Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora review – Livin’ Na’vi da loca

It’s official, Earth sucks and right now I’d rather be exploring a lush jungle planet blessed by a complete lack of internet access. After two weeks on Pandora in Ubisoft’s new Avatar game–the 2009 tie-in game wasn’t bad at all!–I’m scouring the intergalactic classifieds for a small apartment to rent on the planet. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is exactly what I’m looking for in a December game, as it has a familiar design that pinches a template from Ubisoft’s Far Cry series, sprinkles in a few fresh ideas, and serves it up with jaw-dropping visuals. It’s comfort junk food, and I’ve been gorging myself on this Na’video game.

There’s no getting away from the Far Cry comparisons in Frontiers of Pandora, but that’s a foundation that proves to be the greatest strength for this Avatar game. If there’s one thing that Ubisoft and its studios regularly nail, it’s environmental design, a key factor when you’re looking for some escapist entertainment. Pandora looks and feels just like the far-off alien world seen in the series of James Cameron-directed films – a lush, verdant planet full of life that’s slowly choking to death under the heel of humanity’s invasion.

That’s where you enter the scene, as an outcast Na’vi stripped of their heritage and forced to rediscover their roots. Frontiers of Pandora does an impressive job weaving itself into the wider tapestry of the Avatar universe, and as you reconnect with your origins across the Western Frontier continent of Pandora, you’re flung into battles against humanity’s RDA corporation while you seek to unite the local tribes.

It’s a solid story, and while I wish it were anchored by a better pair of villains who didn’t regularly smack-talk me using space-Skype, the tale is expanded upon with volumes of extra lore and data you’ll discover in your expeditions. Kudos to Massive Entertainment for nailing the brief on its world design, because Pandora is one of the best sandboxes I’ve explored in a long time. Not since I toured an underground Berlin rave warehouse in Hitman 3 have I been this invested in a world, as I can spend hours just absorbing the pixels and soaking in the alien beauty.

Perhaps the biggest surprise here is how Massive has designed the game to not hold your hand at all. You’re given free rein early on in Frontiers of Pandora, and this approach is devoid of signposting or GPS coordinates. Considering just how intrinsic the theme of nature is in this game, it makes sense and you’re given just enough of a nudge with your in-born senses to find your way across this world. Na’vi vision–or Na’vision as I overuse this joke–is a handy tool for finding the right direction to venture in, and it comes in pretty useful during firefights against the RDA, making you feel like a true-blue member of that species.

That authenticity also extends to the ass-kicking portion of the game, as your Na’vi exile can stealth their way through missions with a selection of indigenous bows and specialized arrows, or they can unleash hell with human-made firearms. Similar to the Far Cry games, there’s a joy in finding a balance between these approaches, and you’re able to slowly level up your set of skills with abilities that will allow you to specialize your approach. Pour a few points into the Hunter tree to become a towering blue ninja who can somehow avoid being detected in RDA bases. Or, go all out with a selection of Warrior buffs to soak up more damage while dishing out ferocious firepower. The choice is yours.

When you’re not busy reclaiming the planet, there’s a rewarding drive to hone your hunter-gatherer skills as you keep a fresh stock of supplies and incrementally improve your arsenal. Crafting isn’t an exercise in busywork either, as Frontiers of Pandora keeps the requirements for each upgrade down to just two items when you’re crafting, and the efficacy of the finished product comes down to the quality of the materials used. That approach incentivises you to go out and explore Pandora, creating a more satisfactory experience without making the process feel like a chore to do.

On a technical level, Frontiers of Pandora is also a jaw-dropping display of polished visual design, one that rarely drops a frame even when the action heats up. The PC version naturally has the most impressive performance, but on PS5, the game is no slouch either. Throw in some of the finest haptic feedback since Astro’s Playroom through the DualSense controller, and you’ve got a game that looks and feels great.

Released on 7 December 2023, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.