EA has finally released the newest addition to the Skate video game series. It’s been 15 years since the critically acclaimed “Skate 3” made waves in the gaming industry, EA decided to pick up the franchise again and release “Skate.” After five years of development and six months of playtesting, the game was released in Open Beta on September 16.
I played close to five hours of the game and there are quite a lot of things to touch upon.
On first loading into the game, the player is met with several questions regarding their familiarity with the Skate franchise, specifically “Skate 3.” After the initial set of questions the player is thrown into an unskippable tutorial that lasts around 20 minutes.
I think that this is a bad decision. I understand why there is a tutorial, but why make it unskippable? It is frustrating to be an experienced player and still have to sit through a tutorial that holds my hand on the most basic instructions.
The tutorial is very boring and way too drawn out. When the tutorial is finally finished there is still around an hour of extra hand holding before the game lets you free roam and play the game how you want.
The game also decided to add an AI assistant named Vee to help the player out during the game. She is a faceless, computerized voice that chimes into gameplay with corny one liners and very obvious tips. Vee also replaces Coach Frank, the iconic skate coach from “Skate 3” who was voiced by real life skater Jason Lee.
To touch more upon the game’s non-playable character, we can see that all the real life pro skaters from “Skate 3” are gone and are replaced by generic NPCs. In addition to having no Pro skaters in the game there are also no pedestrian or cop NPCs. The streets are empty and feel barren without the presence of pedestrians or cops to chase you down like in the previous Skate games.
“Skate.” takes place in the fictional island city of San Vansterdam. The city is split into four districts, yet they all feel the exact same. The city is also quite small, only being a fraction to the map present in “Skate 3.” The map is also very empty. This goes further than just the lack of NPCs. The map as a whole is just empty with large flat plains designed for easier navigation around the map and no standout landmarks.
The base gameplay mechanics are identical to ”Skate 3” with some new additions. Now this is not a bad thing, as it is honestly the best part of the game. EA took the ideas established in the Skate series and perfected them in this new game. The game runs smoothly and the on-board movement is buttery and clean. No complaints here.
The new additions to the game are mostly off-board actions. In previous skate titles being off of the board meant the player could walk and jump, and that was about it. In “Skate.” off-board activities have been fully revamped with new movements. Now the player can perform actions like flips, vaults, slides and even wall runs. These additions give newfound possibilities to the franchise.
I would like to touch on some small, but important issues. The art style is very lacking in the game. EA decided to approach the art in a more cartoony and simplistic way. The player models are more akin to games like “The Sims” or “Fortnite” than any previous Skate game. The characters come off as corporate and soulless due to this artstyle change along with the lack of any strong voice acting. The once gritty Skate aesthetic is lost and replaced by a clean commercial look.
The last small complaint I have is with the in-game shop and customization. The player is stuck wearing generic boring outfits with little to no customization options. There are free clothing items available through leveling up, but they are just more boring generic clothes. To unlock more traditional and sought after skate attire, the player has to spend real life money in the shop.
Now one thing that I really appreciated is the in-game playlist. The game is chalk-full of really good music that fits the vibe perfectly.
My final thoughts on the game is that it is only a game about skateboarding. There is no character or passion. EA took a huge step away from real life skate culture and decided to go for a more cartoonish and digestible look. I find this a disappointing change, but I understand how it could make the game easier for people unfamiliar with skateboarding culture.
The game plays well and is an okay time killer, but it is a shame that they fumbled such a great opportunity to create an amazing game, and instead produced an alright game. My final review will be a six point four out of 10.