Ubisoft Massive has surpassed itself with its work on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – a game that harnesses the power of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, to create one of the most visually striking games of the generation so far. Following on from Alex’s Avatar PC tech showcase, this write-up focuses on how the game compares on console: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S.
The questions going in to Avatar are simple: between the dense, rich jungle environments, ray-traced GI and reflections, and high-quality materials, how does each platform hold up – particularly the less powerful Series S? And in looking at the game’s 60fps performance mode available only on Series X and PS5, are all of its cutting-edge visuals possible with unwavering performance? Or is the alternative 30fps quality mode the better way to go?
First things first: I’m happy to confirm you do not need a top-end PC to enjoy the fruits of Massive Entertainment’s labour here. The bottom line is PS5, Series X and even Series S successfully translate the PC experience to less powerful console platforms with smart cutbacks. Crucially, none of these cutbacks hamper the experience of exploring its detail-rich jungle. In fact, it’s clear the team has made these console versions a priority – with its Snowdrop engine scaling beautifully to each.
