Has the Franchise Finally Found Its Feet Again?
The Skate franchise has slowly faded into obscurity following the third instalment’s release all the way back in the age of the dinosaurs… 2010. Given we’re now a decade and a half into the future, it wouldn’t be too far from expectations to ask for another entry into this renowned skating franchise, and that’s just what the folks at Full Circle and EA have delivered on with the (irritatingly titled) skate., now available in Game Preview / Early Access.
This introduction back into skating has been… well not so highly received by many across the web. Specifically, the inoffensive art style that clashes with the belief and culture of skating and the “mobile game progression system” employed. Are these criticisms entirely fair, or does skate. have hidden potential hiding underneath?
Back to San Van
To answer this, we must first glance back to the previous entries, and what made for their positive reception. The most successful of the three earlier entries was Skate 3, an Xbox 360 classic, as well a cult classic that stole over many people’s hearts. Praised elements were the graffiti-esque art style – reminiscent of Dreamcast title Jet Set Radio – along with the true to life skater culture and arcade skating gameplay. Simply put, Skate 3 was fun, at times very unrealistic, yet represented skater culture so well. Now let’s compare the new skate. to this.
You’re dropped straight into a new skate park, a promising start with various ramps to trick off, rails to grind on, and obstacles to have head on collisions with. Dare I say this tutorial area captures the charm and magic of Skate 3. There are classic controls or new streamlined controls, I tried both and – as someone who loved Skate 3 – have to give credit where credit is due to the overhaul which provides more accessible, yet still complex movement.
The main portion of your time with skate. will be stuck learning various tricks (which are in abundance) and trying to crash less and less as you improve. With a range of kick flips, manuals, grinds and so many other techniques, you can play how you want to and not by some overpowered tricks. Sadly, major aspects of this initially gripping gameplay die down as you enter San Van.
Open World and Progression
Gameplay can only ever be as good as the playgrounds developed for us to use it in, shown through the tutorial skate park, yet when you enter San Van, there is a blatant lack of skate parks or interesting environment elements to chain line combos to. To combat this, hundreds of challenges have been added throughout the world, providing brief escapes, yet ultimately returning you to what feels like a void city.
In this newly established San Van, you’ll discover many new mechanics such as the Rip Score and loot-boxes; Rip Score can be classified simply as your reputation in each area (affected by challenges you do and a few other factors) used to level up and unlock new items in the shop. In the shop, you’ll also discover a controversial addition… loot boxes.
Rip Score, Rewards, and a Reaper Outfit
Given the free-to-play nature of the title, skate. has many cosmetics, and a free way to obtain some of them, is through your Rip Score rewards enabling you to purchase loot boxes. Inherently, this system isn’t a negative, however the addition of unobtainable outfits through only micro transactions left a sour taste in my mouth. I mean, there’s a Grim Reaper outfit – one that looks extremely cool and I’d love to have – but wait, it’s only obtainable through paying real money. It’s the harsh, soul crushing reality of free-to-play titles, yet I can’t understand why everything wasn’t put in the loot-boxes, leaving this system taking one step forward, yet two back.
Quick Drop: A Winning Formula for Creativity
Luckily, skate. does have various additions worth being introduced, none more so than the Quick Drop feature. In layman’s terms, this mechanic allows you to place objects such as ramps or rails by holding down on the D-pad; it’s something so obvious to introduce, yet proves it’s worth as you attempt to create a stylish line combo and (in my case) keep failing. Pair it with session markers and it’s a winning formula.
Corporate Art and Repetitive Routes
As I mentioned earlier, challenges are back, yet not better than ever in skate., with four main types. Own the Spot and Session challenges are largely the same, asking you to perform tricks and obtain a certain amount of points to reach all your objectives. Then there are Line challenges in which you must collect all the bearings, along with stunt challenges where you ditch your skateboard for daredevil tricks. Each of them provide enjoyment, my personal favourite being line challenges, yet after completing a few they rarely differ, leaving one of the main gameplay loops feeing procedurally generated.
The final criticism I hold – largely shared online – is the inoffensive art style opted for. Skating has always been associated with counter culture, punk in a way, such as graffiti on walls or parkour. To strip a skating game of that, and opt in for corporate feeling visuals, feels like a huge spit in the face to those who should be the target demographic. It’s clear EA are making changes with their recent social media posts displaying lighting changes, yet it need go much further than just that.
A Promising Start with Early Access Flaws
The Skate franchise without doubt needed a reboot or new entry, after all, Skate 3’s enjoyment can only go so far. Whilst newcomer skate. does land some of its kick flips, ultimately I was left wanting much more from the title (art style, more skateparks and more content) hopefully to be delivered in future updates.
We must remember though, skate. is in Game Preview / Early Access, and so changes will be forthcoming. It’s going to be interesting to see how, and what, those changes affect as we go forward.
You can grab a download of skate. from the Xbox Store right now. It’s free to download and play, but if you do want to splash some cash on the Founder’s Pack, or Deluxe Founder’s Pack, feel free.
You can play skate. on Xbox Series X|S, PC and PlayStation 5.
