‘Frontiers’ Leaves Much to be Explored

In the newest addition to the Avatar franchise, “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” takes us back into the world of Pandora to explore a new story, separate from the main characters of the movies and comics. “Frontiers” is an open-world shooter, but it’s easy to spend most of the game getting lost in the vibrant, beautiful landscapes that it boasts.

This game follows a loosely similar plot to the original “Avatar” movie. The RDA, hellbent on colonizing Pandora for humanity, crushes anything in its way. In the shadowy aftermath of the disappearance of the Sarentu clan, a nomadic clan of diplomats and storytellers, a few children survive. These children are taken by the RDA and forced into TAP (the ambassador program) to raise and indoctrinate them into soldiers and scientists.

Image from news.xbox.com

The graphics in this game are phenomenal, the storylines and puzzles you encounter are engaging and well written, and this may be the first game that makes crafting feel less like a burden and more like an impactful, good decision. I found myself spending hours carefully collecting from the flora and fauna of this bioluminescent world just to ensure I got perfect materials. It’s just that engaging.

Yet there are parts of this game that are lacking. The gameplay follows very typical Ubisoft formulas, such as fetch quests, lost item collecting, and repeated, similar enemy outposts. There aren’t enough of those well-written storylines or sidequests to explore, and I often found myself longing to have more of an impact on the world. As I write this, there still isn’t a manual save option, which has led many players to being stuck and unable to progress in the story.

Frontiers is definitely a game for existing fans of the franchise. While you’ll definitely have fun soaring through the flying mountains on your Ikran, or riding through the plains on your Direhorse, there is a lot of context and lore that you’ll miss in the storylines.

Overall, I would rate Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora as a 3.5/5. 

If the game had more to do and learn rather than to see, I think this game would easily gain a point. The world is vibrant and full of surprises. I never get bored when I play it, and I’ve spent over 100 hours on one save alone just grinding for better and better loot. I highly suggest this game to anyone who enjoys the feeling of chill, relaxed games, but also isn’t afraid to pick up a shooter and have fun.