Avatar: The Last Airbender has been around for more than 20 years now. In that time, fans have gotten the sequel series The Legend of Korra, a live-action Netflix series, and various novels and comics series. What they’ve been missing is a must-play Avatar game. It’s not for lack of trying — several Avatar video games have been released over the years, but none that anyone would call “good.” But that’s finally about to change.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is set to be released on July 23. Based on initial reviews, critics agree: the fighting slaps, and this is easily the best Avatar video game around. That said, the game does have a couple of issues. As of this writing, it holds an 81 on Metacritic and an 82 on Opencritic.
Critics agree that Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game‘s mechanics and presentation are pristine. “There’s something special about the way these characters move, the variety in their playstyles, their incredible animations, the flexibility of their combat options, and the satisfying ways they can execute some of the sickest combos I’ve ever seen,” IGN’s Mitchell Saltzman wrote in an 8/10 review.
“It’s an incredibly fast-paced and technical one-on-one fighter that, even with welcoming mechanics like auto-combos, demands mastery of its surprisingly complex characters. There’s a very high skill ceiling that takes some time to learn, but it’s well worth it because of how fine-tuned the core mechanics are,” TheGamer’s George Foster wrote in his 4.5/5 review.
On the other hand, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game‘s story mode has critics divided. “The enemy AI isn’t particularly fun to battle, as these bots waver between pulling off omniscient throw reads and repeatedly walking into your fireballs from full screen like a Level 1 CPU,” Polygon’s Elijah Gonzalez wrote in our review. “The lackluster presentation and so-so battles against AI enemies mean this mode won’t be enough for most single player-only types.” Meanwhile, Foster’s TheGamer review calls the multidimensional narrative “a standout story mode that feels right out of the show.”
If there’s one thing everyone can agree upon, it’s that Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game isn’t especially welcoming to genre newcomers. “Avatar Legends’ suite of single-player modes and tutorials doesn’t feel adequate enough for anyone who hasn’t already played the game to actually learn how,” Kotaku’s Kenneth Shepard wrote in an impressions piece pointing out the “one massive flaw” in the game. That said, Avatar Legends does feature an autocombo mechanic for newcomers who just want to button mash their way through fights as they learn the game’s systems.
Avatar fans will be pleased at how well The Fighting Game brings the series’ characters to life. “The roster was given a lot of love, thoughtfully adapting these characters’ personalities while referencing both iconic moments and deep-cut novel details alike,” Polygon’s Gonzalez noted. “It’s a shame then that Avatar Legends doesn’t do more to keep around fans of the series who would enjoy these many homages, but don’t want to get cooked online. Hopefully, there’s a lot of overlap between Avatar fans and those willing to brave an Agni Kai, because otherwise, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game may struggle to find the audience that it deserves.”
All in all, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game sounds like a game that fans of the franchise will want to check out. It launches in a busy month that also includes standout games like Denshattack! and Moss: The Forgotten Relic. Avatar Legends will be released July 23 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.