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Author's Note:The author was provided a PlayStation 5 code by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
There has been discourse in some corners of the internet since the beta for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game earlier this month. Some fighting game fans feel the game is too complicated and the combos are too difficult to appeal to a mass audience, while others argue the game's complexity is a showpiece of how casual video game fans might be willing to try the often intimidating genre if it is the right IP with the right features.
Multiple things can be true at once, and that is definitely the case with Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game. The game is challenging. The game is complex. The game uses The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra IPs to maximum effect. Most of all, the game is very, very fun, and with more features than most modern fighters, as well as an enticing $29.99 price tag, it is incredibly easy to recommend Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game to both Avatar fans and fighting game fans.
There are a couple stumbles with the game's story mode and the design of the tutorial mode, but the core gameplay is so deep and so satisfying to pull off, and the game oozes passionate love for both fighting games and Avatar to the point where those are minor marks against the game at worst. Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is one of the best games I have played this year, and with its lightning-fast matchmaking and rounds, I found myself saying, "just one more set" into the wee hours of the morning, and I feel like this could be a forever fighter for me.
Master the Elements
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game features hand-drawn 2D animated characters and stages, and despite some early criticism that the game looks somewhat like a "flash game," in motion, the game is stunning and accurately reflects the art style and character models of the animated television series. There are some odd visual effects here and there, like the zig-zagging lines that appear when getting KOed at the end of a round, but it's a style that I appreciate for this game and its budget.
It's not a secret that Avatar Legends is reasonably low-budget compared to other fighting games this year, like the upcoming Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, but is that a problem if the game is fun, pretty, has a great sense of style, and has the depth of an ocean? Personally, I don't think so.
That being said, I do see where some fans may criticize the Story Mode presentation in particular, especially after games like Mortal Kombat and Injustice have become more and more cinematic with their story modes.
During the roughly 5-hour story mode, the cutscenes are mostly characters talking to each other in fighting poses and then awkwardly walking off-screen in those same stances. The characters are voiced, which is appreciated, but this style definitely stands out among competitors.
The weird thing, though, is that I actually think I prefer this game's story mode style more than games like Mortal Kombat and Injustice. It's longer than those games, for starters, and every character gets his or her time to shine, though some have more chapters than others.
The story itself is actually a new canon story, consisting of 27 chapters, penned by Avatar co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino and series writer Tim Hedrick. It is not Shakespeare by any stretch of the imagination, but the writing quality is largely harmless, and the characterizations of fan-favorites are done well, especially Toph and Kyoshi. It's light-hearted, and while it's not particularly remarkable, it isn't bad either.
Fans will have a good time uncovering how Aang, Kyoshi, and Korra all exist at the same time, and there is a lot of fan service to both Avatar series throughout that made me smile and brought back joyful memories of watching the shows as a kid.
Throughout the Story Mode, players switch between all the playable characters at set intervals. After each fight, you gain experience points and gold. The gold can be used to purchase upgrades for every character (which are the three support characters for each main playable character).
That is, however, one of the drawbacks of the story mode. You do not have access to an entire character's kit until near the end of the story, and their Chi gauges are also limited by their current level, which alters the core gameplay quite a bit and can make most fights fill like an auto-combo mashing contest.
The game's classic-style Arcade Mode also provides some light-hearted stories for all 12 playable characters. Each Arcade run is eight fights, with an introductory scene and an ending scene.
Overall, the story serves its purpose fine. It's silly, and it is aware of how silly it is, and despite the odd restrictions in place with the leveling system, it's still a good time.
Fast As Azula's Lightning
Unlike the modern team- and assist-based fighter trends with recent releases like Invincible VS and 2XKO, Avatar Legends is a straight-up 1v1 fighter, which may be appealing to fighting game fans who might be craving something different.
Matches begin with players selecting one of the 12 playable characters and then selecting one of three support characters. The support characters act like a refined version of the Variation System from Mortal Kombat X. All of the support characters enhance something in the base kit of the character without taking anything away.
Zuko, for example, can pick Jun as his support character to remove height restrictions on his dive kicks. Even if you pick one of the other two support characters, you still have access to the dive kicks. The system allows for strategic counterplay while also providing a fully fleshed-out character, and it's a really strong mechanic.
On the surface level, Avatar seems simple. There are only three gauges to manage: health, Chi (which is used for enhanced special moves and supers), and Flow. Then, upon opening the command list for any of the characters, you will likely see how deep and complex this game can be.
It's a four-button fighter: light, medium, heavy, and Flow. Characters share mostly the same inputs for special movies and supers. Typical combo strings move from light, medium, and heavy attacks into a special or enhanced special. Nothing too crazy yet.
Then, the Flow system comes into play. Flow works differently for every character. Toph's back Flow, for example, turns the ground into a rockslide to move the opponent towards her. Zuko's back Flow is a hop away from the opponent. Katara's is an ice slide.
