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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora | Review Thread

Draugoth

Draugoth

Gold Member
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Game Information​

Game Title: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Platforms:
  • PlayStation 5 (Dec 7, 2023)
Trailer:
Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 73 average - 57% recommended - 14 reviews

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MetaCritic - 72/100 - PC - Based on 27 Reviews

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Critic Reviews​

Atarita - Eren Eroğlu - Turkish - 75 / 100
Despite the fact that Avatar Frontiers of Pandora manages to captivate the player from the very first minute with its masterfully designed world, it misses its great potential by having serious shortcomings within itself.
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But Why Tho? - Kate Sanchez - 8 / 10
Even with its faults, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a stunning visual achievement, much like the films on which it's inspired. Only here, a rich narrative pulls you deep into the Na'vi and explores more tangible means of fighting back against a colonial power that offers a cathartic experience... Blow up a pipeline, save an animal, and explore the vast world of Pandora. That's a heck of a way to close out a year.
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Cultured Vultures - Jimmy Donnellan - 6 / 10
While it has some novel ideas, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's extremely repetitive quest design, underwhelming progression, and wholly monotonous gear system make it one of the most forgettable open world games of 2023.
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Destructoid - Steven Mills - 9 / 10
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.
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GGRecon - Dani Cross - 3 / 5
There are lots of design choices I didn’t mesh with in Frontiers of Pandora. I love the world, but barriers blocked me from fully immersing myself in it, and it’s littered with activities and outposts plucked straight out of the 2010s and planted in Pandora’s soil.
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Gamer Guides - Ben Chard - 80 / 100
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a gorgeous open-world adventure that, despite having some similarities to Ubisoft’s own Far Cry, has its own identity that begs you to explore every nook and cranny. That exploration won’t be for everyone, but for those of you tired of having your hands held, there’s a lot to see, do, and enjoy.
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Geek Culture - Jake Su - 7.8 / 10
As far as we are concerned, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is more than a serviceable open-world action-adventure experience, made better for fans who cannot get enough of James Cameron’s masterful sci-fi franchise. That said, for an adventure on a distant moon, it continually hints at a potential to do things differently and with a dose of freshness, but retreats into well-trodden territory to bring us crashing back to Earth. There is always going to be a fascination with the Na’vi, but you just might find yourself backing the RDA this time around.
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INDIANTVCZ - Filip Kraucher - Czech - 4 / 10
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora held all the cards and, at least from our perspective, squandered them all. This reskinned Far Cry is a mediocrity gallery reflecting the current AAA production stuck in the last decade. The Snowdrop engine does help cover up some visible flaws, but when there's a lack of polished plot, quests, and meaningful gameplay, players will figure it out sooner or later. So, while Frontiers of Pandora may not rank among the worst games of the year, it is definitely one of those games that will soon be forgotten with all the mediocrity.
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One More Game - Chris Garcia - Wait
While the FarCry formula is certainly evident in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, the game does just enough to make it stand out from similar titles that simply tick off boxes in the open-world formula. The world is beautiful and interesting enough to explore, and Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment have done well to translate this IP into a worthwhile title for some players, especially fans of the franchise.
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Oyungezer Online - Oguz Erdogan - Turkish - 7.5 / 10
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an extraordinary visual experience, allowing you to breathe in the atmosphere of a living planet. However, the scarcity and lack of variety in the action makes the pace very slow. Still, if you're a fan of the Far Cry games, you should give it a chance just for the gorgeous landscapes.
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PowerUp! - Adam Mathew - Liked
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is quite a bit better than I thought it was going to be, on the whole. Despite some half-baked mechanics and ideas, I still had a blast shredding outposts in this overwhelming, sumptuous sandbox.
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Stevivor - Steve Wright - 5 / 10
This is textbook average entertainment; it won't disappoint, but it certainly won't excite.
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TechRaptor - Andrew Stretch - 5 / 10
With a story that follows predictable beats, mechanics that provide zero gameplay benefit, and murky visuals, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora delivers an extremely underwhelming experience. PC players be warned of many technical issues.
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Vamers - Edward Swardt - Essential
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora more than lives up to the legacy of its cinematic counterpart. In fact, the title elevates itself to the ranks of exceptional and essential gaming - an incredible feat for a movie franchise tie-in. Ubisoft, often recognised for their prowess in open-world gameplay, absolutely exceeds expectations with this title. While its foundation may draw parallels to the Far Cry series, the game's unique setting, narrative depth, and immersive gameplay set it apart as a groundbreaking experience.
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VideoGamer - Antony Terence - 8 / 10
Look past Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s dull story and you’ll find spectacle and freedom lurking in its Na’vi customs and breathtaking ecosystems.
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XboxEra - Jesse Norris - 8.8 / 10
A delight for fans of Avatar, this game is so damned good that even one apathetic to the IP like me couldn’t help but fall in love with it.
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Mp1st - 9.5/10.0
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a mesmerizing journey into a place that is very much unlike anything out there. It’s fantasy and technology boldly clashing and offering a sprawling, remarkable world that deserves all sorts of acclaim. The more you explore, the more you realize just how amazing this planet is, the windy peaks making for some jaw-dropping vistas, the parkour navigation and Ikran flying a contrast that ironically couldn’t work any better.
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PCMRace - 6.0/10.0
Definitely one of the most boring games I've played in years.
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jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
I think the director of this movie could use the money . A film about shitty blue Smurf ripping off dances with wolves. Can’t see it doing any box office.
The Rock Eye Roll GIF by WWE


