Review: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is Visually Stunning But Lacks Substance

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Regardless of the jokes about Smurfs in space, there’s no disputing James Cameron’s Avatar is a mega-franchise that has made over $5 billion off two – yes, two! – films. Now, with even more movies on the way, the Na’vi and Pandora return to the world of video games in Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The first-person action-adventure game seems like a natural extension that’s rife with endless potential, but it ends up being a mixed bag of brilliance and blunder.

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From a narrative perspective, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora doesn’t require too much knowledge of the franchise beforehand. It’s a standalone story that follows a Na’vi orphan who was trained to be a soldier by the Resources Development Administration (RDA). The player takes control of the orphan, customising their voice and appearance, as they are freed and head off to the Western Frontier – a new part of Pandora. Here, the player discovers more about the Na’vi tribes as they battle the RDA for the fate of the Western Frontier and their natural resources.

While there are enough allusions and callbacks to the movies here, it proves smart to make this game’s tangential story far more accessible to the average player. All the important pieces and essential worldbuilding details are revealed early on, while the other bits and bobs unfold in an organic manner as the narrative develops. That said, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora lacks the depth and emotional nuances of the movies, as this feels like a standard good versus bad story. It also doesn’t reveal much about the Na’vi, choosing to hide behind esoteric and vague reasoning. Maybe James Cameron told the developers and