From The Ashes Expansion - Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Time to kick ash.

Set to coincide with the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in the series, the latest DLC for Frontiers of Pandora, the aptly titled ‘From the Ashes’, sees players once again exploring the massive world that is Pandora, filled with several tribes of Na’vi, including that of the Ash Clan, who are just as deadly here as they are in the film. While this standalone DLC is enjoyable, it still has the same overall issues present in Frontiers of Pandora, and unfortunately, lacks anything new to really sink your Na’vi fangs into.

From the Ashes takes place shortly after the events of the third movie and roughly a year after the end of Frontiers of Pandora. Instead of once again playing as your OC from the first game, you play as So’lek, who was a supporting character back then, and a damn good one, too.

Here, he thrives, with the roughly 15-20hr adventure really developing his character in ways he wasn't able to achieve in the base game. You can import your OC here, and they will serve as an NPC, which is sometimes surreal, seeing them act independently of your actions. I can't remember another game that has done the same thing here.

While So’lek is a proud and experienced warrior, he is not immune to the trope of losing all of his abilities at the start and then needing to rebuild them. However, it is not too long before you are truly back to kicking ass and being the proud Na’vi warrior he once was. 

The story centers around So’lek taking on both the RDA forces and those of the Ash Clan, as key locations and people close to him are attacked. While this does tread closely to the story told across Frontiers of Pandora, the fact that you are squaring off against Na’vi forces does add a bit of a wrinkle to changing that up. The story does have plenty of great action moments, and complements the films as well, given the subject matter. However, the playing of the game is where it is just a tad too familiar.

In Frontiers of Pandora, the world was massive, colorful, and vibrant. Here, considerable damage has been done by the RDA and the Ash Clan, burning and destroying what they can. This causes the colors to be muted by fire and ash, making you focused on stopping this plight to heal the land and stop this chaos from continuing. It may be much of the same map, but it feels fresher due to this change in aesthetics.

The core gameplay remains largely unchanged. You find resources to craft more arrows, collect RDA ammo, collect dog tags to upgrade your skill tree, cook stat-boosting meals, and collect more weapons to kit out your arsenal. Exploration remains the same whether on foot or in the air on your “Ikran”.

Shortly before this DLC, Frontiers of Pandora was treated to a third person mode update, a much requested feature after the initial news of the original game being that of a first person game, which caused many fans to show little to no interest. It is hard to say if this has caused those fans to finally jump in, or if it is a matter of too little too late at this point. Regardless, this feature is very much welcomed, despite a somewhat clunky feel to it. It works, sure, but it can feel floaty, and I was forced to swap back for some of the more difficult platforming moments the game presented. Still, it is nice to see this feature being added in, as it likely took a lot of work to make happen.

Because of this change, I felt combat to be far more suited to what I wanted out of the game. Now, basic combat is identical to Frontiers of Pandora, almost to a fault. The only real new addition is his warrior sense, which you perform by pressing in both analog sticks. This gives So’lek boosted damage resistance and more output for his attacks. Apart from a few new additions, So’lek also has a skill tree that does grant him a few new abilities, but for 95% of every combat encounter, you'll rely on tools and abilities you experienced in Frontiers of Pandora.

So'lek's journey is a deeply personal one, one that feels incredibly well told with a great respect for the source material. It certainly helps to have seen the last two films, but it certainly doesn't lessen the experience in significant ways if you've yet to watch them. From the Ashes provides a very similar feel to the base game, with unfortunately little to really have it truly stand alone. So'lek's journey is wonderful, but it colors inside the lines of the original just a bit too much. 

Developer - Massive Entertainment. Publisher - Ubisoft. Released - December 19th, 2025. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, Luna. Rated - (T) Language, Mild Blood, Violence Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - A review code for the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.