Recently, I went hands-on with a build of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora from Ubisoft. With just a little over a month to go before release, I was excited to hands on with the game. The game is being created in collaboration with James Cameron’s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, and Disney.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a standalone adventure set in the world of Avatar. And, in the game you explore and safeguard a never-before-seen continent of Pandora called the Western Frontier. Without any further ado, let’s take a look at a spoiler free preview of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora!
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora Details
Platform(s): PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S , PC and Amazon Luna
Developer(s): Massive Entertainment
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Genre: Action-adventure
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
An expansive world to explore
My sneak peek at Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora dropped me right into the game. I began around 20% into the storyline, as guided by the Ubisoft representative who joined me for the session. The full game will grant players the exciting opportunity to craft their own character from scratch, complete with a brand-new skill tree. However, in the demo I played, my Na’vi character was ready-made with a handful of pre-selected skills.
I was promptly thrust into the expansive and vibrant Pandora wilderness, armed with a variety of weapons, including bows for hunting and automatic firearms. Naturally, my first instinct was to explore the awe-inspiring landscape. True to the movies, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora captures Pandora’s essence in all its grandeur—lush foliage, towering trees, bioluminescent flora, colossal root systems, and remnants of the metal structures left behind by the human settlers.
The game’s visuals are quite impressive to say the least. They feature intricately detailed particle effects, the whimsical presence of buzzing insects, and plants that cast an enchanting glow after nightfall. Massive Entertainment did a fantastic job with this and fans of the movies will certainly be pleasantly surprised. The sheer creativity and uniqueness of Pandora is impressive.
Navigating the world of Pandora
As an open-world game, figuring out your way around the environment is part of your adventure. In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, you can explore on foot or, my personal favourite, take to the skies. Your Na’vi senses help you track resources, scents, sounds, and quest objectives, making you feel truly connected to the world.
In my 3 hours with the game, I found getting around Pandora an enjoyable experience. There was plenty of running and structures and plants to climb. Then entire experience felt natural and fluid. As with other popular Ubisoft games, Frontiers of Pandora has resources that you need to collect, which gives way to the ability to craft new items and ammo.
I’ll be honest, there were several times where I was at a loss of what to do or where to go. However, with some hints I was pointed in the right direction. I feel like this was due to starting my demo already 20% into the game and not at the beginning. The world of Pandora is vibrant and bustling, which makes it very easy to overlook small things that you need to progress.
Taking flight
As I mentioned earlier, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set in a time when the planet faces renewed threats. You play as a younger, less experienced Na’vi who must undergo some traditional rites of passage. And, one of the missions I played reflected this journey. A prior task takes you on a path to confront the RDA, but a part of it requires you to take to the skies. This sets the stage for your ascent along a winding trail that leads into the clouds, where you’ll choose your own Ikran, one of Pandora’s flying creatures.
This aerial journey was a fantastic way to explore the intricacies of the world and utilize your surroundings. Again, I did come to a stumbling block when I was trying to progress on this mission. However, after a small hint, I was on my way. Again, I feel this was because I started playing already well into the game and I don’t anticipate to face these problems when I finally get my hands on the final game.
Controlling your Ikran was fairly straight forward. With simple commands for diving, rolling, and firing your weapons. Once in the sky, I felt the true scale of the world, its huge! It wasn’t just the landscapes below; everything around me was inviting exploration. While some open-world games can feel overwhelming due to their sheer size, my time with Frontiers of Pandora left me captivated.
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora launches December 7, 2023
After spending 3 hours with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, my interest and anticipation for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora has been piqued. I’m excited to explore the game’s massive word and see how the story unfolds.
If you are a fan of the Avatar movies, you’ll want to keep your eye out for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The game launches December 7, 2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, and PC. As always, I’ll have a full review of the game at launch, so be on the look out for that right here on the Best Buy Blog.
Let me know in the comments section below if you are interested in Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, if so, what excites you the most?
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Awesome! This game looks really good!