Even after the previous beta and around 20 hours of play in this review build, mainly focusing on Zuko, I was still learning new things about the game, and there are several one-frame link combos and high-execution moves for fighting game enthusiasts.
That all might sound intimidating, but the game is as challenging or as complex as you choose to make it. Avatar Legends does have an auto-combo system, like most modern fighters, and the one here is actually more versatile than those in other fighting games. So, new players can pull off really cool-looking short combos easily, but skilled players can do 40-plus hit combos that take opponents wall-to-wall.
Every character feels truly unique, too, with each of them having an ocean of depth. Kyoshi plays nothing like Toph, who plays nothing like Sokka. So, despite there only being 12 characters at launch, plus five more characters coming in the first season pass, it will take many, many hours to near mastery for just one of the characters.
The game feels accessible like Mortal Kombat but with the depth of a traditional anime fighter like Skullgirls or BlazBlue, and that is impressive to pull off.
The game's speed is also noteworthy. This very well may be the fastest fighting game released since Marvel vs Capcom 2. Movement is fast, attacks are fast, rounds go by fast, and online matchmaking is fast.
This speed demon, though, feels so good to play. The weight of impacts, the satisfaction of pulling off long combos, and clutch anti-airs feel so smooth. It's always fast, but never too fast, and that balance is remarkable.
Different than other fighters, if the timer hits 0, the match still continues, with life from both characters draining, which emphasizes the aggressive nature of the game. That being said, zoning tools, like fireballs and traps, still exist in the game, but they never feel overwhelming.
It is clear that this is a fighting game made by fighting game veterans who just wanted to make a fast-paced, fun fighter, and Gameplay Group International more than succeeded on that front.
That being said, there are some balance imperfections, which will likely be smoothed out at release and in post-launch updates. Sokka, in particular, has some really nasty setups and serious damage, while Katara's combos may need a bump in damage.
I gladly spent hours in the training mode learning hard combos, more practical combos, and various setups, and it never felt like practice because the game's mechanics work so well together.
However, I do think the game's tutorial mode needs a revamp. The tutorial mode isn't really a tutorial mode that teaches you how to play. It actually teaches you basic strategy and key moves of all 12 playable characters. In the review build, this was only available for Aang. The tutorial for Aang begins with combo strings that utilize his glider and Flow. Then it goes into his aerial down heavy attack. That seems fine, until you realize that these moves are also a part of a required lengthy combo string.
It's a little excessive, and I think this game would benefit from both a general playable tutorial and a step-by-step guide for each character, instead of overwhelming the player with concepts and combos even in the tutorial mode, similar to the way Street Fighter 6 approaches its tutorials.
Something that is noteworthy, though, is that the combo trials in the game for each character feature a Breakdown mechanic. The Breakdown system takes players through each combo, showing what each button looks like and when to press it, giving players a rating at the end of the breakdown after practicing it. It's a neat feature, and I wish more fighting games did that.
A Fighting Game Fan's Dream
In the modern era, good netcode and online functionality are key to any fighter's lifespan. Luckily, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game may be one of the smoothest and fastest online experiences I have played in recent memory.
The game does use rollback netcode, and I tested the connections at various times of the day, and the online play felt virtually identical to the offline modes.
Rematches happen almost instantly, and given the speed of the game already, it's possible to play dozens of matches in less than an hour. The game does not waste any time. At all.
The online play consists of Ranked Matches, Player Matches, and Lobbies. At launch, lobbies can only hold two players, but developers have confirmed multi-player lobbies will be coming soon in a post-launch update.
I do hope an online training mode becomes available at some point, too, or maybe it will be an option with the additional lobby support. Especially given how fun the game is and how complex the characters are, I think it would be neat to learn in real-time with friends.
Final Score: 9/10
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is a fighting game built for fighting game fans and lovers of The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, and it succeeds on almost every level.
With quite a lot of content packed into a $29.99 price tag, plus complex yet accessible characters, and a beautiful art style, there really isn't much of a reason why both fighting game fans and Avatar fans shouldn't pick this game up. It's a breath of fresh air after several tag fighter releases, and with the game's stellar combo trial Breakdown system as well as its accessible but deep design philosophy, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is a home run.
The story mode is a little underwhelming, and I do wish the tutorial modes had an even lower level for new fighting game players, but the game makes up for it with its buttery smooth online play and fast gameplay.
Avatar Legends trades cinematic presentation for an emphasis on fun gameplay, and that trade-off is worth it. It's easily one of the most fun games I have played this year, and I could see myself coming back to this game for many more years to come.
When fighting game fans needed him the most, the Avatar returned.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game will be released on July 23, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 versions are also in development and are scheduled to release sometime in 2026.
