Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Lets You Experience The World Of The Na’vi From A Whole New Perspective

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, an open-world adventure based on the Avatar film franchise. This demo allowed me to get hands-on with some of the combat, bond with my Ikran, and experience the wonders of the Western Frontier.

In one of the first missions, I’m tasked with finding a type of nectar for someone at my camp. Fortunately, I’m equipped with a handy sense that allows me to easily track down the needed material. On the way, it becomes apparent just how self-sufficient I’m permitted to be as part of a Na’vi clan. I was able to collect resources to craft ammo and pick up other useful items to take back to camp, and access to a crafting system meant I could always be prepared to take on whatever lurked in the wilderness.

Back at the camp, I was able to access better weapons and gear, but the commerce here is kindness. I can gain favour among my fellow Na’vi by helping them out and donating resources, and spend the favour gained on new tools and upgrades. There’s also a skill tree, which allowed me to gain new abilities and build out the character I wanted. 

Before long, I’m back out in the wilds, trekking towards a mission that will reward me with my very own Ikran. In the Avatar universe, Na’vi can form a lifelong bond with these impressive flying creatures, but such a friendship is not easily earned. Here, I put the traversal mechanics to the test, leaping through canopies, grappling up vines and navigating the peaks until I was able to finally bond with my Ikran, which I lovingly named ‘Floof’.

On the back of Floof, I soared through the skies and really had an opportunity to take in how vast and exceptional this world looks. On the ground, the paths feel treacherous and unpredictable; the surroundings are full of odd sounds, dangerous foliage and creatures, and one wrong step could result in big trouble. Atop of Floof, however, I feel invincible, swerving around sky islands and nosediving into new areas at will. The sense of exploration is unrivalled here, I feel like I could go anywhere and do anything, and this gargantuan, vibrant world invites me to do so. 

Up here, my mind is abuzz with plans. I’m circling a large RDA facility, brimming with workers and dangerous robots. My task is to shut this place down to stop it from disturbing a local species by any means necessary, and there are a lot of means at my disposal. I am vastly outnumbered by threats, but I’m given plenty of ways to sneak around, use the environments to my advantage, and of course, use Floof for a tactical escape if necessary. The fun lies in how you choose to approach this complex situation; I had a great time burning a few robots to death by accidentally firing an arrow into some overhead pipes. 

With the RDA threat dealt with, my time with the game ended. While I had great fun with the combat (I’m a sucker for a good, thwumpy bow) and even more fun zipping around on my Ikran, I could have spent much longer digging into these complex systems and exploring this behemoth jungle. If this snippet of gameplay is anything to go by, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set to be one hell of an adventure.

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