Yes, I’m rather behind the curve on this, as Ubisoft’s game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, was released late in 2023; since I no longer have a gaming posse, I’m exploring some of the open world solo games that I missed in recent years. And yes, I’ve been critical of the Avatar movie franchise (probably here, but definitely elsewhere), ever since seeing the first Avatar movie in theater back in 2009; though the films are undeniably gorgeous and technological marvels, I’ve not warmed to their plots, writing, or acting.
With those caveats laid bare, you might expect me to be lukewarm on this title. Nope. I loved it. Here’s why.
I just finished the main story, which I did not complete in a rush. I took my own sweet time, sticking mostly with the main quest-line, but enjoying the many side quests as well. I took my time because, unlike many games I’ve played since retiring last April, this game world was a real pleasure to explore. Moreover, it felt like a cohesive world, a world that made sense despite being complex and intricate, where the flora and fauna were reflective of the various biomes had micro-biomes, and where the sub-cultures of the Na’vi had likewise tailored themselves to interact best with their environment, be it forest, mountains, or plains.
The goal of the game is simple: save the world from rapacious invaders (e.g., humans). We play the game as one of the Na’vi, the tall, blue-skinned people who live in their pre-industrial idyll where they live in close harmony with the ecosystems of their moon, Pandora. Humans have arrived and, holding true to their historical nature, use their advanced technology to exploit the moon’s resources, regardless of the damage to the ecology or to the native inhabitants. Sound familiar? Yeah. Pretty much why I didn’t care for the movies.
However, where the movies do little more than put a glossy coat of paint on analogues of [insert name of indigenous people here], the game has more elbow room to flesh out the cultures of the Na’vi clans. Each sub-culture has art and rituals that are tied to the unique nature that surrounds them, and while yes, there are similarities between Terran and Na’vi cultures, it doesn’t feel like a direct lift from one to the other. The Zeswa, for instance, are a nomadic clan that wander the Upper Plains, but they are not hunters; rather, they are herdsfolk, protecting the massive zakru—large animals that provide a milk-based diet—as the beasts migrate across the landscape. Everything from art to tradition to recipes to clothing is reflective of the open steppes and the winds that cross them.
From a gameplay standpoint, it’s a smooth and polished product. The option to switch between first-person and third-person viewpoint is a big deal; it’s seamless and on-the-fly, and trust me, there are situations where first-person is what you want, but when I was running through the forest, leaping from stone to massive willow trunk, it was third-person I wanted. Combat is flexible, though geared more toward ranged weaponry and stealth than melee. And as you have more weapon options than quick-slots to choose from, you’ll definitely find yourself developing a style. The skill advancement system is simple, specifically in that you do not have to choose a “tree” to devote your skill points toward. Sure, at the beginning, you’ll pick what you feel is important, but by game’s end, you’ll have more than enough points to acquire every skill on every tree. And as for crafting, the game makes it easy to add ammunition on the fly, but requires more attention when crafting gear or weaponry, an exercise that you can make as easy or difficult as you choose. as some designs require very specific items of a very high quality; you may not need that high-end heavy bow, but ooooh, wouldn’t it be nice?
But where I think this game really shines is in the story line. Much like my other Top Five game, Horizon: Zero Dawn, this game weaves a story that has twists and turns, betrayals and unexpected alliances. Not all humans are bad, not all Na’vi are good, and in the course of the main quest-line we encounter politics and power plays and a real search for self and growth. And while the overarching impetus can be boiled down to “eco-warrior vs industrialist,” there are some good interpersonal dramas that are well-crafted and excellently timed. The use of cut-scenes is limited but well executed.
Small things, too, pleased me about this game. There’s a fairly big cast of NPCs, but unlike some other studios (cough-cough-Bethesda-cough), each one I talked to had a unique facial structure made even more distinct by age, clothing, decoration, and the excellent work of the voice actors. Traveling the world, I began to learn what plants and animals were nearby by their sounds. Even the quality of light was different, depending on the terrain, the biome, the weather, and the time of day. And the voice work was top-notch. One of my pet peeves about sci-fi is the indiscriminate use of meaningless apostrophes in alien names, but here—as in Na’vi and Ri’nela, the people and one of the characters—the voice actors use those apostrophes as glottal stops (like the apostrophe in Hawai’i or in the break in the phrase “uh-oh”). Little things, but they all help bolster the realism of the world.
It is not a perfect game. It has glitches. It has a few bugs. I got “clipped” into inescapable areas a few times (I tend to explore . . . a lot), but a quick Fast Travel sorted that out. There were times when the foliage would flicker, usually when the sun was low in the sky or the clouds began to gather. There were two spots where a side-quest refused to start, but a quick visit to Reddit helped me get past the bugs. And, after a few days’ worth of reclaiming drill sites and coming across RDA patrols, I saw the patterns that allowed me to game these small encounters. To be honest, though, these were not even annoyances, and were much less prevalent here. Maybe it’s a good thing, waiting two years to start a game. Hehe.
Mostly, though, it is just a gorgeous game world. Once I got my ikran (one of the quasi-mini-dragons one can fly around) and was able to bond with a direhorse (great for the plains), I often eschewed all Fast Travel in favor of taking the scenic route. I expect you will, too.
I’m about to embark on the two DLCs that came out a while ago, and there’s a new one—From the Ashes—released to coincide with the third movie in the franchise. I’ll wait for the movie to hit a streaming channel, but in all likelihood I’ll buy the expansion.
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Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 