Though the next Avatar sequels are still many years away, Ubisoft is taking you back to the Na'vi's home moon with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora . This series from James Cameron is one of the most visually stunning pieces of science-fiction film, and the studio behind Star Wars Outlaws , Massive Entertainment, is now adapting the universe into an equally gorgeous new g

When first looking at the map of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora , it clearly looks as busy as any Ubisoft game . Expanding the map all the way out also showed us how big the area was, at least twice the size of the playable section we were given (which we could not explore all of during our time with the game), and everywhere the save file hadn't been before us was covered in clouds. There are color-marked areas, marked for resource gathering; names across wider regions, indicating things like swamps; and a few select stand out areas marked like the Home Tree. Some areas like the Ikran Rookery weren't specifically marked until we made it to them for the quest, so it's clearly a map that develops over t

Magnus Jansen: Oh, wow. There are a couple of big milestones, I think. In any video game or even software, there are these big stages, like alpha, beta, et cetera. And then before the alpha, there are sub-milestones before that. There was this point where we had our ikran, the banshee, your own personal dragon. We had those systems up and running, and then we had that working. And when we get the Vista system and the rendering up and Related Site running on the map we have of the Western Frontiers, which is what we call the new part of Pandora that we crea

And then finally I would say, we got our big ray tracing, the sort of lighting engine upgrade came in around 2020 or 2019. That all sort of was rolled out in a big capacity, a big addition to Snowdrop. And that just changed the look of the forest completely to the better in an amazing way. So that was also just a huge milestone that I remem

Magnus Jansen: I really love the banshee and the way we made it like a really special companion. Of course, you can pet it, but it has a favorite food, for instance, that you don't know about. And it's randomized for all players, so all players will have a different favorite food, and then you have to feed it. And you get to name it, and then you call it that name. You get to pick how it looks, and then you get to dress it up. And that sounds childish, but it is childish. I love it. I love that you get to play with it like that. So I think the banshee is truly a joy at all times. And then you talk to it when you fly, and it's like you say, "Good job Floof," or whatever you decided to name it. [Lau

Although Ubisoft may show off more of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora 's story and characters ahead of its December 7 release, players won't know for certain just how effectively the game delivers on its promise until they can get their hands on it. The experience is certain to be expansive, and weaving a strong narrative through its world might be a task as difficult as it is promising. For now, fans can take comfort in the fact that _Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora _ has set itself up for success with a choice of protagonist that offers significant potential for the best player experie

The other thing is somewhat more broad, but I think just the depth of execution we did on all of the Na'vi clans. There's three clans, one for each region. Our rainforest region is called the Kinglor forest in the Na'vi terms, but as a dev, we've always called it the rainforest region. And then to our upper plains region or the grasslands region, which is completely different, a completely different clan. Their culture is different, they have different food stuffs, they have different crafts, they have different people, they have a different attit

They actually were interested in the medium. Humble about that they weren't experts, which was great, very encouraging that they were humble about that. But also they knew strongly that to make a great game of Avatar and Pandora, we need to capture and really lean into what makes games unique. And that insight was super cool, and obviously that's insight that we agreed w

The assault on the base was also incredibly fun, topping many of the best outposts in Far Cry games . To destroy and take over the base, there were a handful of activities throughout we had to complete. Unlike Far Cry 6 outposts where it was as simple as destroy a propanganda billboard and killing the soldiers, we had to about three different objectives to complete before ascending to hack and take over the base. It's uncertain if every outpost operates the same way, but contextually, it wouldn't make a lot of sense unless they were all oil rigs. There's also a stealth option to taking over the bases, and while we tried, we didn't get far before a full-on brawl and fight for our life broke

The Avatar films have very distinct main characters. Although the traditions and customs of Pandora play a major role, these story elements always revolve around Jake Sully, Neytiri and their respective families and friends. The Way of Water introduces new characters such as Jake and Neytiri's children , along with other important humans and Na'vi. Frontiers of Pandora could bring back these characters, allowing players to interact with them. Even if the game explores new characters and locations, there is always the possibility that its story will overlap with the movies, allowing players to connect with some of the characters they already k