Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora could be a new spin on Ubisoft open-world games, as developer Massive Entertainment has taken the opportunity to improve on the Ubisoft open-world formula. We played about two and a half hours, and at first glance, it fits pretty neatly into the established canon of Ubisoft open-world games with elements from both The Division and Far Cry.
Frontiers of Pandora tells its own story that takes place on the Western Frontier, shortly before the events of Avatar: The Way of Water. The series has never explored this location before, and you’ll find yourself running and climbing through everything from deep jungles to floating mountains. Movement in Avatar is very fluid and includes a charge-up jump, a double-jump, and lots of mantling. In this preview, we’ll go over many of the game’s features, such as navigating the world with Na’vi vision, taming and riding a flying mount called an ikran, as well as gathering plants and hunting creatures with varying degrees of rarity in order to craft armor and weapons. As a Na’vi, you are both powerful and vulnerable in combat, with the best strategies based on fast movement, stealth, and wielding one of four weapon categories. We’ll go over taking down bases and mechs with a heavy bow, RDA guns, or even hacking. Combat allows you to seamlessly transition from ground to air as you explore the alien and hostile landscapes of Pandora, which include day/night cycles, weather such as heavy fog, and random events.
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora releases December 7 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
