As Avatar returns to theaters, there’s never been a better time to check out ‘Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’ (Image Credit: Space.com)
There’s no doubt that James Cameron’s Avatar franchise has become bigger than anyone anticipated before Christmas 2009. The ‘cultural relevance‘ discussion has repeatedly been rendered moot, with The Way of Water and re-releases of the original ruling the box office. Now, as Avatar: Fire and Ash goes for broke, Pandora is getting a massive refresh in video games with Avatar: Frontier of Pandora’s latest update and expansive story DLC.
Even two years ago, right as it launched, we thought Frontiers of Pandora was a great game — not just worthy of the IP — but also a much-needed expansion of its themes and the rich, vibrant world. By putting the Na’vi at the very center of the story and exploring the matters of colonialism and cultural erasure up close (and without the many limits which come with a movie’s runtime), Cameron’s sci-fi universe gained an edge which the more demanding moviegoers had been looking for since 2009.
There was, however, little hope that support would continue once its original roadmap was done, which is why the announcement of a much-requested third-person mode and an even bigger (paid) story DLC focusing on the Ash People came as a shock. The game was in pretty good shape, but after not quite finding an Avatar-sized audience, it was safe to assume no more Frontiers of Pandora was happening. Well, we’re glad to be proven wrong on that one.
At its core, Massive Entertainment’s (The Division, Star Wars Outlaws) game has all the key traits of Ubisoft’s much-loved/derided open-world output: Massive maps, tons of side content to go through, a stunning level of attention to detail, and often disjointed (due to its sheer size) storytelling. Players who are all about more contained and linear experiences won’t change their mind because of the setting, but if you love massive digital worlds where you can just get lost for hours and hours, it’s a perfect fit.
What made (and still makes) Fronters of Pandora special is how it takes advantage of the property’s uniqueness better than other big-budget video game adaptations. Na’vi don’t control like beefier humans in similar games. Their strength, weight, agility, and even heightened perception are perfectly recreated, making the moment-to-moment fun of this blue power fantasy stand out even if you’ve spent time in Ubisoft’s Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed titles.
Pandora’s dense jungles and wide plains, even after two years of remarkably beautiful AAA video games, still hold up as one of the top tech showcases of this game generation so far. By eschewing dull photorealism for highly detailed and otherworldly vistas that are even more saturated than their movie counterparts, Massive’s work on Frontiers of Pandora is transportive on a level that few (if any) big-budget video game productions have been able to capture. Far too often, video game adaptations of dense sci-fi worlds on the big screen have only produced fancy set dressings for one-note adventures. Frontiers of Pandora, on the other hand, stands shoulder to shoulder with the best of them.
The conflict disrupting the peace of such soothing locales doesn’t disappoint either. As the RDA’s all-out invasion effort begins to take shape — and while Jake Sully and his family fight their own battle elsewhere — the Na’vi are facing trouble across several regions. It doesn’t take long to see this is a war. A scattered one, sure, but an ongoing conflict that will reshape Pandora.
As the plot (no spoilers here) progresses, it becomes clearer that ignoring an existential threat doesn’t make it go away. The Sullys learned this the hard way in The Way of Water, and this story doesn’t shy away from the necessity of an armed revolution when an ontological evil comes knocking.
Video games have made a habit of presenting violence as the answer to all conflicts, as it translates so well into the medium. This can make it hard not to feel icky when you’re playing a realistic rendition of modern (or past) war scenarios. However, gunning down hordes of zombies, Nazis, demons, and whatnot with prejudice? Perfectly okay. The evil must be cleansed. In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – much like in Cameron’s anti-imperialist flicks – the same applies. Is humanity worth saving when it’s turned against nature and would rather repeat past cycles of violence on a distant moon than learn from its mistakes? Probably, as the Na’vi clearly believe in redemption and empathy, but those who refuse to abandon their path of destruction and suffering must be dealt with.
The Na’vi are peaceful people – okay, maybe not the Eywa-hating Mangkwan – but they also know skewering Terran fascists with two-meter arrows could save Pandora. As for human rebels, they’re probably even more okay with the idea of removing the RDA from the equation. After all, violence is historically one of our biggest exports. Unlike in other video games, the narrative and gameplay beats aren’t at odds with themselves. Yes, Pandora is a pretty place, and living in harmony with nature rocks. But puny xenophobic humans won’t ever see the light of Eywa? Also yes.
Ultimately, it all circles back to the earnestness of James Cameron’s movies. While it’s common to talk of (or dismiss) them as cheesy and tree-hugging to a fault, the reality is there’s a dark side to all the colorful and family-friendly adventure.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora understands this quite well, and with the From the Ashes expansion promising to introduce Pandora’s own gloomy people as the third movie does the same, things are only getting more serious and weighty for the blue humanoids.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The new ‘From the Ashes’ DLC arrives today (December 19, 2025).
