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You made “Skate” happen.
Or, you did if you were one of the hordes of people who’ve spent near enough 15 years hounding EA for a sequel to 2010’s beloved sandbox sports sim “Skate 3”.
After going hands-on with its 2025-bound reboot, one thing is clear: we might have to wait even longer before “Skate” feels finished.
This is a live service game, and that marks a huge departure from the previous three releases. No longer is there a cost of entry. “Skate” is free-to-play, relying on profits generated by you buying cosmetics for your custom character.
With its game soon to enter Early Access, developer Full Circle is leveraging fan feedback to shape the ongoing development cycle. That means, right now, “Skate” plays differently from how it will in six months’ time.
The mission statement, at least, is simple: take the winning concept of the original and put more players in it.
How Many Players Can Play Skate?
150. That’s how many concurrent players can fit in the fictional city sandbox of San Vansterdam. In the media-only closed beta, however, I don’t see more than two of them, so at this stage it’s difficult to comment on the game’s massively multiplayer aspirations.
Full Circle says in a behind-closed-doors media briefing, it’s the perfect number – enough to notice but not enough to look weird.
Each player is represented by a white dot moving in real-time on the map screen. You can teleport to any one of them, spectate them, or just stand by cheering them on with a range of emotes.
You can even create custom lines together, using the build menu to conjure objects out of thin air and connect them into skateable sequences.
The most recent trailer shows off winding rooftop race tracks, towering mega ramps, and perilous trick courses through bustling junctions. The build I play, however, isn’t quite as fleshed out.
There are only five objects in the game right now (a rail, bench, two ramps and a square of plywood) so options are limited. It’s more proof of concept for something that you may want to use later. Because why go to the trouble of placing a bench when you’re never more than five metres from one helpfully installed by the city council?
When Full Circle does add more objects to the line-builder, there’s every indication it’ll take on a life of its own as players design their dream skateparks. How long it’ll be before they’re able to do so isn’t yet clear.
How Big is the Map in Skate?
The map in “Skate” feels smaller and less diverse than “Skate 3”, heavily urbanised and comprised of just four districts. It does, however, offer plenty of verticality.
A freeform climbing system lets you scale nearly every surface in the game. It takes a while to summit skyscrapers – “Assassin’s Creed” this isn’t – which is why it’s always best to drop a quick restart beacon using the D-pad so you can quick-load your previous location.
That’s the essence of “Skate”. Quick-loading into your custom spot and practicing tricks until you perfect them. You’ll fail more often than you don’t, making success all the sweeter.
To that end, there is no traditional progression. You won’t unlock new tricks or pour skill points into abilities. Instead, it’s about mastering what’s already there. A character in minute one is the same as a character in hour 100.
That is, aside from how they look. Every mission in the game rewards you with cosmetics, including hats, glasses, tops, trainers, and boards. These get increasingly colourful. One year down the line you can fully expect to see wheel-less hoverboards ridden by people in Darth Vader onesies.
Purely visual character customisation doesn’t provide a hugely compelling impetus to keep going at this stage, but that’s because there’s no one to show off to. As the community grows so will the vanity.
A large part of skating is, after all, about trying to look cool. To that end, you need to master the controls so you don’t end up eating pavement.
Does Skate Have Flick-It Controls?
Yes, flick-it controls are back in “Skate”. Essentially, you flick the right stick in a direction to pull off tricks. A little circular icon at the bottom of the screen tracks and visualizes your exact thumb motion with a red line to make memorizing tricks easier.
Flick-it controls require greater finesse than simply pushing a button. That means when you do land something, it’s worth celebrating. The system feels just as satisfying as it ever did.
As effective as they are, the controls are a little too familiar. Like previous entries, there’s not much differentiating the quality of a trick. A perfect thumbstick flick seems to result in exactly the same animation as a sketchier one.
The physics are what provide the random animation element. Land awkwardly on the kerb and your rider wobbles convincingly. Clip a lamppost and you’ll tumble through the air.
This results in frequent ragdoll chaos as bigger impacts (like a bus) twist you into a pretzel. Thankfully, it’s in keeping with the game’s cheerily chaotic tone. Some missions ask you to jump off a building and use off-board controls to glide through bridge supports and hit a target with your face.
It’s brilliantly nostalgic for anyone who remembers prior games’ notorious Hall of Meat, and something you’ll want to relive in the replay editor again and again.
Does Skate Have a Story Mode?
Yes, “Skate” has a story mode. In it, you’ll take on missions across the city of San Van, liberating it from a corrupt corporation and turning it into a skating nirvana.
There’s still a long way to go. In fact, Full Circle will be the first to admit it. The developer has laid out not only what season one will entail, but season two as well: coming soon are new trick systems letting you pull off and modify hand plants, darkslides and impossibles.
There’s also the addition of party chat, better replay editing, and tattoo customisation, not to mention seasonal fun like October’s Skate-o-Ween. While fairly content-light at this point, “Skate” at its core has solid underlying fundementals that feel as fresh as ever.
It all points to a game you’ll want to get on board with.
