By John Medina, Staff Writer
Skate is an extreme sports game series published by Electronic Arts (EA), known for its intuitive “flick it” controls, fun character customization, and crazy game-breaking glitches. Until this year, the series was on a prolonged hiatus after the primary developer, Black Box, was shut down in 2013. Despite this, Skate gained a boost in popularity in the 2010s as a result of YouTube gameplays, causing a storm online for more skate content and the possibility of a new game, which resulted in a movement demanding that EA release a brand-new Skate game.
Finally, after an excruciating 15-year wait, the new installment in EA’s Skate series is finally accessible to the public as an early access build. Titled “Skate.,” this newest entry drops the usual numbered format for a simple period meant to symbolize EA’s vision of a frequently updating and fully encompassing skateboarding simulator. But, does Skate. hold up compared to previous games, and was the 15-year wait worth it?
Things I LOVE about Skate.:
I think it is important to note that this is just my opinion about the game. With how long this installment has been in development, as well as the early access state it was released in, it is bound to be divisive. A gameplay feature I personally love could easily be a reason you hate the game, and vice versa. As someone who has poured countless hours into Skate 3 on Xbox 360 and as a fan of the series who wants to see this game grow and prosper, I still have a lot of mixed feelings that I intend to share.
As a series, Skate originally differentiated itself from the main skateboarding game competitor, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, with its intuitive “flick it” system for tricks, compared to the simple click of a button trick system in its competition. Skate games utilize precise movements on the right joystick, a gameplay choice that defined the series as a skill-based experience rather than an arcade-like gameplay loop. However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have serious concerns for how gameplay would feel in the newest game, since the new studio, Full Circle, had to build a brand new gameplay engine from the ground up.
Fortunately, the new gameplay stays faithful to previous installments, combining the more realistic skating aspects of Skate 2 with the off-board movement and added tricks from Skate 3. In Skate. new tricks were added, like endless kickflips and slappies that can spice up your lines. Although picking up Skate. is a learning curve, skating around in the fictional world of San Vansterdam feels buttery smooth and intuitive.
The loss of glitches was a concern for many players and, thankfully, there is no lack of glitches in this game either. You might ask, “Wait, people purposely want the game to have glitches?” Yes! Breaking the game is a huge part of the appeal of previous titles. Through repeat attempts and precise inputs you can gain a tremendous amount of speed or even go flying out the map. Glitches allow players to experiment with different play styles and truly master the game’s mechanics
Climbing and parkour features appear for the very first time in this new iteration as well. I love scaling the many giant skyscrapers on the map and splatting on the ground upon descent. The gliding physics in this game are also a highlight, as your character is able to control their fall very precisely, opening up a whole new avenue of stunt possibilities.
Talking about this game series over text form can be difficult, since there are gameplay elements and intricacies that are better experienced rather than explained. So, please do yourself a favor and try Skate. out for free!
Full Circle delivers what I believe to be the smoothest skating experience in the whole series; however, there are some choices that leave me scratching my head and underwhelmed at the state this game was released in.
Mixed feelings
Skate. is a fully online multiplayer experience, meaning there is no dedicated single player or story mode; this is a major bummer, especially considering a huge part of the previous installment in the series is its silly and zany cast of skaters alongside a story with an overarching goal to complete. Skate 3 tasked your character with being a sponsored pro skater trying to sell a million skateboard decks; meanwhile, in Skate. the player is dropped into a game with no plot or backstory, tasked only with challenges that vary from simple coin collecting to stringing together a line of complicated tricks. These remain as the only game modes available, leaving an absence of fan favorite game modes from previous installments like “S.K.A.T.E.” and the bone-shattering hall of meat, causing reasonable complaints from fans, me included.
A recurring pitfall of modern-day free-to-play live service gaming is its over-reliance on lootboxes and microtransactions. You remember who owns the intellectual property of the Skate Series? EA, a developer that is infamous for its paid downloadable content (DLC) and scummy business practices.
In Skate. there are three currency types: one that is unlockable through completion of in-game challenges, one that is paid currency (only purchasable with real money), and Skate Tix, the currency tied to this game’s version of a Battle Pass. The brand new addition of a Skate. pass puts cosmetic items behind a bigger paywall while previous games in the series simply unlocked items as you progressed, so I personally see this as a huge downgrade. To be fair, all in-game purchases are purely cosmetic and do not give you an advantage over other players, and you can still unlock items from earned lootboxes. I actually really like some items in the shop, like my cheetah print cargo pants. But you couldn’t pay me to buy some of the items in the shop; I don’t think I’m the prime audience for neon colored leggings anyway.
There are two more additions that are equally as polarizing in the eyes of the community: the addition of Vee, a virtual robot assistant, and the brand-new art direction this installment went for. As for Vee, her inclusion in the game honestly makes me miss the non-player characters (NPC) and storylines from previous installments; Coach Frank filled Vee’s role in Skate 3 as a human skate instructor and was far more memorable. Vee’s constant monologuing can get really annoying, but luckily, you are able to disable her through settings.
As for the new art style, I personally don’t mind it. It definitely is a contrast from the previous gritty and scuffed-up look, aiming for a more cartoony vibe akin to Fortnite or Overwatch. One point of contention I do find is that the world doesn’t look lived in enough; everything in San Vansterdam looks like it was freshly paved and untouched. Not a huge deal, but I did enjoy the grunge-y look of Skate 1 through Skate 3.
At a certain point, critiques for this game just start to pile up. Where are the customizable tattoos? Where are death races? Where is the custom park editor? Why can’t I hold on to a moving car? Why can’t I beat up pedestrians? Why do I have to pay twenty dollars for a skin I could earn for free in the previous game? Why are all these features that were in a game made 15 years ago suddenly missing from this new installment? Why is this robot still talking? Did EA really have to include an extensive Fortnite-like item shop, using currency I have to spend my hard-earned money on?
Bundle in connection issues with the occasional blocky texture, and it leaves players with an underdeveloped mess of a game. Everything I feared would happen with a new Skate release came to fruition.
So much about this game irks me in the worst way, so why do I keep playing it?
The future of Skate.
As a dedicated fan of the series, I am thrilled that we can finally play this game. The new gameplay feels alive, precise, and exhilarating with a glitch-filled charm to it. That being said, a large part of me wishes the game had a little more time in the oven. I understand that the game will continue to update and that there is no telling how this game will look in two years’ time, although that mindset is a double-edged sword. Sure, the game has the possibility to prosper with a steady flow of new players and the addition of missing old features, new tricks, new gamemodes, and new map locations, but this is EA we’re talking about. I would like to remind everyone that this is a live service game. Meaning if player counts begin to dwindle, they could easily pull the plug after a 15-year wait.
This game is free to play, and I implore you to try it out for yourself. I seriously want the best for this game, and I hope it continues growing. So run around in San Vansterdam and find which playstyle fits you. You can ditch the skateboard completely, roll in a ball like Sonic the Hedgehog, fly across the map and land crazy stunts, or play more realistically! The world is your oyster in Skate.
