It’s been a long time since the box office smash Avatar first landed on the big screen, and while the sequel is probably the biggest new development in the franchise, the video game Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is also up there in terms of big news. We know that the UK release date will be taking place in 2022 as things stand, so we’ll will take you through all of the details and the latest news on when it might land and what the age rating certificate will be.
Plot
Details for the plot are still a little bit sketchy, but in general it’s going to follow a similar story to the overarching arc of the film. What this means in practice is that you play as the Nav’i and you’ll be tasked with the exploration of the far west of Pandora as you face off against the might of the RDA (Resources Development Administration).
AdvertisementStructurally it sounds similar in concept to Horizon Forbidden West where Aloy had to head out to explore new lands as the lives of her people are threatened. It isn’t clear as of yet whether or not the game will fit into the story canon of the films and their timelines, but it would be cool if there were some link to Avatar 2 The Way of Water.
We’re not expecting the same characters to feature, but there’s bound to be some connections between the game and the film series. The lore, wildlife and environments will be shared, but with a whole inhabitable moon to explore there’s a lot of space to go off and tell a different part of the invasion and exploitation story.
Gameplay
AdvertisementIn a stroke of genius Ubisoft has managed to land the development for the game, so as you might imagine it’s set to be a huge open world experience set on Pandora. With the exploration element, this could give it a lot more biome variety than has been seen in the films to-date, although, with the addition of Avatar The Way of Water there’s the addition a shoreline environment to go with the forest, mountains and floating rocks from the first film.
A gameplay trailer for Frontiers of Pandora hasn’t been released as of yet, so all we have to go on is the initial promo trailer. This showcased a lot of lush green jungle, as well as the bioluminescence that added to the visual impact of James Cameron’s world, but very little else, so it’ll be interesting to see how much variety there will be.
AdvertisementIn terms of weapons, the bow seems to be a big part of the combat mechanics and you’ll have multiple ammo types to choose from, including the explosive one that features in the trailer. In terms of melee attacks, it looks like the spear is going to be the main attack options.
In additions to fighting the RDA, there might also be some antagonistic wildlife to face off against and we’re expecting this to include both types of flora and fauna enemies. However, the film sees the Na’vi in peace and harmony with there surroundings, so this could be less of a feature than it first appears.
From what we can see in the trailer, you’re going to be able to ride certain creatures on land and fly others like the Great Leonopteryx in the skies of Pandora. Again, this has similarities to Horizon Forbidden West, but with the floating islands it’s also going to have visual links with The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild II.
The big question for us is whether you will also be able to take and control RDA vehicles and weaponry to add to the arsenal of the Na’vi. If so, this would give you rotor copters and mechanised exo suits to play around with, which could add to the experience.
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Avatar Frontiers of Pandora UK release date
The official UK release date for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora hasn’t been confirmed as of yet, but the trailer came with a 2022 slate for the film to come out. We’re getting close to the halfway point for the year and with nothing new from Ubisoft it looks like we can comfortably wipe out the prospect if it arriving before the end of summer in September.
That gives it a Q4 target, which is in keeping with the developer’s usual release schedule, which seems to favour the holiday period with Far Cry 6 coming out last year in October. Prior to that there was Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in November 2020, which did very well for sales, and that’s our best bet for the 2022 release.
AdvertisementUbisoft rarely need to push back launches, and with no other big open world title planned for this year, it’ll be very surprising if they miss the window.
It will be released on. PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia and Amazon Luna.
Age rating latest
As you might expect, we’ll only get the Avatar Frontiers of Pandora age rating for the UK from PEGI a little closer to the release date and it’s a similar situation for the North America market with ESRB. However, if you look back on the last Avatar game, which was a movie tie-in also made by Ubisoft back in 2009, it had a certification of 12 in both the UK and North America.
That’s probably a good guide for the 2022 game, but if you look back on Ubisoft’s last two open world titles it’s a very different picture altogether. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Far Cry 6 had an 18 certificate and while we’re not suggesting that might be the case here, there is an outside chance of a higher age rating than 12 depending on the combat mechanics.
We’ll update you with more details on the game as they’re confirmed. You can also check out our computer games section to keep tabs on the game. Visit the Avatar Frontier of Pandora website at https://www.ubisoft.com/sv-se/game/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora for more details.
