The Ubisoft Forward showcase has just wrapped up, and generally speaking, it was pretty solid. Though it certainly had some pacing issues, with people taking to the stage for just a little too long, Ubisoft Forward did exactly what it set out to do: remind fans that Ubisoft still has plenty of games in the pipeline. While Star Wars: Outlaws was probably the biggest highlight of the showcase, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora might take that title for many fans.
Announced all the way back in 2021, with rumors suggesting it's been around since 2017, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has finally received its very first gameplay trailer, and a lot of it looks very impressive. From what fans have seen so far, it seems like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has managed to translate the beautiful environments of James Cameron's Avatar universe perfectly, with some truly impressive flora and fauna. However, not all of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora looks completely original.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Looks a Little Like a Far Cry Spinoff
A definite highlight of the Ubisoft Forward showcase, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora received a lengthy 6-minute gameplay trailer. Though there were still plenty of CG cutscenes interwoven between actual gameplay moments, this trailer does give fans a solid look at certain elements of the game, though these elements might look a little familiar to Far Cry fans.
The general gameplay loop of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora seems to follow Far Cry very closely. Players drop into an expansive open-world, and get tasked with taking down an evil organization that's built camps across an otherwise beautiful landscape, all from a first-person perspective. Along the way, players will have to encourage local factions to band together to fight the evil organization.
That's just the start of the comparisons. A lot of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's gameplay mechanics look almost ripped directly from recent Far Cry games. During a moment in the trailer when the player-character is raiding an RDA facility, they slide across the floor while firing their bow and arrow. If it wasn't for the blue arms holding the bow, some fans might think this is a scene from Far Cry 6, and that comparison only grows stronger with the introduction of human weapons like assault rifles and shotguns.
The narrator of the gameplay trailer also announces that there'll be a heavy emphasis on crafting in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, with it being the primary way to upgrade the player-character and their weapons. These upgrade and crafting materials can be found by harvesting plants and wildlife, which again, feels right at home in a Far Cry.
But Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora isn't a mere Far Cry clone. Though it certainly shares a lot of the same DNA with Far Cry, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora isn't without its own set of unique features and mechanics. The biggest difference between Far Cry and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is the latter's focus on aerial combat. While aerial vehicles have been a part of Far Cry for years now, they're not usually a major part of gameplay, but in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, it seems to be half of the experience.
According to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's gameplay trailer, a good portion of the game will take place in the skies, with the player exploring floating cliffs and taking down RDA gunships on their Ikran, or Banshee. When riding on the Banshee, the camera swaps to a third-person perspective, and the combat seems to function quite differently than when on the ground. Pair this with the game's Direhorse mount, the gorgeous environments of Pandora, and some unique ways to traverse around the open-world and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora does more than enough to stand on its own.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set to release December 7, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
