In order to help you decide whether Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora is worth buying, I dug up what several gamers are saying. Because, when it comes to reviews; it’s more important nowadays to hear what other players think, than mainstream media. Since most publications these days, just copy and paste whatever the publisher says in their press release. Hopefully, by the end of this post you’ll have a fresh take on the question – Should you buy Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora. Especially when you hear fellow gamers (like you and me) tweeting, “This is the most innovative Far Cry game since Far Cry Primal.” Is that a good, or bad thing?
If this game had to be likened to another game (since creativity and originality is now dead) then, I would have preferred an Avatar game that gets likened to Mass Effect 2. Something with an unlockable/selectable squad, and a base of operation of sorts. I mean, don’t get me wrong… something new would be better. But, I’d take an Avatar that’s more like Mass Effect 2, than another Far Cry clone.
Should you buy Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora?
The game was released December 7, 2023. So, even though it was technically released last year… it feels like it might as well have been released this year. And personally, when I saw that the game is 90 gigs in size, I said – nope! I’m not having it. My drive is already full of other games which I already trust and enjoy. Smaller games too, at that. And while we are being frank, I laughed hard when a player of the game reviewed it on Steam, saying – Let’s be honest here, it is Far Cry: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™
This game can’t shake off being compared to Far Cry, it seems to have no mechanics or identity of its own at this point. Either way, I will try and give you are more in-depth article by extending beyond myself. And, sharing what other gamers are saying. Since we now live in a so-called global village (thanks to the internet, and stuff). As a company, it is now increasingly important to optimise products for global consumption, and thereby maximise profits. I spoke of profits because that’s the only language big-game-studios understand. Thing like “games need to be fun” and “What do you guys mean when you say – we don’t own the games we bought,” all that stuff means nothing to giant studios like Blizzard, and Ubisoft.
As we proceed with this article, I wanted to state that some people bought this game under the belief that its going to be playable offline. Is that true? Yes, and no (insert confused-background-music here).
Does Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora need an internet connection
While on the issue of making a globally profitable, and globally accessible product one needs to be able to play the game (any game) offline. And, with Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora, this is when things get interesting!
On paper, most publishers and search results will tell you that – YES, this game is playable offline. On paper. But, one has to realise that most writers and players don’t always make extreme effort to ACTUALLY see if that is true. Especially people with easy access to the internet.
And, like I said, “most publishers and search results will tell you that – YES, this game is playable offline.” But, one player said, “It’s needs Internet for the first time you play, otherwise you don’t need internet.” Sound reasonable enough, right? Wait till you hear what others players went on to reveal.
Another buyer of the game, who had purchased it because of the alleged offline playability disagreed with the info above, “Nope (its not playable offline). I bought it yesterday on PC. Downloaded and played for a bit while connected. [Upon] putting the Ubisoft launcher in offline mode and or just cutting off my connection makes the game unplayable. Tells me the newly installed game might not be up to date and to run it online. Tried that and it tells me it isn’t installed. The launcher can open the directory where it is installed, but not play or verify files. Ugh. Running in admin and / or compatibility mode doesn’t fix it.“
Gamers are reportedly failing to play offline
The player quoted above is not alone. Others have echoed the same protests. With one unhappy player saying, “I’m moving out of state in a week so I’m letting my internet lapse. Decided to keep Avatar installed because I read online that it worked offline. Nope, not at all. Despite me owning the game, every time I turn Ubisoft Connect to Offline Mode and try to play the game I get an error saying that the game isn’t correctly installed and to go online. Literally would have never purchased the game if I’d known it was always online. Getting real tired of Ubisoft’s shit now.”
These are the kind of problems which have damaged the gaming industry today. I once wrote an entire article on why nobody likes game launchers like UPlay.
I am a huge fan of Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends. But, I can no longer access my Ubisoft account, simply because their 2 step verification is frustratingly broken! I had to give up, and stop trying to play the game which I had played and loved for years. I could just buy it (again) on Steam, but that would give Ubisoft more of my money!
Conclusion:
Moving on to a more positive side, one gamer told us, “It really does make you feel like a Na’vi” in reference to playing this game. And another (like many) seem to strongly feel – “The best FarCry since FarCry 4. If you enjoy these types of games, you’ll have some fun. It’s beautiful and has some cool mechanics. But as always, can get repetitive.”
An in-depth Steam review on Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
My last segment on this game comes from the most comprehensive player review I could find. The gamer said, “…if you like the far cry formula this game is just different enough to be worth it, if you don’t or are tired of the Far Cry formula the game isn’t for you. The world is pretty, there is a lot of flora/fauna lore and the immersion is quite decent if you turn the guide to explore mode instead of guide mode.” He then went on to give it “A decent 6-7/10 game, 5/10 if you are getting tired of Far Cry.” My advice is – if offline gaming means a lot to you, then you might want to steer clear of this game. While another gamer blatantly posted, “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™ is a good game – if you love playing the same game they have been making for over 15 years.“
