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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - From the Ashes is a surprisingly great offering of DLC.

It’s a standalone story that takes place after the events of the main campaign, following the Dog Tag Warrior, So’Lek (a former side character), as he faces off against the villainous Ash Clan.

The Kinglor Forest from the base game is now in ruin, as the Ash (or Mangkwan raiders) scorch away all the colour of the once bountiful locale. It's effective as a narrative tool, although we did miss its vibrancy and beauty across our time with the new smoky forest.

The premise lends itself to a much darker narrative, where So’Lek must ask how far he’s willing to stray from the way of the Na’Vi to save his new home, while also encountering the first evil Na’Vi in the series.

We actually think the story in From the Ashes is better than that of the base campaign. It’s shorter, clocking in at around 15-20 hours all in, setting up some interesting villains, an enticing dynamic between the recently paired RDA and Mangkwan Na'Vi, and focuses on a much more compelling protagonist in So'Lek.

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Its narrative is stuffed full of interesting moments that are steeped in the lore of the world — both in its main story missions and side content.

And that’s part of the charm of this DLC. From the Ashes feels very synergetic with the wider IP, especially the latest film, Avatar: Fire and Ash. We wouldn’t exactly call it a movie tie-in, but it complements James Cameron’s latest sci-fi epic.

Mentions of key characters, the presence of the Wind Traders, and, of course, the Ash people, all make the jump from the big screen, making for a much more cohesive and thought-out world. We loved picking out all the tiny little references and details.

But how does From the Ashes serve as a new piece of content for those who have visited the Frontiers before?

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From the Ashes is actually a much more streamlined experience, which we think is for the better in this case. There’s not as much of an emphasis on hunting, gear score is replaced with a basic XP skill point system, and there are only a handful of armour and weapons to unlock via the campaign.

It does take away a lot of the RPG aspects of the open world that we loved in the base game. However, From the Ashes is more like a slice of Pandora rather than the whole pie, so you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle of it all.

And it does still offer a new area called The Ravines. This rocky terrain doesn't allow for the use of the Ikran, forcing players to explore on foot — but this area's more focused, tunnelled design approach makes it a bit of a chore to navigate, and pales in comparison to the more open Kinglor Forest.

Thankfully, it's a delight to take in the sights regardless, thanks to the new third-person mode, which is available across the DLC and the base game. For us, it’s a much more immersive experience, allowing you to take in the true scale of its setting.

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There are some teething issues, like cutting to first-person when underwater or soothing an animal, so you can tell this was a first-person project at its core. We think Massive Entertainment has done a good enough job, though, so it doesn’t feel like a tack-on, especially when you bring the new third-person cinematics into play.

For the first-person purists out there, you can play the whole thing in first-person if you wish — you can switch back and forth at any time. However, you’d then be missing out on the far improved combat. Combat is decent in the base game, but it feels much snappier in third-person.

There's a new Warrior mode, too, which lets you blast through enemy health bars once a gauge has filled, and new finisher animations are a nice touch, even if they get a little repetitive.

Our biggest disappointment is one we addressed in our preview. The new Na’Vi enemies, the Ash, had great potential to really mix up combat encounters, as we hoped they’d be put into the regular roster of enemies. Instead, they are reserved primarily for big bullet-sponge bosses.

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Some of the bigger scripted boss fights are fantastic fun, like an air-bound assault on your Ikran, but most of the regular Ash bosses are just inexplicably strong, aimlessly running around as you unload clip after clip into their skull before you can take them out.

Thankfully, the RDA mechs remain as fun as ever to fight, alongside the new mech-dog enemies. And come the tail end of the DLC, you’re so overpowered that it’s a delight to just plough through tiny humans.

From a PS5 perspective, this is still such a visual showcase, with some truly gorgeous vistas. And across its various graphical modes, on both PS5 and PS5 Pro, you have a suite of options, whether you want smoother performance or higher fidelity. There was the odd minor visual glitch, but we had no problems outside of that.

And carrying over from the main game, the haptics on the DualSense controller are just fantastic, and almost feel first-party level at times.

Conclusion

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - From the Ashes is a simplified yet cinematic story expansion that focuses on the best of the IP, without bogging you down with too much clutter. Its new third-person mode gives the game a whole new feel, and we wouldn’t play it any other way. While Massive missed the mark with its Na’Vi enemies, it's a delight to spend more time in this giant multimedia sci-fi world.