When Avatar first came out oh so many years ago, I was actually quite impressed by just how beautiful the setting was. When video games came out for it, however, they didn't quite feel right. Now, with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora coming soon, it begs the question: How well does the game show off the beautiful planet of Pandora? Here's everything we experienced during the hands-on preview of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, from its gameplay to its story.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Hands-On Preview

The game comes out on December 7, 2023. It is available for preorder on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Ubisoft Store. For the purposes of this preview, I will first be talking Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's gameplay, then its story, before finally talking about my overall thoughts of the game so far.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Gameplay

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora plays a lot like your run-of-the-mill open-world game. You had, well, a huge open world to explore, as well as quests and sidequests to do. You could take your time in exploring the world, or focus on just doing quests to go through the story. Players have the power to decide what exactly they want to do in the game.

Exploration is one of the biggest parts of this game, and thankfully they did it pretty well. Taking in the sights from an alien planet was a great experience, way better than when I was exploring some of the planets in Starfield. The location looked familiar enough for me to know I was in a forest or a swamp, but alien enough for me to know I was not on earth. I could spend quite some time just exploring the area if I had the chance to. The parkour-like exploration really helps in taking in the sights as well.

The best way to explore, however, is by flying. After finishing one of the quests, I got access to an Ikran, a flying creature that I could call on whenever and wherever. Flying above the ground, and among the clouds was one of the best experiences I had during the preview. It was even more fun when I would jump off high areas and call for my Ikran. This allowed me to feel pretty badass while exploring.

My only qualm is that it's very easy to get lost if you're not paying attention. The game doesn't have a quest marker in the strictest sense of the word. As such, players have to rely on their Na'Vi sense to get around. However, as there isn't really a quest marker on your HUD (unless you placed a custom ping), you can easily go past your mission objective. After a while, though, you become accustomed to how exploration works.

The combat in the game is very straightforward. Players have a variety of weapons to choose from, each with their strengths and weaknesses. I personally liked using the heavy bow and the assault rifle, which I admit is very contrasting. I liked the heavy bow because of just how much punch it packs, and how heavy it feels. The assault rifle, on the other hand, was just fun to use. I felt like a Titan from Titanfall with how tall I was compared to humans. The time-to-kill was pretty decent, with it being proportional to the type of weapon I used.

What I find funny in the combat, however, is when I had to use stealth. Na'Vis are nine to ten (9-10) feet on average, so the idea of this huge creature skulking around undetected was really funny to me. That isn't to say, however, that stealth is useless. Whenever you're infiltrating a base, or trying to free trapped animals, using stealth is your best friend. Just make sure to hide behind an equally large cover when you do.

Overall, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's gameplay is par for the course as far as open-world games are concerned. You take on various quests, you explore an open area, and you stealth archer your way to victory. There are some hiccups that need addressing, like how easy it is to lose your way. Other than that, however, it has the makings of a pretty solid game.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Story

The story of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is also very simple. You are a Na'Vi that was abducted by humans and trained in the art of human warfare. After spending time in cryostasis, you find yourself in an abandoned facility and must find your way back to your fellow Na'Vi. You must then rally them together to fight back against the human oppressor.

As far as the story goes, it basically just follows the basic theme of the movies: humans are invaders, and the Na'Vi must fight back. It's just very interesting to see this fight through the eyes of a Na'Vi. However, I feel like it goes deeper than that. Your character, which you can customize yourself, was raised in a human environment, much like us players. The only life they know is the human life. As such, when they had to adjust to Na'Vi living, we are experiencing that alongside them. Our character is basically a stand-in for us players, in that we are learning from scratch just what it's like to live as a Na'Vi.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's story doesn't just focus on the fight against humans. It also does a great job of describing the Na'Vi way of life, and having us experience what it is like to be one. This is a story that was a perfect fit for an open-world game. The previous Avatar games all had linear stories and basically forced the player to step into the shoes of its protagonist. Frontiers of Pandora does things differently and allows players to build their story from the ground up. Granted, you still have pre-determined main quests. However, with how the game is structured, you can honestly say that this is your story.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Preview Overall Impressions

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has the potential to be a good game. There are of course still a lot of things that can be fixed and smoothed out. However, once fixed, then this game can be a lot of fun. I will honestly say, however, that I don't think it can beat out other games that have come out this year, and it probably isn't a contender for Game of the Year. Despite that, I can still see myself playing this game at least once if only to experience it and enjoy its story. Massive Entertainment has their work cut out for them, and I will be looking forward to seeing what they can do.

That's all for our impressions of the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Hands-On preview, its gameplay and story. Check out our gaming news articles for the latest in gaming news.