I See You, Ubisoft
HIGH A gorgeous recreation of one of sci-fi’s best worlds.
LOW The story doesn’t reach the highs of its source material.
WTF Having to wait until 2025 for the next Avatar film.
Last December, I woke up early on a Friday morning to watch Avatar: The Way of Water in IMAX 3D. It was one of the best theatrical experiences I’ve ever had, as I had been waiting to properly return to the world of James Cameron’s Pandora for years. One thing that struck me while I was transfixed on the onscreen adventures of the Sully family — my partner said “this looks like a videogame. It would be a cool game.”
Seeing certain scenes move at a much higher refresh rate while live actors interacted with a fully-digital world did feel videogame-esque, and that point was an interesting one. Pandora, like Middle Earth and the vast galaxies in Star Wars, was ripe for a proper game adaptation. Thankfully, Massive Entertainment (The Division 2) have given Avatar-heads a chance to explore the fictional Earth-like moon in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Taking place concurrently during the events of the first film, players control a custom-created Na’vi who has been raised by the Resources Development Administration (RDA) with other young Na’vi children. Trained as soldiers to infiltrate Na’vi tribes, the program is shut down just as Jake Sully joins forces with the alien species, thus forcing the young Na’vi children to flee. After a slow start full of basic chase sequences and tutorials confined to hallways, things finally open up.
Played from a first-person perspective, stepping out into a fully-realized version of Pandora is something truly special. The luscious flora and fauna that filled a dark IMAX theater in late 2022 are now finally things I can interact with.
To say that it’s gorgeous is a massive understatement. I commend the team for sticking close to the look and feel of the films. As a technical showpiece, this is arguably one of the best-looking games of the generation. Supporting this, the horizons are distant and cranking up the field-of-view slider in the menu gives players a sense of just how vast this world is.
Frontiers of Pandora is an open-world action-adventure in which players are tasked with exploring Pandora and liberating the Na’vi people from the clutches of the RDA while learning more about their own Na’vi roots. Gameplay consists of combat (both stealth and guns blazing), hunting, crafting, destroying enemy outposts as a means to clear the map, traversal across a large open world and taking on quests from NPCs. If any of that sounds familiar, it’s because the gameplay loop follows the general blueprint of other modern open-worlders. Hewing close to the likes of Ubisoft’s Far Cry series, those who’ve had their fill and checked out of this style might not be excited to jump into the Na’Vi-ified version of it, but there are some welcome changes that mix things up a bit.
One of the best things about Pandora is the sense of scale, not only in the size of the world, but the size of the character. Players control a nine-foot tall alien that can jump high, climb any surface and has unimaginable strength, which is shown as much as possible. For example, certain areas require the player to crouch to fit through the doors in human encampments. The first-person perspective helps add to this immersion, and nothing beats punching a (comparatively) tiny human soldier to send them flying.
Another great change comes in the form of traversal and survival elements. Being able to run and climb on large tree branches and rock formations makes navigation enjoyable, and there are certain plants that can boost traversal, like ‘grappling flowers’ on cliffsides or some that allow players to bounce on them for extra air time. As the campaign progresses, players learn new moves like a mid-air boost, a stronger jump, and their own Ikran — banshee-like creatures that offer flight.
The survival elements come in various forms, such as finding ingredients to cook meals that boost different attributes. Hunting and gathering for these ingredients requires different tactics, such as finding perfect weather conditions to pick certain fruit from trees, or making sure an animal is killed as cleanly as possible to preserve the meat and skin. As someone who loves hunting in games like Red Dead Redemption, this added an enjoyable depth.
Combat is equally enjoyable, if a bit unremarkable. Players have guns and bows, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Guns are louder and effective against mechs and soldiers, but will damage the hide of animals. Bows are great for stealth and long distance shots, but are held back in firefights by their slow rate of fire.
While these boxes have been checked off satisfactorily, my real gripe with Frontiers of Pandora has to be the writing. Rather than a smart or sincere approach to families and imperialism, players are instead given annoying quips from side characters and a meandering plot that feels like a retread of the first film. The narrative of a Na’vi protagonist finding their way within human culture feels authentic to Cameron’s vision, but nothing ever reaches the highs of the movies. Come for the visuals and interactive experience, but don’t expect much in the way of plot.
Overall, Frontiers of Pandora might be the greatest virtual tour I’ve ever been on. A large-scale, densely populated world offered wonder with every step and I loved being immersed in a fictional I’ve been in love with for almost 15 years. While the gameplay is only fair and the story leaves much be desired, I can’t deny that this cured the “Pandora withdrawals” I’ve had since seeing The Way of Water in theaters.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is published by Ubisoft and developed by Massive Entertainment. It is available on PS5, XBS/X and PC. This copy was obtained via publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately 20 hours were spent in single-player and the game was not completed (still playing). 3 hours were spent playing multiplayer.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T for Language, Mild Blood, Violence. According to the site: This is a first-person shooter/action-adventure game in which players assume the role of a kidnapped Na’vi alien engaged in resistance against a colonizing force. Players use arrows, explosives, and machine guns to attack enemies (e.g., soldiers, drones, mechs) in frenetic combat. A handful of areas allow players to use stealth tactics to infiltrate bases and attack soldiers. Firefights are highlighted by realistic gunfire, cries of pain, and explosions. One scene depicts blood smeared/splattered on a cliff near the corpses of soldiers. The words “sh*t” and “a*shole” appear in the game.
Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present in the options menu.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are subtitles and visual cues throughout the game, such as icons on screen alerting players of different things around the area. Certain visual icons can fill the screen showing the location of enemies. Subtitles also have indicators pointing to the speakers. These can all be adjusted and finely-tuned, making the game full accessible.
Remappable Controls: The controls can be fully remapped and there are also preset configurations.
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