Hack director

J/K
I fucking love Cameron.
 
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Heisenberg007

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
If James Cameron and Disney wanted a proper AAA 9/10 Avatar game, they should have hired Guerrilla Games for that. Horizon Forbidden West + Burning Shores was almost an Avatar game.

PC technical issues aside, however, it seems like Frontiers of Pandora still have a few things to like about it. It'd be a "pick on a sale" type of game.
 
kruis

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
But Why Tho? - Kate Sanchez - 8 / 10

Even with its faults, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a stunning visual achievement, much like the films on which it's inspired. Only here, a rich narrative pulls you deep into the Na'vi and explores more tangible means of fighting back against a colonial power that offers a cathartic experience... Blow up a pipeline, save an animal, and explore the vast world of Pandora. That's a heck of a way to close out a year.
Click to expand...

In the old days you played video games because you wanted to feel like an action hero. Now you want to feel like Greta Thunberg and you get a (cathartic) kick out of fighting colonialism, blowing up pipelines, saving animals ... This is going to be a surprise hit over at ResetEra.
 
K

Kaiserstark

Member
Heisenberg007 said:
If James Cameron and Disney wanted a proper AAA 9/10 Avatar game, they should have hired Guerrilla Games for that. Horizon Forbidden West + Burning Shores was almost an Avatar game.

PC technical issues aside, however, it seems like Frontiers of Pandora still have a few things to like about it. It'd be a "pick on a sale" type of game.
Click to expand...
I don't really think Guerrilla would be interested to work on an IP who is not from them specially with the success they have with Horizon.
 
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tommib

tommib

Gold Member
As expected. Everyone glamorizing this generic bloat fest because of its trailers and graphical bullshots had me rolling my eyes.
 
Laieon

Laieon

Member
ACG liked it quite a bit and he's one of the reviewers whose tastes align with mine the most. I wasn't planning on checking this out because I'm not typically a fan of 1st Person games, but maybe I will down the road when its inevitably cheaper. The ubisoft formula is cozy and I've never minded its existence, sometimes preferring it over that of the games it was influenced by - Immortal over BOTW, for example.

Definitely miss the days of UbiArt though. Valiant Hearts is a masterpiece.
 
Last edited:
SJRB

SJRB

Gold Member


Livestream, PS5.

Edit: my god what a snoozefest (both the game and the streamer, lol).
 
Last edited:
Draugoth

Draugoth

Gold Member
excaliburps said:
Throwing ours into the ring! 9.5/10!
mp1st.com

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review - Survival of the Fittest

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review - A remarkable open world game that is fun, exciting, and absolutely gorgeous.
mp1st.com
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added to the thread

Thick Thighs Save Lives said:
This is uncalled for and one of the reasons why most of the devs and gaming press who had accounts on this forum have abandoned the gaf community. Smh.
Click to expand...

Make Gaf Great Again
 
Last edited:
FalsettoVibe

FalsettoVibe

Member
Yeah, I'll pass. Too many other good games dropped this year and my backlog crazy. Not to mention the first 3 months of 2024 are stacked and not buying this helps my wallet prepare....lol
 
MonkeyClaw36

MonkeyClaw36

Banned
Thick Thighs Save Lives said:
This is uncalled for and one of the reasons why most of the devs and gaming press who had accounts on this forum have abandoned the gaf community. Smh.
Click to expand...
Good, good! Weed out the crooked.
Guilt made them do it I guess. This game is NOT worth a 9.5

A 9.5 is close to perfection and this. isnt. it.

I wrote for the European Xbox Magazine for years and scores like this are very, VERY rare. This game doesnt come close.

Anyone without a hidden agenda can see and feel this while playing. Smh my ass.

2 reasons for this score:

- Bought off
- Some low tier site trying to generate traffic/ clicks

It's not based on the game looking at it from an unbiased or objective point of view.
 
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ikbalCO

ikbalCO

Member
I am %100 sure that this game is a lot more fun than reviews give credits for, a lot like ac: mirage.

It is so easy to pile on to ubisoft games lately. Spineless gaming journos really love to flex their journalistic muscles on ubi games.

