Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set to launch on December 7, 2023, worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Amazon Luna, and Microsoft Windows.
With a canonical tale that ties into James Cameron's wildly popular blockbuster franchise, Massive Entertainment's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will allow players to explore an open-world Pandora for the first time. However, the game's gameplay seems reminiscent of another well-known Ubisoft series: Far Cry. With a last update, Ubisoft discontinued support for Far Cry 6 in November 2023. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, the company's upcoming open-world first-person shooter, was released a month later to bridge the gap.
The film, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora centers on the extraterrestrial Na'vi tribes and their struggle to keep their home planet safe from Resource Development Administration (RDA) resource exploitation. Players of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora assume the role of a Na'vi who was abducted by the RDA when still a little child. With the use of their cutting-edge military technology, they received training here to help the organization. Fifteen years later, the main character appears to have managed to get away from the RDA and is starting to reintegrate with the Na'vi clans, fusing their knowledge from the RDA with the traditional skills they are learning to become a "child of two worlds".
Is It Far Cry Inspired? Let’s Find Out!
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is largely a first-person shooting game set in a large open area, much like Ubisoft's Far Cry series. The game features a variety of futuristic weaponry, including firearms from the RDA and the more conventional bows and arrows used by the Na'vi, along with equipment that can be improved by gathering resources and plants located across the terrain.
Since Far Cry 2 in 2008, every Far Cry game has had players taking on a new regime in a different setting. Except for Far Cry: New Dawn, a straight sequel to Far Cry 5, the majority of these games function as an anthology, requiring each entry to introduce new monsters, characters, and locales. The fact that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is canonical to the previously established Avatar film universe, however, means that most players will be aware of the type of threat they're up against even before they boot up the game.
In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, John Mercer of the RDA serves as the primary leader of the wicked government that the player must overthrow. Far Cry's tyrants and cult leaders, such as Pagan Min in Far Cry 4, Joseph Seed in Far Cry 5, and Antón Castillo in Far Cry 6, appear to be replaced by Mercer in the game. Since Mercer was the one behind the protagonist's childhood kidnapping and indoctrination into the RDA, the two have a personal bond that should lead to some intriguing confrontations when they cross paths in the game.
First Impression – How’d It Look
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, undoubtedly the highlight of the Ubisoft Forward display, was given a big 6-minute gameplay clip. While there were still a lot of computer-generated scenes woven in between real gameplay sequences, this video does offer fans a good look at some of the game's features—even though some of them may be recognizable to Far Cry lovers.
The overall gameplay flow of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora appears to be rather similar to that of Far Cry. From a first-person point of view, players are thrust into a huge open world where they must destroy an evil organization that has set up camps over an otherwise stunning environment. Players will need to inspire nearby factions to unite in opposition to the evil organization throughout the journey.
And those are only the initial parallels. Many of the gameplay elements in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora seem nearly exactly lifted from the most recent Far Cry titles. A scene in the trailer shows the player character sliding across the floor while shooting a bow and arrow as they invade an RDA facility. Some fans may mistake this scene for one from Far Cry 6 if it weren't for the blue arms holding the bow, and that resemblance only gets stronger when human weaponry like assault rifles and shotguns are included.
The demo trailer's narrator also teases that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora would place a strong emphasis on crafting, with it serving as the main means of character and weapon upgrades. Again, collecting plants and wildlife makes you feel like you're in a Far Cry, and you can find these upgrading and crafting resources there.
Spectacular Locations: More Focus on Cultural Exploration
It's a little surprise that the original idea for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was so different, emphasizing more on the cultural study of Pandora and the tribes and species that call it home than it does the shooter gameplay at the heart of the game. Producer of Avatar Jon Landau lamented that this "didn't fit into the gaming model" but added that a lot of non-shooting features were still included to differentiate it from other first-person shooters like Far Cry and give players a better understanding of the Na'vi way of life away from their constant conflict with the RDA.
It's obvious that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's Exploration will offer players a distinct experience from the Far Cry series. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora allows players to tame and form bonds with the creatures on Pandora, such as the flying Ikran or the enormous Zakru of the Upper Planes, before using them as mounts. In contrast, the Far Cry games do allow players to drive land vehicles and have other traversal mechanics like gliding or grappling depending on the title.
Rather than merely using these critters as a means of transportation, this way of traversal pulls into the interconnectedness between the Na'vi and nature that has been addressed in Cameron's films, making for an even more immersive experience. In addition, the Ikran is capable of supporting aerial operations against the RDA; taking out bases from the air is a much more alluring alternative than breaking in on the ground.
Final Take
The gameplay trailer for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora indicates that a significant amount of the game will be played in the air, with the player using his Ikran, or Banshee, to explore floating cliffs and take down RDA gunships. The combat appears to operate very differently while riding on the Banshee, as the camera switches to a third-person viewpoint.
When combined with the Direhorse mount in the game, the stunning Pandoran landscapes, and a few distinctive methods to explore the open world, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora accomplishes more than enough to stand alone. So keep your wears & gears ready to explore Pandora and find out what it feels like to be a true Na’avi-ian.
