Ubisoft’s newest open-world title, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, borrows from the otherworldly creation of film director James Cameron. It sends players deep into an exhilarating alien environment full of spectacular creatures, gorgeous scenery, and the infamous blue-skinned indigenous race, the Na’vi. The world itself makes for an incredible gaming experience, but the mechanics let it down slightly thanks to its similarities with other well-known Ubisoft titles.
Players get to start their adventure as a member of the Na’vi, where they can customise their avatar’s appearance, even down to their shining bioluminescent spots, before jumping into a battle against the humans that are intent on keeping them from their homeland. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora lends directly from the film franchise, and this continuity only serves to flesh out the world that Ubisoft has created.
Even if you haven’t seen the movie, the game walks you through the premise of this world with no problems. It’s a testament to Ubisoft that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora feels fresh and exciting, even though it belongs to a much larger silver-screen, billion-dollar franchise.
A fair Far Cry comparison
With any new Ubisoft title, it becomes increasingly easy to point an accusatory finger and claim that it’s too similar to other games in the back catalogue. The developer is almost infamous for refusing to break the mould, and this once again rings true in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. It borrows heavily from the Far Cry franchise, in story and gameplay alike, but that’s not to say it’s necessarily a bad thing.
The premise of the game fits perfectly in a sprawling alien world IP such as Avatar, and any comparison to older titles only serves to confirm that the mould doesn’t get broken without good reason. It’s a solid foundation to build upon, and everything that Ubisoft does so well - stealth, aggressive combat, foraging and crafting, to name a few - is only proven to ring true in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
With that being said, if you’re bored of the Ubisoft rinse-and-repeat game mechanics of Far Cry, and to some extent the Assassin’s Creed games, then you won’t find anything new with this title.
Stunning visuals and impressive world-building
One of the biggest selling points of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is the fact you can traverse Pandora at will. Like with other Ubisoft titles, you can venture off the beaten track and go almost wherever your heart desires.
Pandora itself is an absolutely gorgeous backdrop, both on ground level and soaring through the skies on the back of an Ikran, the winged creatures that the Na’vi ride. With many fans and players of other AAA titles so obsessed with graphics nowadays, this game certainly does not disappoint, because the visuals are one of the most enjoyable elements of the game. That statement might sound as if we’re selling the gameplay short, but we’re not - it just really is that beautiful.
It is working proof of how well Ubisoft goes about world-building. Although the gameplay formula might remain similar to other titles, the developer has a knack for creating fully fleshed-out worlds that feel lived in, and it pairs amazingly with the Na’vi’s home planet. We already know what the world of Avatar looks and sounds like, and yet Ubisoft still manages to bring something fresh to the table.
Na’vigation
The way players can navigate Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is one of the stark differences between other famous Ubisoft titles. It’s incredibly easy to get lost while playing, but rather than being an annoyance, in reality, it adds to the charm of the game. After all, we’re exploring an alien planet. Who wouldn’t want to get lost?
The verticality of exploration in this game is mind-boggling, because not only do you have the ground level to explore - which plays host to a whole range of wildlife, flora, and fauna, as well as fully realised NPCs and side-quests - but there is also a staggering amount of giant islands floating in the skies above Pandora that you can reach when riding on the back of your Ikran.
There is so much to see, and sometimes getting completely and totally lost in the world is a blessing and not a curse. Because it takes you away from the sense of a ‘grind’ that most games tend to possess nowadays. In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, you can go about things at your own pace, navigate Pandora in exactly the manner you want to navigate it and explore to your heart’s content.
Solid gameplay, but nothing we haven’t seen before
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora does, unfortunately, fall into the trap of feeling like a direct copy and paste from the Far Cry franchise for a good majority of the game. The only difference is that we’re playing in a brightly coloured, alien world. But there are a few key elements that do work to try and set it apart from other titles.
The dogfights on the back of an Ikran, and the verticality of how you can tackle fights and missions, means you can shake up the status quo a fair amount. By using your Na’vi’s trusty winged steed, you can come at the usual Ubisoft elements from a totally different angle, and this makes the game feel as though the developer has really perfected the ‘Far Cry’ formula.
It’s a strong mixture of both stealth and aggressive combat, and you can choose how you go about completing certain missions totally at will. It gives a sense of authority to the player, considering there’s no cut-and-dry method, and this level of autonomy is a refreshing take on Ubisoft’s open-world titles.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s gorgeous visuals, well-established gameplay, and story mechanics that are borrowed from an already well-oiled machine, all serve to make the game a thoroughly enjoyable experience for fans of Ubisoft games. But with its own back catalogue of franchises already saturating the market for this type of title, you can’t help but feel slightly conned. But only slightly, because the game is absolutely breathtaking and a joy to explore regardless. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
