Ubisoft's open world game based on the film franchise, Super Mario Odyssey, but James Cameron's setting can provide a means for similarly varied gameplay. Mario's constant companion in Odyssey, Cappy, can be thrown onto various creatures so that the player can control them. The Na'vi from Avatar share a similar biological ability called the neural queue, which could be used in Frontiers of Pandora to give players a wide variety of traversal and combat techniques.
The queue is not anatomically unique to the Na'vi, but is a widespread phenomenon among Pandora's wildlife. On the Na'vi, the queue - or tswin, as they call it - appears similar to braided strands of hair, and allows for neural links with compatible creatures. Frontiers of Pandora's brand new story presents an opportunity for a unique perspective on the Avatar universe, and letting players use the Na'vi's novel abilities can help separate it it from Ubisoft's other open world titles in of gameplay.
Cappy is essentially the main gimmick of Super Mario Odyssey. Where Sunshine has F.L.U.D.D. and the two Galaxy games have wacky gravitational physics, Cappy lets players take control over many different things in each Kingdom. From Goombas to Chain Chomps and even a T-Rex, Cappy's capture ability provides an incredible variety in combat, platforming, puzzle solving, and locomotion. So far there's only been one trailer for Frontiers of Pandora, but it seems to have a strong focus on the moon's wildlife, and not taking advantage of the Na'vi's neural queue would be a missed opportunity.
Exploration In Frontiers Of Pandora Can Be Great With The Queue
The most immediate draw of a fully ray-traced Pandora like that in Frontiers is the chance to ride a banshee, the flying companions the Na'vi use their tswin with. The reveal trailer already implies this will be possible, and even teases aerial combat against the RDA's twin rotor helicopters. There is also footage of a Na'vi riding a direhorse, another one of Pandora's creatures with a neural queue. The Na'vi call the connection between two beings through the tswin a tsaheylu, and as the first Avatar movie shows, a tsaheylu is possible with the moon's plants as well.
Ubisoft's open worlds frequently receive criticism for not innovating enough, but Frontiers of Pandora has a unique potential feature that is already baked into the license's setting. Riding banshees and direhorses is enticing, but the idea can be taken so much further. As players explore the Avatar timeline in Frontiers of Pandora, apex predators could be linked with in order to get new combat abilities, or area information could be gleaned from plants. Even just giving the player different animals to ride in separate areas could improve the sometimes tedious exploration of Ubisoft games. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has the perfect opportunity to emulate Super Mario Odyssey's defining feature, and it could elevate the gameplay drastically.
