After the rise in popularity of shooters and action RPGs, the sci-fi genre will soon have its time to shine when Bethesda’sStarfieldand Massive Entertainment’sAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoraare released in the not-too-distant future. While both games share surface-level similarities, featuring genre trappings like interstellar travel and an examination of humanity’s place in a wider universe, they are near-total opposites tonally. One glance at the colorful and vibrant landscapes present inAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorascreenshotsis all that’s needed to see that Massive is offering gamers a wholly different playground thanStarfield’s rocky and realistic worlds.
Bethesda’s decision to go with ahard sci-fi setting forStarfieldwas welcomed by many fans of the underappreciated subgenre. By choosing to go with this sort of realistic setting, though, Bethesda could potentially turn away players looking for something a bit more fantastical. With its action taking place on the vibrant, life-filled world at the centerpiece of the James Cameron film series,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoramay prove to be a far better fit for gamers more interested in gorgeous escapism than scientifically grounded realism.
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Avatar’s Pandora is a Stark Contrast to Starfield’s Procedurally-Generated Worlds
One of the biggest differences between the two highly anticipated titles is in the scale of their respective universes. While Bethesda has promised to give players a vast cosmos to explore in its sci-fi RPG, withover 1,000 procedurally generated planets inStarfieldready to be discovered, Massive Entertainment is taking a more singularly-focused approach withAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Rather than giving players the whole universe as their playground,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandoralooks set to deliver a dense and fully realized version of the planet at the heart of the wildly successful franchise.
The differences between the two titles don’t stop at the number and complexity of their planetary bodies, though. Early trailers for Bethesda’sStarfieldsuggest that, possibly apart from endgame content, humans will be the only inhabitants of the game’s vast universe. This stands in stark contrast toAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora, which features a planet populated with all manner of colorful and carefully designed alien flora and fauna. Centering the game’s action on the titular planet means thatAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorawill tie into the filmswhile also offering a different sort of exploration thanStarfieldever could.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Can Embrace Exploration in a Way Starfield Can’t
Even thoughStarfieldwill feature a vast number of planets for players to discover and explore, trailers and screenshots show many of those planets to be little more than barren, rocky wastelands occasionally interrupted by human outposts. By centering the action on a single planet rather than spreading it out across a collection of mostly randomized worlds,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorawill allow players to get to know the planet in a way that simply won’t be possible withStarfield’s procedurally generated worlds.
This gives Massive the opportunity to let players ofAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorathoroughly explore the planet as intimately as its native Na’Vi inhabitants do. Both the originalAvatarfilm and its sequel made showcasing the beauty and variety of Pandora as central to the story as the struggles of its human and Na’Vi protagonists, and the upcoming game should do the same. Letting players hop on the back of a Skimwing toexploreAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoraby sky and sea would make the alien world feel alive in a wayStarfield’s planets would be hard-pressed to match.
While details aboutAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s storyand gameplay remain scarce, its version of Pandora already looks to be equally as beautiful and teeming with life as its big-screen counterpart. And as it prepares to face off against the gritty realism of Bethesda’s sprawlingStarfield,its vibrant, verdant setting could make it a hit with players looking for a bit more color in the cold dark of space.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorais currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
