Second cartridge from Ubisoft for the end of 2023 after Assassin’s Creed Mirage which unfortunately divided the press and players, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora has a double pressure: to allow Ubisoft to end the year on a good note, and to honor the original material that is the films of master James Cameron. The filmmaker is not only an outstanding technician, but also a demanding director. The latter trusted Ubisoft to adapt the adventures of the Na’Vi people into a video game, and after several years of waiting, we were able to test the game for almost 3 hours. Enough to come back with our controller impressions in hand.
Let’s start by putting some context around this Avatar Frontiers of Pandora. First thing to know: the game is developed by the Ubisoft Massive studio, known not so long ago as Massive Entertainment, the developers of The Division series. Besides, how does the Ubisoft title compare to James Cameron’s film? This is an original story and it is placed between the 1st and 2nd film The Way of Water. We will in fact embody a completely original Na’Vi character (a woman whose name is not known; at least not during our preview session), who was torn from her people and taken hostage by Humans and the GDR. Their goal behind this kidnapping? Shape captive Na’Vi into new allies so that they turn against their own people. But a battle will change plans and force our character to be cryogenically frozen. It was only 15 years later that she would wake up in a transformed Pandora and learn to find her roots and her culture.
With Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Ubisoft aimed to show other lands of Pandora. Unfortunately, development was considerably delayed and the game therefore arrives a year after James Cameron’s Avatar 2. We wonder what the fate of the game would have been if it had been released in December 2022, at the same time as the last tidal wave at the box office? We will never know, but it is certain that if the releases had been simultaneous, Ubisoft would have sold many more copies. But let’s not rub salt in the wound for Ubisoft, which here offers us a virtual visit to Pandora. And precisely, if there is one thing that is particularly successful in this Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, it is the planet Pandora, which is magnificently transcribed on the screen. The reproduction of the planet of the Na’Vi is a real success. So of course, technically, it’s not exceptional and we can see that the engine used is already starting to date, especially after Alan Wake 2 which was a monumental slap in the face to many people, but if technically, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora remains correct without more, the artistic direction and the richness of the environments manage to create a perfect illusion. We let you admire the result in our video preview, but the settings are provided, detailed, extremely varied and literally give us the impression of being in James Cameron’s film. The colors explode everywhere, the flora is quite crazy rich and we find many plants that we could see in James Cameron’s films. In order to bring a little more realism and also stick to the films, the developers did not hesitate to push the wind management in the game to the maximum. The trees and plants move everywhere, and these effects give this feeling next gen’, recalling at the same time a certain Horizon Forbidden West.
Maybe you already know this, but let’s clarify it anyway: Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is indeed an open world, a huge open world in which you can roam freely, and the latter presents several unique biomes that we will be able to travel on the back of Ikran. During our gaming session, we just followed the main plot and stayed mainly in the Kinglor forest, which is located in the shadow of gigantic floating mountains. This is where the Aranahe tribe lives, a clan of weavers who will teach us to hunt and fly. Among the most memorable passages of our session, we remember the passage where we had to follow an Ikran in these mountains to tame him. Visually and musically, it was a real moment of pleasure, with this feeling of grandeur, dizziness but above all freedom. It is perhaps on this aspect that the Ubisoft title Massive impresses, since there was a real beautiful atmosphere in the game with a guaranteed feeling of change of scenery, like when you watch James Cameron’s films. Of course, Ubisoft Massive promises different and varied environments depending on the areas of Pandora that we visit, and it is obviously on the back of Ikran that we will move around more easily. It will also be possible to tame an Equidius (these 6-legged horses) a little later to move more quickly on land, but we were not able to test them in our session. Besides, it’s impossible to tell you if we recover the horse before or after the flying animal…
“Piloting” your Ikran was quite pleasant and it is possible to do quite a few things when you are flying. You can in fact accelerate, do barrel rolls (Starfox style) to avoid enemy fire, look freely around you, fire your weapons, feed your Ikran to heal it and of course use your enhanced Na’vi senses. to locate points of interest. There are no restrictions when you’re on the back of Ikran, you can really wander wherever you want. Moreover, the developers were smart, they placed a fog of war on the ground, probably to avoid clipping and other popping of unsightly objects. Unless this fog of war is only present at specific times of the day, such as in the morning to simulate a mist, but we very much doubt it… That said, when we get closer to the ground, this fog is fades then disappears, rest assured. Here, a very nice little detail: the way the Ikran lands, with this very cool animation where it flaps its wings strongly, giving the feeling of a dynamic and natural landing. Also note that it will be possible to whistle your Ikran so that it comes to meet us, which will save considerable time since you will not have to go to the point where you left it. Of course, there is a skill tree for your Ikran and over the course of the adventure, it is possible to develop its abilities, but also personalize it cosmetically to make it unique and according to your own tastes.
In terms of combat and gunfights, the game also promises a lot of variety. Because as a child of both worlds, it is possible to master several fighting styles, with firearms from the GDR, that is to say from the human clan, or via the arsenal created by the Navis, certainly more rudimentary, but actually more efficient and more powerful than shooting bullets. Because we must not forget that a Na’vi is bigger, stronger and more resistant than an average human being and we must not be afraid to engage in hand-to-hand confrontation, particularly when faced with large mechas that can be destroyed with your bare hands.
Besides, it’s also a way to save your ammunition because the game doesn’t allow you to pick up arrows from corpses, which I admit is quite an aberration… Still, the confrontations are rather pleasant and we were able to test the infiltration of a GDR base to recover data or sabotage pipelines. Moreover, it is preferable to take the time to locate the places to have a better overview before attacking, especially since by using the Navi sense, it is possible to scan a area to identify the number of enemies, their different patterns and also identify their weak points.
The game also offers several approaches and it is possible to play it more stealthily if you are not a fan of sneaking in. But unfortunately, the enemy AI in the game is still a weak point, and just like the last Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you just have to play around with the game to see that human soldiers have very limited AI, to say the least. faulty. They don’t see much, and quickly forget that they are looking for an intruder, but unlike Assassin’s Creed Mirage where it was a real big problem because it was the heart of the gameplay, for Avata Frontiers of Pandora, it is possible not to dwell on this failure. That said, Ubisoft and infiltration are still not a panacea… The objective is therefore to destroy the various installations of the GDR to allow Pandora to regain its nature, and its battles will also take place on land than in the air. Among the enjoyable gameplay mechanics taken from other Ubisoft productions such as the Far Cry series, it is possible to enjoy what the nature of Pandora has to offer. Fruits, plants, resources to harvest which will allow you to craft, make objects for your weapons and equipment. But there are also ingredients for cooking and preparing meals to gain strength and heal yourself during fights, whether for your Navi or your Ikran. There is therefore a light RPG aspect to take into account, which was rather fun, knowing that certain fruits require a little manipulation of the controller to be picked up. Overall, you’ll have to scan the environments around you quite a bit, to find lots of little things to collect, collectibles, but also find your way, with plants to “activate”. Because it is fashionable to remember that the nature of Pandora is connected to Eywa, this mother nature with which it will be possible to interact via a special plant, tarsyu, and will thus allow one to develop one’s physical abilities. Be faster, more agile, more durable, improve your double jump, because yes, there is a double jump in the game and it’s honestly a good idea, but also become a better hunter.