Review coverage for Ubisoft’s rather quietly released movie tie-in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora dropped overnight, and the general vibe is that it is the Okayest Game Of 2023 this side of Forspoken.
Reviews have, so far, only gone out on PC (which typically only happens when the PC version represents the most stable build across platforms. Cyberpunk 2077 did a similar thing). From Metacritic’s 65 review total, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has drawn a Mixed rating, with an aggregate score of 73. Only three Australian outlets appear in the Metacritic troupe, indicating they were the only ones to have received pre-release access — make of that what you will.
Kotaku US has spent a few hours with the game already, and remarked that while it was certainly beautiful to look at, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora felt like little more ambitious than ‘Farcry with blue people’.
As we always do with our review roundups, we’ll check in with the Australian cohort first and then see what the rest of the world thought.
The Aussies review Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
The highest Avatar review score from the Australian cohort was Press Start’s 7/10, a score in line with most overseas impressions, saying: “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora successfully brings the world of Pandora to video games in a big way. It’s lush and vibrant and without a doubt one of the most luxuriant open worlds that Ubisoft has ever created. Its gameplay, on the other hand, is lacking the spark that makes great open worlds sing. Fans of the franchise will absolutely adore exploring everything this previously unexplored side of Pandora has to offer, just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel.”
From there, the game’s Australian fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse.
Stevivor’s 5/10 analysis was frank and rather pointed: “This is textbook average entertainment; it won’t disappoint, but it certainly won’t excite.”
Checkpoint Gaming felt it fared even worse, with a 4.5/10 score: “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a big misstep and feels like Ubisoft’s biggest missed opportunity in a while. Not even the fantastical and majestic sights of Pandora and some engaging hunts can cure the buggy, unoptimised product presented to the world. Offering a dull story while it trips and stumbles on delicate themes, it too is simply a confused formula of everything you’ve seen before from other titles, almost all of it ill-fitting. Two adaptations under their belt and it seems Ubisoft just can’t get that voyage of Pandora right.”
The rest of the world reviews Frontiers of Pandora
While Australia may have been passed over for Avatar review copies, seems there were quite a few more to go around overseas. The range of opinion in the US, Europe and the UK was even more broadly mixed than it was in Aus.
Destructoid sits at the top of the list with a very positive 9/10 review. “If you walked away from Avatar wishing a world like Pandora actually existed out there, here you go. This is that world. Seeing Pandora is one thing, but being able to scale its massive treetops, soar high above its floating mountains on an Ikran, and traverse its wide open plains on the back of a Direhorse is really something special. This is the best version of Avatar yet.”
Dexerto wasn’t far behind, with a 4-star review of its own (which Metacritic interprets as an 80/100): “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an exceptional realization of this franchise. Its spirit feels pitch-perfect, walking completely in step with James Cameron’s films. It understands Avatar and its appeal and lets it be led by that rather than typical FPS and Ubisoft tropes. Its highs soar, while also taking on some harrowing themes too. It may not work for everyone, but it’s a delight for any Avatar enjoyer and one of the best games based on a film IP ever made.”
Indeed, there’s a short run of reviews that fall squarely into the 8/10 category from here.
Screen Rant, 4-stars: “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a staggering sensory experience, and the consistent beauty of its world goes hand-in-hand with an engaging story.”
VGC, 4-stars: “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a serviceable open world game elevated by a stunning presentation. While the visuals will utterly wow you, it’s a shame it doesn’t introduce more original ideas.”
VG247, 4-stars: “Like it or not, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora feels like the perfect companion piece to James Cameron’s movies: it’s big but often intimate. Savage but calm. Familiar but charming. Even without playing a single minute of it, you should know whether it’s something you want to play. If you decide to make the jump, I suggest letting go of cheap analogies and using Na’vi instincts first and gamer brain second.”
Gamespot, 8/10: “Most of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora‘s work to emphasize its open world is very effective. Pandora is often magnificent, and I stopped repeatedly just to look around and take it in. Diverting from a goal to gather up some armor bark and bow string or blow up an industrial facility were fun detours and felt like an important part of existence there. Best of all, I never felt like an open-world trashman, dumping junk on the way to the next map marker. Instead, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora made me feel like I was adventuring in a place worth exploring, and I’m eager to go back.”
The Gamer, 4-stars: “You can spend countless hours cataloging the various plant life throughout the Western Frontier, seeking out every Tsraya flower to unlock new upgrades, and dismantling RDA bases far and wide – and I probably will. I am constantly in awe of the places I discover in Frontiers, from grand vistas to hidden caves to lookout points on floating mountains that give you the most incredible view. It’s a world I’m excited to continue exploring and learning about, and overall it has deepened my love for Avatar. Ubisoft’s strengths are also sometimes the things that keep it running in place, unable to iterate and evolve, and Frontiers is the perfect example of that. It’s everything you love and hate about Ubisoft games, Avatar-style.”
Game Informer dropped a 7.75, just to be different: “I found a lot to love in Frontiers of Pandora, including the welcome addition of two-player online cooperative play, which lets players enjoy the game with a friend. With time, the many interlocking features started to make sense, and I pushed past any frustrations to find a remarkably large and rewarding game. Enter Pandora’s vast wilderness with patience and a willingness for a measured march to understanding, and I suspect you’ll uncover what I did – a flawed but still praiseworthy addition to this growing science fiction universe.”
GamesRadar gave it a 3.5-star review, saying: “The world opens up nicely as you play as well, gaining things like a flying Ikran to soar high over the trees, or opening up the map to introduce new areas and ecosystems just as you’re starting to get comfortable with what you know. There is an occasional lack of clarity with things like guidance not always being crystal – wooly tracking missions being a prime example. However, the vibrancy of the world and the pure alienness of almost everything you encounter make Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora an enjoyable place simply to exist in, with all its otherworldly environments and creatures adding freshness the mechanics lack.”
IGN gave it a 7/10, saying: “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora features a stunning alien world to explore with a refreshingly uncluttered approach to navigation, countless enemy bases to destroy and Na’vi clan sidequests to complete, and no shortage of exotic flora and fauna to harvest and hunt. However, its combat is pretty one-dimensional, its mission design is a bit on the repetitive side, and its environment is generally lacking in any major surprises beyond visual splendor, meaning that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a solid shooting adventure that’s more inside the box than truly out of this world.”
Digital Trends awarded 3-stars, saying “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora tries to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to respect James Cameron’s cinematic vision by adapting Na’vi culture to an interactive medium while still packing in every open-world action trope possible. For a story about a race that only takes what it needs from nature, Frontiers of Pandora sure seems obsessed with excess.”
The Guardian, another 3-stars: “This is a well-made Avatar game. If you’re fond of the James Cameron films, then you’re in for a real treat, while even Avatar apostates will probably find something to enjoy amid Pandora’s dense undergrowth. But there are better examples of this form, and if you’re not all-in on the Na’vi way of life, you’ll be gritting your teeth through their tedious stories.”
So there you go, a range of review and opinion on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Thoughts? Will you be picking this up? Let us know in the comments below.
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