Hello iGamesNews readers! Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora debuted a bunch of new gameplay in today’s Ubisoft Forward. We at Ubisoft are excited to bring you a little more insight into the world of Pandora and the Western Frontier straight from the creators of the game.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora launches on PlayStation 5 on December 7, and PlayStation players will receive the Aranahe Warrior Pack for free, which gives them exclusive character and weapon cosmetic sets. Developed by Massive Entertainment – a Ubisoft studio in conjunction with James Cameron’s production company Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora lets players take on the role of a Na’vi who wakes up on Pandora from years after being abducted as a child and raised by the Resources Development Administration (RDA), a humane militarist corporation. Now a stranger on Pandora, you must learn what it means to be a Na’vi while considering the RDA and the threat it poses to the birthplace you are just beginning to become familiar with.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora creative director Magnus Jansén explains that this back and forth between two different worlds shapes the core of the game. “This character has never had any contact with Pandora,” he says. “You’ve never set foot there. You don’t know the customs of the Na’vi. You have to learn to become Na’vi, and that’s what this journey is a lot about.
Being a child of two worlds has its practical uses too, and your knowledge of humans uniquely positions you to fight the RDA. “You know how humans think,” says Jansén. “You know their equipment, you know their technology, and that gives you a huge advantage.”
A new world
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an extension of the Avatar lore, and as a result, Jansén and his team at Massive had an exciting sense of freedom, a feeling they wanted the game itself to reflect.
“It brought me great joy early on in the project when it was clear that Lightstorm didn’t want a game that repeated events you see in the movies,” says Jansén. “In the world of Avatar, joy comes from discovering and seeing amazing new things.”
With this in mind, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora takes place in a never-before-seen region of Pandora: the Western Frontier. “The western frontier hasn’t been explored in any other medium, and we’re thrilled to take players on an all-new adventure,” says Jansén.
First person on the ground, third person in the sky
You’ll cross the western border in first-person, a move meant to completely immerse you in the body of a Na’vi. For Jansén, once again, it all comes down to this feeling of discovery and freedom.
“So when I watched the first Avatar all those years ago, and then again with Avatar: The Way of the Water, there’s this feeling when you see Pandora for the first time, that it’s almost real, because the groundwork that went into creating it and the quality of the execution is so impressive that it feels like you’re in a real place, and you instantly feel like you want to go there “says Jansén. “And I remember, coming out of the cinema and feeling almost a little sad that I couldn’t.
“My ultimate main goal is to get you and me to go to Pandora, and a first-person perspective is the best way to be immersed in a new place. There’s so much in the details and in the technology of Pandora, all these otherworldly reactive things, and you want to touch them and see how they react. First-person was the most tactile and, most importantly, the most immersive,” says Jansén.
However, your perspective shifts to third person when you’re in the air, on the back of your own customizable companion banshee, or ikran, which is central to the core experience of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. “Soaring into the sky is so essential,” says Jansén. “And what the current generation of consoles allowed us to do – in terms of how far we can render the speeds we can travel – meant we could really do it justice.”
The way you’ve customized your banshee also helps make it feel like it belongs to you; something that can only be seen properly in third person. “The mission where you get your banshee is a central part of becoming a Na’vi, and you’ll be able to really make it your own by naming it, equipping it with gear, and more,” Jansén explains.
There’s a lot more waiting for you in Western Frontier of Pandora, so get ready to dive into Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora on December 7th. You can also pre-order the different editions of the game: The Collector’s Edition includes the ultimate edition of the game and physical elements including a statue (35 cm), an artbook, a premium SteelBook, a field notebook, a set of three lithographs and an AMP combination plan. The Gold Edition includes the game and the season pass including two DLCs, an additional quest, a unique banshee, and more. The Ultimate Edition includes the game, the season pass (including two DLCs, an additional quest, a unique banshee, etc.), the Ultimate Pack and a digital art book*. When pre-ordering, you will receive a “Child of Two Worlds” pre-order bonus with a character cosmetic set and a weapon skin. To pre-order Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, please visit PlayStation Store.
* Learn to use: ubi.liaFoPDumericArtbook
