Goodbye, Grind! How From the Ashes Breaks (or Fixes?) Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
On December 19, the From the Ashes DLC for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora from Massive Entertainment was released. It allows players to return to the planet Pandora and once again become part of the Na'vi tribe. And what exactly this addition turned out to be - we will tell in our review!
Na'vi vs. Na'vi
The plot of the DLC unfolds a year after the events of the main game. The main character of From the Ashes is So'lek, a warrior who helped the protagonist in the fight against Mercer in the original. We are shown his small backstory, after which we are transported to the present, where a new enemy appears. The next squads of RDA people teamed up with one of the Na'vi clans - the cruel fire Mankwan - and attacked the main characters, separating them. You will have to find and save your friends, and then together fight the enemy.
I liked the story of the add-on more than the plot of the original - it is more compact and complex. The protagonists are opposed not only by bad people, but also by fellow Na'vi, and therefore the conflict looks deeper. And one of the characters, who had already behaved ambiguously before, returned here and proved to be even more controversial, which only increased the emotional intensity - this was sorely lacking in the original.
In addition, the add-on reveals to us the name of the protagonist of the main game, and our character acts as So'lek's companion. It was interesting to see the hero from the side, because if you launch the DLC based on an old save, then his appearance will be the one you configured yourself.
I will also note the staging of the story among the advantages. I especially liked some of the boss battles: somewhere we are waiting for a sniper duel in which you need to get to the enemy, avoiding his shots; somewhere you have to fight in the air in several stages; and somewhere to save a huge captured beast and run away from enemies on it. Class!
The passage of the add-on takes about 5-6 hours. Unlike the main game, cutscenes here are presented from a third person perspective, referring to the fact that we are playing as a different character.
There are also disadvantages.
In order to learn more details about the Mankwan clan, the player will have to watch the movie "Avatar: Flame and Ash", which premiered on the same day as the release of From the Ashes. Otherwise, they will be the same faceless antagonists who are evil simply because they are evil. And how well the film coped with their disclosure is a separate question.
No one demonstrates a deep backstory between So'lek and the head of Mankwan, although the characters note several times that they have already had a battle with each other in the past and each of them has personal scores against the other. It would be nice to insert a small excerpt with a memory of this - even for a couple of minutes!
Unfortunately, the script also allows for conventions: the main characters know that they are opposed by a Na'vi clan who do not shy away from human weapons, but when So'lek and the others find a combat exosuit at one of the bases that can easily accommodate Na'vi. They notice this, but pass by, although it is clear that in the future it will be used against them. On the other hand, films also sin with similar conventions.
Stronger, but simpler
In the first hour, we are given the most pumped So'lek: he has a large supply of health, has all the weapons, equipment and skills. But after completing the prologue, he gets injured, loses most of his health bar and everything else. Only a basic set with low characteristics remains - you will have to pump from scratch!
The leveling system here is more standard than in the main game: there are no levels of strength for the character and opponents - only equipment and skills. Points for studying talents are given not only for completing tasks, but also for killing enemies: both cumulative and for defeating special opponents. So, there was a point in "grinding" them.
You don't have to worry about selecting equipment during the passage - you can upgrade what you have from the very beginning on the go, collecting resources from killed enemies and boxes. And the hero will return the lost weapon by killing special enemies in the story. It makes sense to change equipment only if you want to get some unique bonus from the set - closer to the end of the story, a set appears that constantly regenerates the protagonist's health, for example.
But the rest of the gameplay went the way of total simplification - in almost all aspects! I have already talked about the abolition of the power level system and the simplification of leveling, but that's not all! Let's go through the points.
Firstly, crafting. In the add-on, as in the main game, you can create ammunition for Na'vi weapons on the go. But here a much larger volume of the same arrows is created at once, with much less expenditure of resources. And for arrows with a special effect - such as explosive ones - there are separate bows. Moreover, the materials for these arrows are the most ordinary - the same sticks, without frills.
Secondly, research and collecting. If you liked running through the forests and collecting various fruits/berries in the main game, then you can forget about it. There is practically none of this here! At least, it doesn't catch the eye as it used to.
Thirdly, cooking and eating have lost a significant share of their importance. Food no longer helps restore energy and health - neither to So'lek nor to his Ikran. The only point in using food here is to get a small increase in movement speed, defense, damage, and so on.
Fourthly, the mini-game with hacking was almost completely removed from the gameplay, which is logical: So'lek is still far from technology, like the previous protagonist. Instead, we are given a special knife with which you can short-circuit some mechanisms by hitting them. And it happens approximately in half of the story or a little earlier.
Some of these simplifications benefited the project, while others did not. But there are also definite advantages:
From the new: here appeared the "Warrior Sense" mode - a kind of analogue of rage. By activating it, the hero automatically highlights all enemies nearby, slows down time and gives various advantages - there is a separate branch of pumping in the talent tree of So'lek.
The game has finishing moves. They allow you to effectively deal with enemies who do not have much health left. You can do this from stealth, which is great for clearing enemy camps.
The list of enemies in the add-on has become slightly wider: new human opponents, special dogs, as well as representatives of Mankwan have appeared - armed with human weapons and very mobile opponents. They often act as mini-bosses on missions.
Even flights have become a little easier: now, if you call the Ikran call button, So'lek jumps onto his flying pet from the spot - you don't have to wait for him to land in order to saddle him.
Due to such changes, the gameplay has become much more dynamic. Although the DLC has a number of additional missions that reveal some moments from the life of representatives of third-party clans, the main emphasis here is on the main story, which is not delayed. RPG elements recede into the background and the game approaches an action movie.
Technical aspects
The graphics in From the Ashes look even better than the original game: both the art design and the technical side are pleasing. The views of the Butterfly Forest are mesmerizing, and the beauties of nature here are surprisingly combined with the ashes that Mankwan leaves behind. A cool symbiosis of colors, light and shadow, combined with particle effects and reflections makes the picture in the game very beautiful - even on the basic PS5! And there are no problems with the frame rate at the same time!
If you think about it, given the fact that the "Avatar" films are shot with a huge amount of computer graphics and, in some sense, are more like animation than game films, then the game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has not gone so far from the cinema in visual terms. And the From the Ashes add-on has only reduced the already small difference.
The music complements this whole picture - it is not memorable in itself, but when looking at the locations (mainly from a bird's eye view), you can feel this beauty. This is especially noticeable in a series of side quests where we help the air people.
To launch the DLC, it is not necessary to complete the main campaign. To do this, you need to go to the menu and, by pressing a special button, go to the story selection page. This is a great solution, as it allows players unfamiliar with the main plot to immediately go into battle for So'lek. But it also feels strange, because the add-on is a direct continuation of the main game - even if it is presented from the face of another hero.
Diagnosis
The From the Ashes add-on continued the plot of the main game well: the variety of antagonists made the narrative a little deeper. Although the problems in it remained: some stupidities, lack of details and the need to watch a movie to understand all aspects of the lore. At the same time, the graphics and staging have taken a step forward for the game and can please players with cinematic quality and increased dynamics.
At the same time, the gameplay took a big step towards simplification, significantly reducing the importance of such mechanics as: leveling, exploration, equipment selection, cooking and eating, collecting resources for crafting ammunition. But there were more diverse opponents, finishing moves and a new mode reminiscent of rage appeared.
On the one hand, this looks like laziness of the developers, and on the other hand, like an attempt by the creators to move away from the Ubisoft game mechanics that have become a meme among the people, and make just a good story-driven action movie, and an overloaded Action-RPG. The right move!
