Avatar Mania is back in our lives, even though Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron’s third film, may not have the same emotional impact as Waterfall, as only three years passed between the sequel and this film. It also didn’t get the warmest reviews from critics, but in the end box office numbers were the key, and Avatar 3 passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office before the end of the year.
With an event like this, Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment naturally want to give Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora players a very special expansion pack. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Among the Ashes doesn’t take us to a new region of the famous alien moon where the Na’vi live, but rather gives its environment and characters a twisted twist that immerses us in the series’ dark narrative. And, for better or worse, it did succeed.
“From the Ashes” is a content expansion pack with a clear goal: Pandora becomes a battlefield of fire, and the Na’vi once again face off against the RDA humans, this time supported by members of their own race – the Mankwan clan (also known as the Ash clan), who are also the new villains in the movie. “From the Ashes” doesn’t break the canon of “Avatar: Fire and Ashes” but rather expands on it, showing the struggles of the Na’vi in another land of Pandora without forgetting what happened on the movie screen.
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The most important thing here is combat, more than any gameplay in the base game or previous expansions. In fact, here we no longer control the dynamic but emotional protagonist Sarentu (whose canon name was revealed in the original game, incidentally, in Among the Ashes), but the brooding and more stoic warrior Solek, a Na’vi tortured by conflict and loss, seeking to find his place among the Arrakhan, the remnants of the Sarentu clan, and the human resistance, remaining on the western frontier. Solek considers himself an anomaly among his kind, and is dedicated to using the weapons and methods of humanity to wage war against them. He has a few more tricks up his sleeve, and can take on the RDA and their Mankwan allies in Kinglor Forest, the only area we’ll explore in the DLC. I’m a bit reluctant to lose the immersion of exploring every nook and cranny with curiosity, but there really isn’t much room here anymore. This change also encompasses a darker narrative that even the purest Na’vi spirits see as a way of life from ancient times that has not only changed, but may never be fully restored. This message is conveyed strongly in every dialogue and cinematic scene of the missions and interludes.
Solek is a warrior who, as he recovers from defeat early in the story, gradually expands his arsenal of weapons, both Na’vi and human, while acquiring some new modifications from the Ember Clan, who here serve as bosses and sub-bosses of the area, often tied to a certain quest chain. There aren’t many new weapons, but there are new types of ammo and grenades. What’s new is his fighting style. He’s aggressive and direct, with many different animations to take down humans, AMP armor, and Cerberus robots. He also possesses Warrior Sense, an ability that allows him to enter a state of rage that makes him even deadlier for a short period of time. He’s had his trusty Ikran Ire from the start, which immediately opens up room for movement across much of the expansion’s territory.
The So’lek are warriors and survivors, but the Scorched Earth region isn’t the best place to find moss, fiber, or other organic matter to upgrade your gear, so this part of the Na’vi experience is omitted. Upgrading your gear is still important, but rarely takes you off course in search of materials between battles. You always have ammunition and arrows available in the shelter, and food is a temporary reward but not a necessity.
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Fight, and fight. The RDA has established a new network of outposts, command centers and facilities to exploit Pandora’s natural resources, and once again we must destroy them one by one according to the original “Arctic War Cry formula”. Now you can make the game a little more interesting, because Pandora’s Frontier has added a third-person perspective since the launch of From Ashes. It’s just a small change if you’ve already played the base game (which, by the way, is what you need to start this DLC), but it will definitely make the game more enjoyable for many players who prefer a behind-the-scenes perspective, which reminds me of Space Marines II.
The least impressive part of the game, while the visual and sound elements are excellent (the music is breathtaking at all times, and Pandora has a wild aesthetic even in flames), is the sheer number of bugs that are annoying, even infuriating. Massive (or Ubisoft) should have taken the time to correct the bugs before releasing it, but even almost three weeks after release, there are still bugs on the PS5 that will get you kicked out of the game. This is serious enough that I didn’t rate this content as much as I expected.
Even so, From Ashes expands the Pandora’s Frontier experience with enough content to justify the purchase while also extending the third film’s narrative. Hopefully this isn’t the end of the story for the Salentu family and their role in the video game, and hopefully Cameron will make enough money at the box office to commission a fourth film that will provide legitimate value for Pandora’s Frontier’s new journey.
