As recent rumours suggested, hands-on previews for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora have gone live across number of outlets, with the likes of IGN, GameSpot, VGC, Game Informer, and others have published their impressions after a couple of hours with the game, amidst which several new gameplay details have also emerged.
Most intriguing among them is probably the open world title’s movement and mobility mechanics, with several previews noting its parkour-like movement. Players will be able to charge jumps, dash mid-air, climb on vines and foliage, and hop off of alien flora, and on-foot traversal seems to be quite an important point of focus for the experience.
Meanwhile, players will, of course, also be able to ride the aerial mounts known as Ikran, which can be summoned at any time, similar to horses in Assassin’s Creed (including while you’re in freefall mid-air). Additionally, the Ikran you bond with can also be named.
Frontiers of Pandora will also feature a mechanic called Na’vi Sense, which is exactly what it sounds like- a detective vision-type mode where things of interest in the environment will be highlighted, as well as enemies’ weak points, and more.
Using Na’vi Sense, players will also be able to gain new information about native flora and fauna, which will then be logged in a hunter’s compendium. Additionally, cooking also seems to be an important part of the experience, with cooked dishes providing various buffs and allowing you to regenerate health, based on the ingredients you use.
Where combat and stealth are concerned, players will be able to craft arrows with resources found in the open world, while a device known as the SID (or the Systems Interrogation Device) can be used to hack AMPs in enemy bases.
Meanwhile, some side activities have also been detailed. In addition to collecting crafting resources in the environments and clearing enemy outposts, Frontiers of Pandora will also see players finding and helping animals that have been tagged with RDA darts, freeing trapped wildlife, and more.
Ubisoft has also revealed the full system requirements for the game’s PC version. Read more on that through here.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora launches on December 7 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.