Activision is releasing remastered versions of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on September 4, 2020. It will be the first major release in the Tony Hawk series since 2015 (if you want to label THPS5 a real release…). We know you can’t wait to get your skate on, so we compiled a short list of the newest and the best skateboard games you can get your hands on NOW, that will help scratch your skate-itch until September.
Skate 3
I know, everyone reading this already knows about Skate 3. But what they might not know, is that Skate 3 is playable on the Xbox One. Microsoft has really taken pride in their ability to enable backwards compatibility for an always-expanding library of games. If you don’t have a physical version to pop-in your console, you can subscribe to EA Access for $5/mo. To scratch your Skate itch, or you can buy digitally for $20.
The Skate series debuted in 2007, at the tail end of the glory days of extreme sports gaming. Skate breathed new life into a dying genre by giving players a more realistic and responsive feeling skateboard game. In prior popular skateboarding games, players felt accomplished by chaining together ridiculously long and unrealistic combinations of tricks to rack up points and multipliers. In the Skate series, just landing a clean 360 Kickflip felt satisfying. Mainly due to the extremely well-designed thumb stick control scheme. Like other sports games, EA revolutionized the controls in the Skate series. They almost entirely eliminated the need for the face-buttons on the controller. Instead, players pull off various tricks by spinning and flicking the sticks, simulating a skater’s footwork in the real world.
It has been 10 years since we last got an addition to the Skate series, but EA did announce they are working on Skate 4. So, we should expect to see somewhat of a revival of the genre in the upcoming generation. Overall, Skate 3 is a great (and cheap) way to hold yourself over if you’re excited to play the Tony Hawk remaster this September. It’s also great that the play styles are different enough to avoid burnout on the genre prior to release.
Skater XL
Skater XL is an indie skateboard game from the developers at Easy Day Studios. Just released on 7/28 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam (it’s been in early access since 2018). Heavily inspired by the previously mentioned EA Skate control mechanics, Skater XL is unique in that it does not have any tricks programmed into the game. Skater XL gives players complete freedom of expression, allowing players to pull off tricks with just the movement of the sticks. This is different than Skate because in Skate, moving the sticks a certain way would trigger a kick flip. In Skater XL, you need to move your stick in a certain way to manipulate the board into the kick flip. This means that no one kick flip is alike and you can truly nail the perfect, clean and super-satisfying trick if you get everything just perfect.
Skater XL also features a couple of real-life pros, which is exciting news and a great feature for such a small development team. Players can play as renowned skaters Tiago Lemos, Brandon Westgate, Evan Smith and Tom Asta. Additionally, if skating as a pre-made pro is not your thing, you can create your own character and customize him or her to fit your preferred style. From their hair, down to the brand of shoes they wear. Customization & expression is at the forefront of Skater XL’s repertoire.
Session
Session is another indie developed passion project from the small team at Crea-ture Studios. Like, Skater XL, Session launched on Steam’s early access program in September 2019 and is now also available on the Xbox One via the Xbox Game Preview program. Just because it’s not finished does not mean you should avoid it, though. While there is no full release date set just yet, the Steam reviews are still overwhelmingly positive.
The fact that this game also features a dual-stick control scheme just speaks to how influential EA’s Skate series has been and how intuitive they really are. Session boasts that players should “ignore other copycats” (some shade thrown at Skater XL? Competition is fun!) and experience their “True Stance Stick controls” – a control scheme where each stick represents a foot of their virtual skater so that they have complete control over the footing and how their tricks are pulled off. This means, skating “switch” now has real meaning as your controls become inverted as you land with your off-foot leading the way. These new and creative control schemes make me think the best skateboard game has yet to come!
One thing that I personally like about Session over its competition, is that you can get off of your board and walk around to set-up your line. There are also extremely in-depth settings that allow the player to make the game as easy or as difficult as they desire. Skaters will also have the ability to spawn and drop objects and obstacles anywhere they want.
Don’t Forget to Film!
Session also offers expansive in-game filming tools. Recording and photography has always been a huge part of skate culture. The folks at Crea-ture Studios made sure it was possible for virtual skaters to be able to capture all their sick tricks and create montages in-game. A neat feature for those that do not want to spend time recording, editing, and clipping with third party software.
Make Skate Culture Mainstream Again!
While these are just 3 of the most recent skateboard games, I think we are in for a bit of a resurgence of mainstream skate culture. With AAA studios Activision and EA each pushing their own long-overdue sequels in the next year, we can expect to see a few more copy-cats come out of the woodwork. Maybe we will see a revival of old-school games like Street Sk8r, Grind Session, or Dave Mirra’s Freestyle BMX? We can only dream! For those of us that grew up in the punk and skate boom of the late 90s/early 00s, I have a feeling the 20s are going to be radically nostalgic!
If you have a favorite from the above, or you think another game is the best skateboard game, let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter! See you at the skate park!
