Despite being a fan of the James Cameron Avatar movies, I was sceptical of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, if still slightly hopeful. While Ubisoft’s new open world game may be based on a multi-billion dollar franchise, there hasn't been much fanfare surrounding the game, especially when releasing during the busy Christmas season.

After ploughing through the first few introductory hours, I soon began to appreciate Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Simply dubbing this as a Far Cry reskin, a label that I’ve seen plastered across quite a lot of social media conversations, would be unfair. Regardless of whether you see it as a sci-fi Far Cry or something more, Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora is a very fun game.

Check out the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora trailer below:

The story of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora begins roughly eight years after the events of the first James Cameron Avatar movie. You play as a Na’vi orphan kidnapped along with four other children by the human-run organisation known as the RDA (Resources Development Administration), essentially a mining corporation and with an initiation led by John Mercer and Dr. Alma Cortez, the children were to be raised as ambassadors to convince the Na’vi tribes of Pandora that humans aren't evil, well, mostly.

When the proverbial poop hits the fan you, along with some of your orphan friends, are placed in a cryo chamber to be awakened several years later. When you do wake up, it’s to find much has changed. Before you’re tasked with joining the resistance against the RDA, you create your avatar in the basic create-a-character suite before all the fun begins.

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The first few hours of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora were a slog, it has to be said. But once I’d gotten used to how the game plays and how to navigate my way through Pandora using ‘Navi sense’, and despite the not-so-clear navigational indicators on the map, it soon became quite a task to put the controller down as I forever had the itch to achieve just one more objective or explore the distance lands, especially when I had acquired my Mountain Banshee, aka my Ikran, who I named Floof.

Make no mistake, despite being unfair to call this a Far Cry reskin, it does invite comparisons to Far Cry Primal, primarily through the fact that you’ll mostly use a bow and arrow as your main weapon. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is also brimming with wildlife and foliage. However, where Far Cry Primal features animals that once wandered our planet, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an alien world filled with wondrous science fiction creatures and plants, many of which are out to kill you. What’s more, given the fact that we pesky humans have invaded Pandora, you’ll also have access to weapons such as machine guns, shotguns and more. Each of your weapons and gear comes with the option of adding perks which can increase damage to certain enemy types, as well as health and resource bonuses.

Taking inspiration from the Far Cry series, it would also be wise to craft whenever possible whether it be a food recipe to give you a stamina or power boost in the heat of battle or upgrading your weapons and gear. If you avoid much of the crafting in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, you’re going to have a more difficult time against the RDA and later areas in the game. Acquiring the ability to tame animals whether it’s so they won't attack you or better still, assist you will also become a handy ability.

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As for the RDA, throughout the map of Pandora, you will stumble across mining facilities, some bigger and more heavily guarded than others. You’ll soon know that you’re near one because the surrounding environment will be polluted and depressing with deceased wildlife that has succumbed to this infected land. Luckily, you can put a stop to that by destroying said mining facility. Upon doing so, the surrounding lands will breathe once more and wildlife will come flocking. It’s in these areas where Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora looks its absolute best.

This game is gorgeous (when not polluted), and the colours used in each environment are vibrant. Simply stopping to take in the surroundings of Pandora invokes such a feeling of pure joy, which is an obvious intention of the developers, especially after wandering into polluted areas. There’s no escaping the fact that the mining facilities sound a lot like the infamous Far Cry radio towers but having dispensed of a mining facility and how that rewards you by changing the vibrancy of the environment, I felt much more of an emotional connection with my in-game accomplishment.

When I played the preview of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora earlier in the year on PC, it was stunning, and playing on Xbox Series X offers a similar experience, even if it can’t quite match the fidelity of a high-end PC. Despite some odd graphical glitches and shimmering, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is one of the best-looking games this year. That being said, you have two options that favour visuals or performance. I found that when favouring visuals, the framerate suffers too much and for that reason, I’d recommend favouring performance. It’s also worth noting the graphical difference between the two isn't all that noticeable. Speaking of options, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has the option to tone down tinnitus-triggering sounds and as someone who suffers from constant tinnitus, I wish more games had this function.

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The map of Pandora, or more specifically the region of the Western Frontier, is massive. There’s a ton to do, with main story missions that sit alongside a range of side missions and activities that span from learning new powers and simply getting to know Pandora better. Thankfully, unlike other Far Cry or even Assassin’s Creed games, it never feels too overwhelming with clutter. In fact, like me, you’ll probably just have a blast exploring the map and making discoveries. You will on occasion wander into areas that are way above your XP pay grade and will be dispensed easily by the more heavily guarded RDA stations and some of the wildlife. On these occasions there is no shame in retreating, gaining some additional XP and coming back later in the game.

However, despite most of the main missions being fun, many of the side-missions consist of going somewhere to help an NPC or collecting certain items to bring back to said NPC. In that respect, some of those missions can feel repetitive, but most are essential if you want to level up faster to take on some of the more challenging enemies and locations in the game. Some missions will also involve investigation by studying a scene of the crime, so to speak. These missions are fine and help to break things up, but they are simple and it’s usually just a process of elimination.

In terms of levelling up, there are five main tabs to your Na’Vi. Survivor helps you survive against the wildlife as well as carrying more items. Warrior is all about combat. Hunter is for those who like hunting with a bow and arrow, as well as utilising stealth. Maker will help you craft better items and be more resourceful and finally, Rider will help you form a bond with your Ikran and unlock new abilities. All the above can be upgraded using XP earned in-game. Lastly, we have the Ancestor Skills which can be acquired by connecting to Eywa. Some of the Ancestor Skills include increased stamina, decreasing damage when falling, a handy double-jump and more. The ancestor locations are highlighted in bright pink on the map and I would recommend visiting them ASAP once the locations are known

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Finally, the soundtrack of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has to be commended thanks to its composer Pinar Toprak. It draws a similar emotion to the James Cameron movies. As for the acting, that’s a mixed bag. Some of the character's voices are delivered with conviction while others are less so, which can slightly break my immersion, especially during more pivotal moments in the story. Overall, thankfully the inconsistent level of acting quality shouldn't hinder your experience and enjoyment of the game.

In a year that has provided so many gems including the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it would have been easy for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to get lost amongst the shuffle. I’d be surprised if this latest Ubisoft open-world game wins Game of the Year awards, despite its best efforts. Yet, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a surprise cherry on top of what has been a fantastic year for video games and I encourage fans of the Avatar movies to put this unexpected charming delight on your ever-expanding wishlist.

Pros: Gorgeous visuals, fantastic soundtrack, fun combat, decent crafting system

Cons: Repetitive side missions, map indicators not that clear

For Fans Of: Far Cry Primal, Avatar movies

7/10: Very Good

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is out now on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S (version tested). A review code was provided by Ubisoft. Read a guide to our review scores here.