Not unlike ac mirage, this game will have a good word to mouth and exceed expectations
 
King Dazzar

King Dazzar

Member
I love FarCry. But the whole focus on bow and arrows, with only apparently 3 human weapons. You might think Far Cry Primal, but it comes across as not quite right here. Yeah I'm not convinced. The whole gunplay loop in Far Cry for me is upgrading the guns and fitting different scopes etc. The map is also very large but quite empty according to reviews I read. I dunno, maybe wait for a sale.
 
GHG

GHG

Member
Xbox Era giving it a high score makes this a skip and wait for a deep sale for me.

Those motherfuckers have the worst taste in games.

It's a shame because I wanted this to be good but it clearly misses the mark. No big deal, still plenty to revisit from this year, plus Blood West just released out of early access.
 
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M

mdkirby

Gold Member
Sounds pretty meh. I’ll wait until it’s “free”. Seriously tho, they put so much effort in these things into what I would think are the hardest parts. Then make it all worthless by filling the world with droll quests and unrewarding progression/loot…which id think is comparatively the easier/smaller task to get right. Unless they genuinely don’t care about that, and think meh, gamers don’t give a fuck about the quests or story, they just want to run around mindlessly blowing stuff up and looking at the graphics 🤷‍♂️…so they assign limited time and talent to those things
 
King Dazzar

King Dazzar

Member
GHG said:
Xbox Era giving it a high score makes this a skip and wait for a deep sale for me.

Those motherfuckers have the worst taste in games.
Click to expand...
Yeah unfortunately I lost trust in their scores and reviews a long time ago. There were a couple of releases I challenged them on with regards performance issues not being captured. And they denied they had any issues, even though there clearly was. It all started to come across as off. And that's without going into all the shilling etc.
 
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Reactions: GHG
SolidQ

SolidQ

Member
www.computerbase.de

AMD FSR 3 Frame Generation in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora unterstützt FSR 3 Frame Generation und AMDs künstliche Bilder zeigen in dem Spiel massive Verbesserungen.
www.computerbase.de www.computerbase.de

VSync on or off no longer matters - and VRR works​

Frame generation in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora suddenly doesn't matter whether VSync is on or off. Two months ago VSync had to be active, otherwise FSR FG would stutter horribly. In Avatar, however, image synchronization no longer makes a noticeable difference. If the monitor supports variable refresh rates, there is no need to stick to exactly that limit. VRR now works properly. The frame rate can easily fluctuate while playing as long as the minimum frame rate required for a smooth image is exceeded.
 
MiguelItUp

MiguelItUp

Member
MonkeyClaw36 said:
Good, good! Weed out the crooked.
Guilt made them do it I guess. This game is NOT worth a 9.5

A 9.5 is close to perfection and this. isnt. it.

I wrote for the European Xbox Magazine for years and scores like this are very, VERY rare. This game doesnt come close.

Anyone without a hidden agenda can see and feel this while playing. Smh my ass.

2 reasons for this score:

- Bought off
- Some low tier site trying to generate traffic/ clicks

It's not based on the game looking at it from an unbiased or objective point of view.
Click to expand...
How does that make them crooked? The review average is "Fair" meaning it's mediocre. Not AWFUL. Reviews are just "professional opinions", a game being average but still receives 8/9/or even 10s has happened plenty of times before. Doesn't always mean that people are "paid off", it just means they pay attention to things differently or have different opinions. If the games review average was much lower, well then yeah, it'd be a bit weirder. But we've also seen it multiple times before. Also, nothing against them, but it'd make much more sense for bigger outlets to be paid off rather than a smaller one like them.

I'm sure Avatar fans will hold this game higher for obvious reasons, and that makes sense. For everyone else, this just an average Far Cry re-skin it seems, which shouldn't be too surprising IMO. 🤷‍♂️
 
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StueyDuck

StueyDuck

Member
People here are putting way too much of their life into games media and game reviewers 🤣

They are the biggest chops on the internet. If you enjoy far cry then you'll probably enjoy this game🤷‍♂️ there's more than enough info out there to make a decision on whether this game is for you or not, can we get rid of the non journalists already.
 
Doctor Hades

Doctor Hades

Member
Love how some people still think a 70% average means the game is 'bad'...

For me, this is exactly the score I was expecting it to get as both a licenced and Ubisoft crafted game. I will say that I have enjoyed many, many games over the years that have scored 70% on average from the professional reviews so this doesn't put me off the game (I will be playing it on PC). Ubisoft make solid games that are undeniably fun to play at least for a while but they rarely make exceptional games. This is mostly due to their formulaic approach to game design that plays it safe but I guess I cannot blame them for cashing in on a winning formula, particularly with how much it costs to make a triple A game these days.
 
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