Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora plunges you into the world of James Cameron’s CGI-heavy Avatar as one of the lanky blue Na’vi. But, if you’re not overly familiar with the movies you might be wondering whether you need to watch Avatar and The Way of Water before playing Frontiers of Pandora?
Do You Need to Watch Avatar 1 & 2 To Understand Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora?
The short answer is no, you don’t need to have watched either Avatar movie — or read any of the comics for that matter. The game casts you as a Na’vi who was stolen as a child and raised by the RDA, the Earth megacorp that’s trying to take Pandora. You don’t know a thing about the Na’vi, so your protagonist is learning about the world of Pandora at the same time as you are.
Ubisoft knows the game will sell to Avatar fans, but the company also wants it to reach beyond that admittedly large fanbase. No doubt the company’s execs hope it’ll also attract fans of Far Cry, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and other open-world games.
Related: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Is Surprising, Exciting & a Bit Disappointing [Preview]
As such, they won’t expect all players to have watched the movies before playing. However, it’s still helpful to know something about Pandora, the world where the movies and this game take place.
What You Need to Know About the Avatar Universe
There are a few things you should at least be aware of, other than that the first movie was Dances With Wolves in space. Avatar and its sequels take place during the 22nd century, in an age when Earth is running out of resources. Humanity discovers a rare mineral known as Unobtanium (yes, really) on Pandora which, amongst other things, can serve as a source of energy.
Pandora, however, is not a friendly place if you’re a human. A jungle world, its atmosphere is toxic to humans and it’s crawling with wildlife that could easily make a meal out of you. It’s also home to the Na’vi, a race of tall blue humanoids who live in a tribal society. Aside from living in harmony with nature, the Na’vi have tendrils that allow them to mentally connect with Pandora’s wildlife.
The RDA attempts to ‘negotiate’ with the Na’vi. They genetically engineer Na’vi which, with no minds of their own, can be controlled by humans; hence the name ‘Avatar’. When this fails, they go to war with the Na’vi, destroying their holy tree.
Jake Sully, a soldier in control of an avatar, falls in love with a Na’vi woman and fights back, rallying them to fight the RDA. His consciousness is permanently transferred into the avatar, and while some humans are allowed to stay, most of the RDA are kicked off the planet.
But the RDA doesn’t give up and several years later, they’re back with plans to, once again, plunder Pandora. And in, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, you’ll be helping to foil those plans.
So, no, you don’t need to watch Avatar 1 or 2 before playing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. But doing so will give you a greater appreciation of the game’s setting. And if you’re wondering precisely when the game is set, here’s the answer.
