skate. Feels Soulless, But I Still Have Hope

I’ve had the opportunity to play EA’s long-awaited [game] title for the past few months now. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the NDA has been lifted, and we’re starting to see opinion pieces come forth. Whilst there are a lot of positives to the game, there are just as many negatives. I have my own opinions on a multitude of factors, so let’s just get into it!

Let’s start with what I like about the game, though, shall we? For starters, it feels great to play. As someone who’s put in numerous hours playing Session and Skater XL since they were released, it’s nice to go back to something a little more arcadey. The Flick-It control system was still very much ingrained into my brain from years of playing the three mainline Skate games over the years, so it was nice to not have to learn a completely new set of inputs.

The added parkour system is also great for getting to what would otherwise be hard-to-reach spots. Seeing a half-pipe on top of a building and just scaling up the side to start shredding is always fun, and this new method of off-board traversal works really well.

Overall, it’s a great deal of fun to boot up the game and just skate. Whilst the map may not be the most interesting of city locations, there are still plenty of parks, plazas, and promenades to discover, with some crazy rooftop spots for those of you willing to go exploring.

For me, the biggest issue is the Free-to-Play model they’ve gone with. Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of adding new areas to the map, more tricks, new music, and so on, but I also like having a complete game from the get-go. Although that is seemingly a rarity with AAA publishers nowadays!

Another problem stems from the fact that there are fewer tricks than there were in Skate 3. Yes, yes, I know, Early Access and all that rubbish, but that shouldn’t really be a valid excuse when it’s been worked on for such a long time. Let me fingerflip, EA, you menace! Admittedly, there is a wide variety of flip, grab, and grind tricks available, but some new to the franchise — such as an Impossible — would have been great to have. Like I said, though, with the FTP model being as it is, I can at least expect these additions to come in somewhere down the line. Let’s just hope they’re not locked behind any Battle Pass equivalents!

The title mentions that skate. feels soulless, and that was the best word I could use to describe my roughly 10 hours of playtime with it thus far. It’s undeniably a whole lot of fun to just cruise around, find spots to session, and try for that perfect line. The issue here is the rest of the game. We have no pro skaters doling out missions, just points on the map and the ever-infuriating Vee, who chimes in every so often with painfully forced dialogue. This irritating little A.I. sounds like someone who doesn’t quite understand skateboarding culture, but pumps out words and phrases regardless to be down with the kids.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh, but with EA’s track record, and my dislike of Free-to-Play titles, I feel I’m being pretty reasonable. Only time will tell what the future holds for skate. once it releases out of Early Access and beyond. Ideally, I’d like the game to have a bit more flashiness to it, rather than the way it looks and feels at the moment. For now, though, those of you who are eagerly awaiting the public release on 16th September, you may want to lower your expectations just a tad. 

Oh, and one final note just as this article is about to go up! I was planning to get some screenshots of my own for this article, but unfortunately skate. had other plans! For the past few days, I've been stuck under the map, unable to move, respawn, fast travel, or, well... anything! Every time I load in, I just see my skateboard floating in the air. Checking the official forums, and it looks like I'm not the only one. Let's hope this issue is resolved soon!