If you’d told me back in 2010, when picking up Skate 3 on launch day, the franchise would subsequently be dormant for the next 15 years, I’d probably have burst into tears. I’ve wished for, and dreamed about, a new game in the Skate franchise for 15 years, but after so much waiting, and for a while begrudgingly accepting the series was dead, Skate 4 (or just skate. to use its official name) has arrived, and it’s a glorious day for skateboarding fans.
This long-requested game in the series (one of the game’s developers likes to joke it was “commented into existence” after a fan campaign to flood EA social accounts with requests for Skate 4) warps the franchise formula in some significant (and not always successful) ways. But the fundamental feel of pulling off gnarly tricks and hitting the perfect line is as satisfying as ever.
Skate (you win, EA. I’ll drop the 4...) may not be the perfect return for the series I’d envisioned, but as a free-to-play title, the barrier to entry is non-existent for new and returning players. And seeing the servers crashed on launch day (Sept. 16), it’s clear a lot of people are eager to hop on a board and give the new Skate a chance, which makes me very happy as a fan.
The game is currently in early access, but is now open to all players on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. I was lucky enough to get access to the early access period a little early, and I’ve already sunk more than 20 hours into Skate. Here’s my thought as a day one veteran of the skating sim series.
What I like about Skate
Let’s start with the headline news: Skate feels like Skate. Created by a new studio, Full Circle (original Skate developer, Black Box, was shut down in 2013), this fourth installment in the series — I'm discounting the Skate-It spin-offs on Wii and DS — retains the fundamentals that longtime fans know and love. That means the return of the “flick it” controls, which see you mimicking board movements on your controller’s thumbsticks.
It was pretty awesome to jump into the new Skate for the first time and have my muscle memory built up over thousands of hours across the franchise take over immediately. The game’s (rather annoying) robot helper wanted to teach me the basics, but I was way ahead of the curve, and eager to drop into the new city of San Vansterdram and start shredding up some tarmac now.
Once let loose in the city, I was in my element, pulling off quad kickflips and abroatic backflips with ease. But what’s always been so compelling about Skate is, unlike the more arcadey Tony Hawk’s series, the simple act of successfully pulling off a basic ollie into a nosegrind feels immensely satisfying, and that feeling has been retained (and arguably improved).
In the interim, other skate sims have appeared on the market from Skater XL to Session, and while I’ve enjoyed these imitators, it feels wonderful to have the true king of the genre back on the scene. Full Circle has smartly kept the core gameplay loop, but buffed things even further, making the simple act of just rolling around looking for fun stuff to trick on (or over) as compelling and engaging as it’s ever been in the series. Kudos to them for crushing it.
What I dislike about Skate
Okay, so as noted, Skate plays like a dream. In my 20 hours of gametime to date, more than half of that has been spent completely ignoring missions in favor of just cruising the streets, enjoying the vibes while throwing on my preferred Spotify playlist (the included in-game soundtrack isn’t quite to my taste, even if I do appreciate the inclusion of pop-rock band Wallows).
The problem is everything else about the game. The original Skate trilogy combined a single-player campaign with robust multiplayer options, but the latest Skate is built from the ground up for online play. Yes, it’s a so-called “live service” title that requires a persistent internet connection at all times and isn’t afraid to nudge you to spend real-world cash on microtransactions.
I don’t have a fundamental issue with the “live service” model, but unfortunately, at this stage, Skate feels very lacking in content. Franchise staples like death races, vert/street competitions, real-world pros, and rather ironically considering the name, S.K.A.T.E. missions are all absent. In their place is an extremely repetitive series of goals to complete, which rotate daily. For now, there’s only a small handful available, and they get old fast.
The open city map of San Vansterdam is also pretty disappointing. In my time, I’ve found more than a couple of fun spots to skate, but the streets feel mostly empty and lifeless, and SanVan is missing some of the memorable locations found in previous games, like the Mega Park and the X-Games Stadium. It’s also surprisingly small for a game released in 2025.
Many members of the dedicated Skate community have also taken aim at the game's visuals. The grittier edge of the original Skate games has been swapped for a cleaner look, which has been unfavourable compared to Sims Mobile in some recent Steam reviews. Personally, the visuals are of an acceptable quality to me, but I do wonder if the (subjective) downgrade isn’t due to a desire to make the game playable on less powerful mobile devices.
In short, Skate plays like a dream, but beyond the core gameplay loop, a lot is lacking. However, I feel these concerns can be mitigated by the fact that the game is currently in early access. This week is the starting point, and Full Circle is promising regular updates, so I’m staying hopeful that the Skate we have in a year will be quite different from what we have now.
I really do hope we get some form of offline mode, though, because in the volatile and competitive live service space, it’s not uncommon for games to be abandoned. And I'd be devastated if it were switched off permanently.
Should you play Skate in 2025?
There’s little question in my mind that Skate is worth playing right now. Yes, it’s got some pretty significant design issues that I hope Full Circle will resolve in the months (years?) to come, and things are pretty ropey from a technical standpoint with a lot of bugs and glitches. But remember, Skate is an early access title; what we have now is a foundation to build upon.
Experiencing the never-better trademark Skate gameplay more than justifies your time investment (and hard drive space to install). I can forgive bland and repetitive missions when just skating the streets, making your own fun along the way is such a blast. Plus, don't forget it's a free-to-play title, so you can drop into Skate without having to spend a single penny.
While I’m thankful the series has finally returned after all these years, most of all, I’m just really eager to see where Skate goes from here. Because with a bit more polish, a greater variety of missions (perhaps a larger map and offline mode, if I’m getting everything on my wishlist), it could transform into the full-featured Skate 4 I spent the last 15 years dreaming about.
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