Remember the “Soul Skating” chapter in Tony Hawk’s Underground? If you haven’t, it’s basically the final act of the game in which your player-created character rejects the corporate direction of skateboarding after seeing it turn his “friends” (screw you, Eric) into greedy, money-hungry monsters. Essentially, it’s about getting back to the essence and core values of what skateboarding used to be — freedom, rebellion, and expression without compromise. And it’s always stuck with me.
This is exactly what the original Skate games tapped into. It was a raw and guerrilla approach to skateboarding where you had to dodge security guards and hunt for spots that weren’t meant for you. Skating itself was an act of rebellion.
In the newly-released skate., it feels like the inverse. A free-to-play, online-only game where that rebellious spirit is buried under storefronts, player queues, and missions that feel meaningless. Yeah, the actual skating still feels great. But the foundation feels more corporate than soulful.
Skate. Review
The Gameplay Is As Good As Ever
At its best, skate. is still Skate. Flicking the right stick to hit a kickflip on a halfpipe, a trey flip down a stair set, or a manual down a hill still feels as good as it ever has. The DNA of the original trilogy is still here, and when you find that perfect flow, it’s addicting and even somewhat intoxicating. While I’ve never been a fan of the Skate series’ more wacky intangibles, cavemanning off a high rooftop into a pool and hitting a preposterous gap reminded me exactly why this series has been so important and beloved. The only critique that I have for the actual gameplay is that vert skating is a bit half-baked when compared to street skating, but that’s kind of been the Achilles’ heel of the entire franchise, so it’s something I can live with.
To its credit, San Vansterdam is a worthy playground. It’s full of spots that are worth exploring and fun to skate, with verticality that rewards creativity and lines that feel handcrafted for experimentation. Also, to my surprise, the art style didn’t grate on me as much as I thought it would. It certainly leans Fortnite-lite (FortLITE, I guess?), but since the game is mostly viewed from behind your skater, it quickly fades into the background.
The servers have been a mess (we’ll get to that), but by day two, I wasn’t being queued up anymore when launching the game. Whether that’s because of some improvements being done behind the scenes or fewer players, it made the whole experience smoother.
And I can’t stress this enough — the gameplay is still incredibly fun. No other skateboarding series has nailed the sensation of controlling the board like Skate has, and this entry is no exception.
Storefront First, Skating Second
Everything surrounding the skating itself in skate. is where things quickly begin to unravel. The servers have been miserable — queues at launch, constant disconnects, and full-on maintenance largely hampered the launch-day experience. On day one, even after connecting to the online servers, staying connected felt like a roll of the dice. And because this is an online-only game, when the servers die, the game dies with them. There is no solo free skate, no offline fallback. Nothing. And the worst part of it all is that nobody asked for an online-only skate. to begin with. Not a solitary soul. Should it fail from a financial standpoint, it will be gone forever.
Then, there’s the tone. I miss when skating in the first two Skate games (sorry, Skate 3 fans) felt almost intrusive to the environment around you, like you were carving out space in a world that didn’t want you. Now? San Vansterdam is a skater-friendly paradise in which everything feels corporate and sanitized. The rebellious streak that defined the series (at least up until Skate 2) has been swapped out for something that feels safe and, dare I say, neutered. Again, the map itself is great, and most people who are fans of the third game will likely love it. But, something hasn’t sat right with me.
The characters certainly don’t help in that regard, either. I found Vee to be so irritating that I had to turn her off 30 minutes into playing. Izzy is forgettable. Shingo is back, but given his change from a local skater type to some kind of comic relief foil over the course of the series, I didn’t care too much. I’m not going to pretend that the characters in the Skate series have been a model for satisfying and compelling writing. But Slappy? That’s… that’s the name we went with?
Finally, there are the missions. If you can even call them that. Not only are they incredibly repetitive, but they also play like glorified tutorials, busywork wrapped up in the goal of… I don’t know, making friends, I guess? Again, I’m not gonna pretend as if the missions in the original three Skate games were to the level of “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” in Cyberpunk 2077, but at least they were all in service of the original goal of becoming a pro, getting sponsors, competing in the X-Games, and selling skateboards.
Hell, even other free-to-play games, such as battle royales or extraction shooters, have a goal. In skate., the only real endpoint is being funneled into the microtransaction-laden “Extravert Store” to blow currency on a red Thrasher hoodie or on loot boxes that contain a pair of pants. It often feels like the game was designed around a storefront first, and skating second. Who would’ve guessed?
Oh, and I forgot to mention — S.K.A.T.E. and Hall of Meat? Completely gone. Sorry.
The Bottom Line
When you’re on your board and coasting through the streets of San Vansterdam, skate. still captures that old magic. The flick-it system remains unmatched, the flow is alive, and the map itself is a joy to explore. The problem is everything else. From the online-only structure to thin missions and flat characters, it’s a foundation that doesn’t live up to the series’ legacy.
At its best, skate. feels amazing and reminds you of why this franchise is so important and why #MakeEASkateAgain became such a huge thing. At its worst, it’s the Anti-Soul Skating — less passion, more pants. And until this game (and the series as a whole) figures out if it’s Soul Skating or Corpo Skating, it’s hard not to shake the feeling that it’s already picked the wrong side.
