From what I’ve learned by playing skateboarding games since I was a kid, manuals and reverts are some of the most important tricks to keep combos going. This has always been true in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and it remains true for skate. However, if you really want to control your speed, set up tricks, or just style out lines, you also need to know how to powerslide.
Unlike reverts or manuals, powerslides are more about maintaining flow and control across the map rather than extending combos. In this guide, we’ll break down how powerslides work in the game and when you should be using them. By the end, you’ll be sliding through corners and downhill in no time.
How To Powerslide In Skate 4
Unlike most of the right tricks in this game, you don’t actually do a powerslide by flicking the right stick. The actual mechanism is much simpler:
- First, build some speed by pushing your skater. Pushing four times takes you to the maximum speed.
- Once you have enough speed, hold and pull the left stick towards the bottom-right corner to do a frontside or FS powerslide.
- To do a backside or BS powerslide, hold and pull the left stick towards the bottom-left corner
That’s simple enough, but there’s one caveat: powersliding only seems to work consistently and reliably when you’re skating downhill. This does make sense, as powerslides are more of a situational move than a constant tool. You either need a downhill slope or a high burst of speed (much higher than you get from traditional pushing) to powerslide reliably.
When To Use Powerslides
Now that you know how powerslides work, the real question is when to actually use them. You want to use them in situations where overall flow matters more than combos. More than just slowing you down, powerslides are a way to keep your lines clean and stylish. They’re helpful in the following situations:
- Tight corners: When skating downhill with too much speed into a carve, the powerslide will shave enough pace to help you make the turn without tasting concrete.
- Repositioning: Sliding out mid-tun will let you reset your angle for rails, gaps, manuals, or other tricks.
- Downhill: The fight with gravity seems to be a big part of this game, but it’s easy to lose control fast. A quick powerslide can keep you stable when bombing bigger hills.
- Transition Tricks: Drop out of a grind, powerslide to line yourself up, then flick into a manual for that extra bit of style
Again, the key is to remember that powerslides are situational and not about adding to your score. So, you won’t be spamming these at every run, but the turn sloppy speed into smooth control when the moment calls for it.
