Avatar Generations review: Explore the Four Nations on your mobile

Avatar Generations is a new turn-based RPG game for iOS and Android, developed by Navigator Games in collaboration with Paramount Consumer Products and CDE Entertainment. It is an official adaptation of the popular animated Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. As a result, fans have been waiting for Avatar Generations to finally hit their app stores and it has now been released globally. In this article, we will review Avatar Generations and share our first impressions of the game.

Players put together squads of classic Avatar characters to battle in turn-based, strategic fights. The game will retell the classic stories from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and will also introduce other familiar characters and adventures within the Avatar realm. For fans of the Avatar name, Avatar Generations will be a way to relive those memorable moments once more, and this time with a more interactive experience. Judging from a mobile gamer’s perspective though, is Avatar Generations worth the time?

The game offers slow-paced gameplay but works fine in its own right

Starting with the review, Avatar Generations features turn-based combat where squads of characters face off against each other. The turn-based elements make the game move a little slow, which obviously doesn’t match up with the high-intensity battles in the show.

However, in its own right, this kind of gameplay isn’t bad at all. Each character possesses different skills and abilities which can be combined with others in the squad for increased benefits. It’s more about timing and strategy rather than just simple button-mashing.

There is enough of a tactical element to keep each fight somewhat different and challenging each time, which is important to have particularly for this genre. It could be quite easy for this game to grow stale and repetitive, but this strategic element helps keep it a little more interesting.

There are various elements to keep track of during a fight but the game does well to walk new players through each of these anyway. The buttons feel responsive and it can be quite satisfying to play too. All in all, the gameplay probably won’t suit those that seek fast-paced gameplay, but it has a good balance. It isn’t too strategy-heavy, nor is it too simple and basic – perfect for light, casual gameplay.

Avatar Generations is all about the storyline

It’s evident the main focus of Avatar Generations is on the storyline. The game is dedicated to carrying the player through those memorable stories from the TV shows, and of course, providing that interactive spin on it too. As an adaptation, the storyline doesn’t completely emulate the show, but the ideas and adventures are pretty much there.

With such a heavy and eventful story, the game needs a way to present all the dialogue, and the developers have done this through a basic “tap-to-read” system. It feels a bit like a slideshow which does negatively impact the interactive element of what is supposed to be a game. Sometimes, it is tempting to just quickly tap through all the dialogue and skip to the action. Nonetheless, the idea serves its purpose of filling the gaps in the main story.

With such a heavy shift in focus on the storyline, the other parts of the game’s progression are left out. For example, there are a few different currencies and several item ranges which are awarded throughout the game, but particularly for new players, it’s unclear what everything does. Additionally, the game goes down the gacha route with the characters, as well as other basic training systems and the like.

Normally, these generic mechanics would be a little disappointing, but considering the effort that has been put into the storytelling, it’s justified to an extent. It looks like the game wants players to come back to enjoy the story, so based on what the developers want, the progression mechanics aren’t necessarily a very big deal here.

Responsive performance comes at the cost of weak graphics

In terms of performance and playability, the game does well. The on-screen buttons feel responsive and are actually quite satisfying to use. Something doesn’t sit right with the visuals though. Avatar Generations should take an animated style with the graphics, to keep true to the TV series it is based on, which makes sense.

However, the in-game character models and the environment don’t really work well together. Although bright and quite vibrant in some cases, the design styles don’t match up. For example in the screenshot below, the character designs don’t sit well with the crates on the side.

The character models themselves are alright but could be better as well. It almost feels as though something was put together quickly and written off as minimalism. The result is a pretty basic low-poly 3D model which doesn’t really have anything impressive about it. There is simplicity, then there is just straight low-quality and to be brutally honest, this game leans more towards the other side of the spectrum.

Aang seemed very adamant about his desire to restore balance in this world, either that or he just didn’t have many other things to say during the in-game battles. Considering the fact that he is the main character, he should really have a larger number of voice lines. The character audio throughout felt repetitive and almost irritating at some points too. On a more positive note, the in-game animations are smooth, and the camera movements create a dynamic feel within the gameplay.

Final Verdict

Avatar Generations is not a complete game by any means. Any game described as having weak graphics, generic progression mechanics, and gacha-like elements would immediately come across as a low-effort cash-grab, but Avatar Generations is different. Looking at it from a different angle, this game is all about the storyline.

It is dedicated to letting fans relive scenes from the TV show and this time, with an interactive twist. Think of this as almost an interactive show of sorts. The progression mechanics help it fit in as a game, but perhaps a complete gameplay experience is not what Avatar Generations is looking to provide.

The in-game graphics don’t work well and it’s tough to excuse that. The gameplay itself isn’t bad though, not impressive but still decent at least. It accompanies the core storyline of the game well, which is what’s needed. All things considered, from our review perspective, Avatar Generations is worth trying out for fans of the series. It introduces the characters and the adventures well and the gameplay makes it worth playing through. For others though, this is probably a game to pass on.

What are your opinions on the Avatar Generations game and your review of it? Do let us know in the comments!

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