The press only agrees that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is very beautiful.
On December 7, 2023, a game based on James Cameron’s film epic was released for the first time in many years, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. While we were quite happy with the open-world action game in our test, not everyone sees it that way. Overall, there is a lot of disagreement regarding the title. There is actually only consensus on one point.
Only for fans
While some departments of While we talk about Avatar being one of the best implementations, it is frowned upon by others as a mediocre time-waster. This disagreement is reflected in the design of the world, the story and the gameplay. You can get your own first impression of the trailer:
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Avatar: Ubisoft wants to show in the trailer how good Frontiers of Pandora will feel on the PS5
While often the beautiful design of the world is highlightedjust as many editors mention that this is due to boring activities not inviting to explore. The latter only seem to be exciting if you already feel deeply connected to the world, for example through the films.
The deciding factor seems to be the pre-existing enthusiasm for the franchise. There is only agreement on the graphicsbut this is almost completely lost in the discussion due to the other factors.
The international ratings at a glance
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is currently available for PC Metacritic with a metascore of 73 points. Out of a total of 66 reviews, only 39 are positive. At 57 percent, that corresponds to just over half. Only three percent of the reviews are negative, so it’s clearly not a bad game. You can see the press review here:
| Website | Rating |
| GameStar | 82 |
| Destructoid | 90 |
| XboxEra | 88 |
| Screen Rant | 80 |
| VGC | 80 |
| Game Informer | 78 |
| IGN | 70 |
| COGconnected | 70 |
| PCGamesN | 60 |
| PC Games | 60 |
| Slant Magazine | 60 |
| Game Rant | 50 |
| TRG | 40 |
There are only very few positive reviews that point out that the game is also suitable for non-Fans of Avatar. An example of this is XboxEra
A feast for fans of Avatar. This game is so damn good that even people who don’t care about the IP like me can’t help but fall in love with it.
However, the significantly larger proportion of the other departments see it differently. So too COGconnected:
It’s a flawless expansion of the films that many fans will enjoy. But beneath all the light, flora and fauna, there is a lack of imagination and an unsatisfying sense of combat.
There is also a lot of disagreement about the story. While it is praised by many, there is criticism elsewhere. Slant Magazine describes the situation as follows:
It’s terrible that James Cameron hasn’t developed a story in his films that justifies such a wonderful and historical world at the center. The fact that Ubisoft repeats this mistake is infinitely worse.
This again suggests that the fun of the game depends very much on the interest in the IP, as the films already had a similar story problem. The conflict is most accurately described by Worth Playing summarized:
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will appeal to most hardcore fans of the film series. (…) For everyone else the game is just average.
You can find more interesting articles about Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora here:
What do you think of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora? Have you already played it or would you rather skip it? Can you do anything with the Avatar franchise at all or are you leaving it cold? What other wishes did you have for the game or what do you have regarding a potential successor? We are very interested in your opinion, so feel free to write it in the comments!
