Combat is also seemingly less of a focus than other first-person action games. As you'll know from Jake Sully's adventures, there are a range of deadly creatures all around Pandora, but in this game you don't have to fight each one you see. The main enemies you'll need to contend with are RDA forces, who have established bases all across the planet. Fortunately your Na'vi warrior isn't beholden to tradition, with the usual spears and bows complemented by machine guns. It means you can go in blasting, or take a slower approach by picking off enemies and even completing objectives without killing everyone in your sight.
That said, the usual Ubisoft trappings are here, which may disappoint those looking for something more nuanced. You'll still scope out enemy outposts before diving in, taking out alarms and running errands for NPCs to progress. I had no problem with this, personally—mainly due to my affinity for the Avatar series—but the comparisons to the Far Cry series will be hard to avoid. If you've played any of the latest entries in the series, especially Far Cry Primal, the similarities will be hard to ignore.
But that's not too much of a problem when, detached from that specific lens, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has so much to offer fans of the series. Pandora has never been this immersive, and I can't wait to delve into all the nooks and crannies, scouring its highest points, searching underwater for new species, and interacting with the range of tribes you'll meet.
I'm still waiting to see how the story plays out, and just how closely it aligns with the films' events, but the sheer novelty of a triple-A Avatar game is more than enough to sell me on Frontiers of Pandora. Given how long the wait was between the first two films—and how the wait is now underway for a third entry—it's a great chance to get your Avatar fix.
It may not convert those who have had their share of Far Cry or never warmed to James Cameron's films, but Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is my most anticipated game for the latter end of 2023. I can't wait for the chance to explore the lush forest planet of Pandora first-hand, and uncover a rich story in a world brimming with narrative potential.