After years of uncertainty, hype, and a fair bit of skepticism, skate. is finally out in the wild. The last Skate game, Skate 3, was released over 15 years ago, so it’s good to finally have the franchise back in our hands. Of course, it’s probably been a while since you last ollied with the dual-stick controls, and a lot has changed.
The game’s new map, San Vansterdam, is a massive playground, and there are new mechanics like the traversal system and new tricks to master. If you’re a skateboarding fan and jumping in from something like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, skate. can feel very different at times. This guide should help get you up and running so you start chaining combos and landing sick moves as soon as possible.
Your First Hour In Hedgemont
After completing the tutorial and dropping into San Vansterdam, you’ll be dropped into your first neighbourhood. It can be tempting to skate off into any random direction as soon as you’re in Hedgemont (that’s what I did), but there are better ways to get started. The main “storyline” in the game revolves around the SVCC (San Vansterdam City Council). These are the missions you should focus on completing first.
You’ll be introduced to key characters, unlock more sections of the city, and learn a lot of the core mechanics. The Hedgemont area is designed to teach you a bit about the verticality, too. One of the first large buildings you encounter will have a rooftop vert ramp that can give you a feel for transition skating. So, as tempting as it is to explore the whole world of San Van in one go, make sure you don’t skip the Golden Path guide. It will also lead you to unlock the next area, Gullcrest Village.
Unlocking Gullcrest Village And Expanding Your Playground
After completing most of the Golden Path missions for the SVCC, the city will begin to open up for you. Your new objective is to unlock the second major neighborhood: Gullcrest Village. Again, you’ll receive some new missions from the SVCC, and these are more technical and demanding than the ones in Hedgemont.
One of your missions will lead you to The House of Rolling Reverence. It’s essentially an old church that has been transformed into a skating zone. Use this as a good introduction to skating in unconventional spots. Another area, the SV News Building, can help you focus on long, technical grinds. The missions in both areas are crucial as they reward massive XP and cash rewards that help you level up and purchase new gear. P-Hus parking garage is another great training ground for intricate combo challenges, and Strand Street is good for training your hill bombing abilities and powerslides.
During your first couple of sessions of playing the game, the most important thing you should do is explore the map and look for spots. The new map focuses a lot on verticality, and that opens up a whole world of possibilities in terms of skating lines. Before you try landing complex tricks like laser flips or a hardflip with a late backside 180, it’s important to get familiar with your playground.
Nailing The Fundamentals And Getting Better Control
Completing most of the early missions will give you a good idea of the overall mechanics, but mastering them is another thing entirely. The first thing to understand is to learn how to push correctly. One mistake most newcomers make is pushing mongo (pushing with the front foot). This is slower, less stable, and makes setting up tricks difficult. Always push with your back foot. If you’re wondering about specific controls for your platform or want to change settings, we already covered that here.
Momentum is the next most important thing, as it is the key to finding good flow. Pushing the right way will get you started, but pumping through transitions is key to improving. A controlled powerslide is good for drifting into a sharp corner, and this can be done by slightly flicking the right stick towards the bottom left or bottom right. Combine that with smooth carving (long arching turns instead of kickturns) to maintain a continuous line.
This same sense of control is even more important for grind. Locking onto a rail is easy, but holding a grind is all about balancing with precision. Use tiny, subtle movements on the analog sticks to shift your skater’s weight as needed. Overreacting will make you bail, so this requires quite a bit of practice to get right in a longer grind.
How To Continue Progressing
After a couple of hours of playing the game, you will have unlocked all of the districts, improved at the fundamentals, and completed most of the Golden Path missions. What next? Well, this is where the true endless session begins. Long-term progression is built around a live service model that keeps you coming back. Check your menu for daily and weekly objectives. Here you’ll find a rotating list of challenges to earn more XP and in-game currency.
The specific challenges will vary, but expect them to consist of landing tricks in specific spots, grinding a certain total distance, or participating in community events. Leveling up and gaining XP is important as this unlocks fast travel points, allowing you to warp to key previous locations. This cuts down on travel time and helps you get straight to your favorite spots to practice lines or meet up with friends.
The real endgame is to pursue these challenges, find new skating spots, and explore every corner of San Van. Over time, you’ll make your own creative lines, find spots that reward technical mastery, and learn every trick there is in the game’s Skatepedia. Finally, don’t forget to just have fun and fool around in the world from time to time!
