Avatar: The Last Airbender hasn’t had much luck when it comes to adaptations, whether to film or to video games. Now Paramount Game Studios and Saber Interactive are going to take a new swing at it. The pair have announced an action RPG set in the “Avatar Legends universe”, the broader world and timeline that The Last Airbender and Legend Of Korra take place within.
The game, which is early in development, is said to be “the biggest video game in franchise history”, which wouldn’t be hard, and it’s being made in collaboration with Avatar’s original creators.
It doesn’t sound like players will necessarily take control of a known character, but information shared with IGN said that you will “master all four elements, engage in dynamic combat alongside companions, and experience the challenges and decisions that come with being the keeper of balance in the world.”
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a Nickelodeon cartoon which began airing in 2005. It’s set in a world where certain people from different nations can telekinetically control one of the four elements – water, air, fire, and big rocks. The protagonist is Aang, who as the Avatar is the only person with the potential to manipulate all four.
It’s a fantastic show, particularly for the careful way it builds its character arcs, and the clear structure of its world and magic system make it ideal fodder for a video game adaptation. Despite that, it’s had some underwhelming action games, an underwhelming MMO, and some Smite skins (pictured above). Legend Of Korra faired better with a Platinum-developed action game, but it as Platinum games go it was some extremely mid work-for-hire stuff.
Fingers crossed this next attempt is better. Saber seemingly did a good job recently in adapting Space Marine 2.