As a fan of the show, I have been anticipating Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game for quite a while. The game finally launched in 2026 and, after playing it for a while, I am glad to say that in terms of gameplay and artstyle, it’s everything one could wish for, Avatar connoisseur or not. However, it’s very much lacking in every other department, which is unexpected and disappointing.
What is impressive about Avatar Legends is how faithful the characters are to both Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The game features a roster of 12 characters, and five DLC characters have been announced as future releases, with each of them looking like they have been brought directly from the show, a feeling strenghthened by the animations. You have the titular avatars Aang and Korra, both in regular and “avatar state” forms, together with the “Gaang” including Katara, Toph, Sokka and Zuko. Azula and Ozai also make an appearance, together with Korra’s archnemesis Zaheer, and even the past avatar Kiyoshi has made it into the game.
Gameplay in Avatar Legends is incredibly snappy and fast paced, requiring impeccable reaction time. In terms of gameplay speed, Avatar Legends can be compared to games like BlazBlue, with characters able to blitz across the screen almost instantly (if you know how). There is a surprisingly high skill ceiling involved here, the game has quite a few mechanics and will definitely be somewhat rough for newcomers. Each character has three basic attacks – light, medium, heavy – and a special stance called Flow. The light attack can even be used as an autocombo if pressed repeatedly. The characters also have various special moves, all of which can be viewed in-game in the Command List menu.
One thing is certain: simply mashing buttons in this videogame will not bring you victory; even the CPU will be able to react to simple autocombos.
The Flow Stance is a moveset unique to each character. In its basic functionality, it is a “dodge all attacks” button which allows you to avoid any attack that comes into contact with you, except grab attacks. Using Flow Stance depletes your Flow Meter, and you’ll enter Unstable Stance once your meter runs out. While unstable, you won’t be able to use most of your bending abilities until the bar has fully recovered.
Where this strance truly shines is when you combine being in Flow Mode with diagonal inputs. For instance, when using Flow with Aang, you can either fly around with your Air Ball, or move across the air with your glider in an unpredictable matter. Ozai can boost his attacks with fire, while Zaheer‘s Flow allows him to fly and attack from anywhere on the screen. This sole mechanic results in a unique gameplan for every character, but makes each of them somewhat busted in their own right; I’ve lost countless matches against Nightmare Korra just because her Flow is basically a teleport button which allows her to zap around without an issue, or against Toph, who just shifted the earth as she saw fit. The Flow Stance can be quite devious in the right hands, and I will definitely need more practice with it.
The uniqueness does not stop here, either; each character’s traits from the show are reflected in the gameplay as well. Aang is a very carefree and playful kid at heart and that is shown in his floaty and freeflow gameplay, bouncing around with the element of air under his command. Azula has two game modes, Focused Mode, which allows her to have precise combos and controlled gameplay, and Firelord Mode, which activates her deranged state from the end of the show and gives her increased damage but also uncontrollable speed and precision. Sokka, as the only non-bender of the roster, has insane mobility and a very “random-like” gameplan involving his boomerang, getting “buffed” with a kiss from Suki, or using his meteor sword to catch his opponents by surprise.
And if that wasn’t enough, each character has a maximum of three assists that improve various feats, such as projectile, movement speed, Flow Stance, and more. You can also input super moves, based on how many points of energy you have on your meter, and these points can be recovered by landing special attacks or critical hits. You could sacrifice a point of energy in order to extend a combo, but if you manage to link the correct attacks, you might be able to recover that energy back.
These mechanics might feel overwhelming at first, but due to how satisfying the gameplay is, most players that stick with the game will naturally figure the way Avatar Legends is supposed to be played. And for anyone that feels intimidated by all this information, I recommend Zuko as a starting character; he is a very straightforward, honest character in terms of gameplay, with strong neutral attacks and a solid fireball-based gameplan.
While the gameplay is incredibly fun, there’s actually not much to do in the game. Online mode only features Player Matches against randoms or in Private lobbies, and there is Local Versus either against the CPU or a second player. A Ranked Mode was announced to release at a later date, and is a mode the game desperately needs if it wants to retain its playerbase.
Then there is Story Mode, set in an alternate reality where multiple timelines converge and everyone’s personality gets swapped. For example, Azula is a loving daughter and Korra a delinquent that breaks things constantly. While the story is initially fun to follow, it quickly becomes boring, mainly because it is way too long and drawn-out. For those who want even more “side-quests” for the characters though, you can play Arcade Mode, which is the traditional eight matches ladder game mode.
For combo enthusiasts, there’s also a Trial Mode. I am happy to report that the trials are actually pretty damn tough and they demand a high skill and execution level, especially those for Zaheer, whose combos always involve activating his flying Flow. Unfortunately, there’s issues here as well: some characters have completely broken trials that impossible to complete in the game’s current state. Just like with Ranked Mode, a patch was announced which promises to fix all the trial-related issues.
This honestly soured my experience with the game. The developers wanted to launch the game at the same date as the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie, but this resulted in a rushed, lower-quality product, something that could have been avoided with a bit more time and polish.
If your goal is to earn the Platinum Trophy for Avatar Legends, you will have to wait. Two trophies are completely broken and don’t unlock at all (namely the ones for complete all tutorial missions, and completen all trials for one character). The trophy for completen all trials for all characters is broken as well, although in a positive way – it unlocks once you complete all trials for one character. Players that purchased and started the game before the future patch that will fix things are at an advantage here, since the trials in this game can be absolutely brutal. I expect this game to have an incredibly challenging Platinum Trophy once everything is fixed.
Other than what I have already mentioned, the only inconvenience is getting every item in the Gallery. There are 248 Gallery items total, and each of them costs 500 coins. The best way to farm coins in the game is to replay Story Mode missions, which grant 100 coins each. It is a monumental, trivial, but boring grind, since Story Mode really is not the most fun activity. We can only hope that wins in Ranked Mode will reward players with coins as well.
Despite all shortcomings, I can’t deny that I had an absolute blast with Avatar Legends. It’s an incredibly solid fighting game with a bonkers gameplay system reminiscent of the good old days of BlazBlue, and an incredibly faithful artstyle which makes me want to rewatch both shows. Also, the affordable price of $29.99 is more than fair given how much love was put into this game. I can’t help but recommend Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, but am hoping that the developers will add the promised content later down the road.
