And it’s not just the repetition. The graphics often feel clunky, particularly when it comes to trying to shoot something at a distance. In general, the gameplay mechanics are frustrating. I have yet to really figure out how to slide between weapons, ingest food for healing, or perform other basic duties in the heat of battle, and I don’t think I ever will. The physics of combat, including the impact of arrows and the recoil of RDA weapons feel inconsistent too. It’s just a game that needed more time in development to refine these key elements of how it plays when a gamer in their hands.
The truly frustrating thing is how easy it is to see the DNA of a game that works here. If you asked me if I wanted to play “Far Cry: Avatar,” I would pre-order that game immediately. An open-world game and said world is Pandora? Sign me up. But games in the “Far Cry” series and ones like it work on two foundations. First, there needs to be freedom of gameplay, a desire to find every secret the world is keeping. The world here just isn’t rich enough to want to explore it. Second, there needs be new toy in every corner of the sandbox. I’m already tired of crafting items and cooking food. They’re just unrefined systems, and my guess is that I will be asked to devote dozens more hours to them, trying to keep straight the dozens of different ingredients that need to be combined to truly progress in the game.
Like a lot of people, I was a bit startled that “Avatar” surged back into pop culture as much as it did at the end of 2022 and startled at how much I enjoyed and admired “The Way of Water.” So I was ready to continue my exploration of this universe a year later, instead of waiting so long between film installments. With the third film now delayed until Christmas 2025, I guess “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” will have to do. Or maybe I’ll just watch one of the movies again.
The publisher provided a review copy of this title. It is now available for PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X. It was released on December 7th.