Ubisoft’s open-world Avatar game is almost here. At the company’s Summer Game Fest preview event, we got a substantial look at the story and gameplay of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. James Cameron introduced the game in a prerecorded segment, teasing “new environments new flora and fauna and characters”.
A cinematic trailer lays out how this tale will fit in with the Avatar movies. In short, it’ll cover the events of both games, with the protagonist being kidnapped during the events of the first film and schooled by the human invaders. After the events at the end of Avatar, you are cryogenically frozen… then unfrozen 15 years later in time to fight the RDA’s continued invasion.
The game itself is an open-world first-person action-adventure game, where you’ll be able to combine Na’vi skills and weapons with human assault weapons and a casual rocket launcher or two. (Massive, the studio behind the game, is most recently known for its work on Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.)
Your Na’vi instincts will work like a scanner for detecting enemies and environment features. You’ll be able to grow your character to fit your own playstyle, crafting weaponry and items from resources and upgrading your own skills as you see fit. The skill tree will include upgrades to agility and other attributes tied into your deepening understanding of your Na’vi heritage… by interacting with plants and other Na’vi.
It wouldn’t be an Avatar affair without the ability to bond with sentient animals you can ride. The trailer teases the ability to ride direhorses as well as your very own ikran. You’ll be able to feed and customize your partner when not flying down waterfalls. Frontiers of Pandora will include a new western expanse not seen in the movies, where you’ll meet as-yet unseen Na’vi clans, including a secretive healer clan.
Frontiers of Pandora launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PC and, oddly, Luna. (Yes, Luna!) on December 7th 2023.
Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest right here!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-launch-date-sgf-2023-174516354.html?src=rss