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The last time I was so excited for a game release in December was in 2020 (Cyberpunk 2077).
This time we’re getting an even more anticipated game on 7th December with Avatar Frontiers of Pandora.
Whether the game can bring Pandora to life like both the Avatar movies is the biggest worry of all and it looks like yes it will.
More so, we already have a core idea about what the game will have and the meta. Here’s every bit of official information about Avatar Frontiers of Pandora gameplay.
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora: Decoding the Meta
The game is positioned and marketed as an action-adventure title in an open-world setting.
You will play as a Na’vi and wander through the Western Frontier Pandora, one that none of the movies have covered.
This new Avatar game was always in the making and James Cameron has all but confirmed that the storyline will be canon to the movies. He’s done his bit with the game too, so expectations are above high.
Here’s a proper look into the meta as per official release notes and trailer content –
Decoding the Official Story Trailer
For the developers, the world of Pandora was always there, well established over both the movies. While we are awestruck about the playing in Pandora, the developers already had an existing world with tropes and design elements.
Based on this latest Official Story trailer grabbed primarily on the PS5 (and including some in-engine images), Pandora looks as breathtaking as it always did. Only now, it’s an open world.
Push to 0:27 for a first-person perspective. The game has a 3rd person OTS perspective as well.
Fast forward to 1:01 and you’re about to find your Banshee showing that the game follows what we’ve known about being a Na’vi.
We get a look at water effects around 1:16 at what seems to be 30 fps+.
1:22 showcases some excellent open-world interactivity.
From 1:37, you can get a feel of the combat sequence and it’s super-exciting. There’s a certain pace to it. Inanimate objects play a big part. And don’t forget, there’s co-op multiplayer too.
Character Progression
The story will put you in Pandora as a Na’vi who does not know the Na’vi way. You were abducted as a child by the RDA. While you were in cryosleep, the RDA has established a stronghold in the Western Frontier for you to wake up to, ‘a stranger to your birthplace.’
The premise is set for skill progressions where you start from nil.
Character progression will be a core part of the gameplay and how it proceeds as you ‘learn’ your way to be a full-blooded Na’vi.
Resources and Crafting
A huge open world means that there’ll be an expansive resource system behind character progression.
As you learn more skills, more resources and items are available to you to upgrade your character, weapons, and abilities.
Crafting more potent weapons will depend on the resource items you unlock. Trailers do show both indigenous and human military weapons, including arrows with retrofitted grenades!
Weapons from Both Worlds
Few games have delivered on a range of selections between indigenous and military weaponry. This is a key part of Avatar Frontiers of Pandora gameplay – the choice of weapons available.
Part of the storyline includes your knowledge of human weaponry since you grew up in RDA facilities with humans.
Open-World Integration
The game will be highly integrated with the open world of Pandora. As you complete missions and objectives towards resisting and defeating the RDA, more of Pandora will open up to you and help you in your progress.
Just as in the movies, this Avatar game will also have you connect with the world of Pandora in all the beautiful ways we’ve seen so far and surely some more new ones.
Land and Aerial Combat
We will get to ride both Ikrans and Pa’lis in Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, as expected. Keeping to the Na’vi custom, you will choose your ride as much as your ride will choose you.
Trailers show exhilarating soaring Ikrans and galloping Pa’lis across the same expansive and plentiful Pandora from the movies.
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora Gameplay Speculations
An Avatar game was always on the cards with James Cameron playing a substantial role in its development. Frontiers of Pandora follows from the already established storyline after Avatar: The Way of the Water. So, we can speculate a bit more than what we already have.
Dual Weapon Inventory
A game adaptation from cinema should carry through with the realism. Instead of 5-6 weapons available from a personal inventory, in-character may be realistic and limited to 2 weapons. A shotgun plus bow and arrow combination to take down the meanest RDA units sounds fun enough.
Day-Night System
There’s just something wrong with the concept of playing an Avatar game only in daylight. The movies show an even more surreal side of Pandora under the night sky. How can that not be in the game?
While the trailers don’t show much on a day-night cycle, there are excerpts in dark night-like scenarios.
The least we can expect is the game to have missions and quests set in Pandora’s vibrant neon nightlife.
Better still, for realism to really pull through, we should get a day-night cycle.
Always Accessible Open-World
What’s the point of an Avatar game if you can’t explore it anytime you want? We do get to see open Pandorian meadows flush with Pa’lis, ikrans scraping waterfalls thundering down floating mountains and the enlivened forest floor.
Along with the day-night cycle, a free-to-roam open-world is a must.
In-depth Na’vi Experience
Despite the action-adventure moniker, wouldn’t it be fun to learn Na’vi, go on daily hunts, complete designated chores, i.e., live the Na’vi life in full?
While all this does not echo action-adventure, the game should take this opportunity to achieve greatness, like RDR2.
If done right, this game can take video gaming to the next generation. From everything we have gathered about the Avatar Frontiers of Pandora gameplay meta, it’s safe to say we’re close to a revolution, something that Starfield almost got done but fell just a tad short.
