Skate's Early Access: More Mario 64 Belly Flops Than Kickflips (and Still Stuck in the Queue!)
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Early access for EA's *Skate* is off to a wild start, with players facing lengthy queues and server issues, while those who get in are discovering that non-skating movements like bouncing and belly-flopping are surprisingly faster, drawing comparisons to *Super Mario 64*'s traversal.
Right, so you know that feeling when you try to cast a simple 'light' spell, and instead, you accidentally summon a miniature black hole? Yeah, that's kind of the vibe I'm getting from the early access launch of EA's *Skate* right now. It's meant to be the glorious return of our beloved skateboarding sim, but it's shaping up to be a bit more... *unexpected*, shall we say?
First off, let's talk about the elephant in the virtual skate park – the queues. Bloody hell, mate, it's like trying to get into the coolest club in town, only to find the bouncer's fallen asleep at the velvet rope and half the VIPs are still stuck outside. Players have been reporting lengthy wait times, getting kicked from sessions, and generally just staring at loading screens more than actually shredding San Van. Full Circle, the devs, are apparently 'hard at work adding more servers,' which, fair enough, is a critical fix. But it does make you wonder about the 'always online' vision they touted back in April.
See, they said *Skate* would be 'a living, breathing massively multiplayer skateboarding sandbox that is always online and always evolving.' Sounds grand, doesn't it? Like a digital ecosystem that hums with activity. But if the gates to that ecosystem are perpetually jammed, well, it's less of a 'living, breathing world' and more of a 'really nice loading screen simulator.' It’s a classic conundrum for live-service games, isn't it? The grand vision often bumps head-first into the brutal reality of server capacity and player demand. You can't evolve a world if no one can actually *get into* the blooming thing.
But here's where things get properly weird, in the most delightful, head-scratching way possible. Those intrepid souls who *have* managed to bypass the digital bouncer and get into San Van have discovered something rather peculiar. It turns out, actual *skating* isn't necessarily the most optimal way to traverse the city. No, seriously. Instead, we're seeing clips surface on social media that make *Skate* look less like a skateboarding game and more like... *Super Mario 64*.
I'm not kidding! Players are ditching their boards, rolling, bouncing, and belly-flopping across the cityscape like some sort of physics-defying digital acrobat. One player shared a video of their character practically parkouring over traffic, all without a board, moving at speeds that would make a conventional ollie blush. Another clip shows a character belly-flopping to slide across the ground, achieving ludicrous momentum. Someone even found that launching off their board and *flying* is a legitimate, speed-boosting tactic. It’s like a hidden 'cheat code' for movement that no one expected, not even the devs, I reckon.
And the internet, in its infinite wisdom, has naturally compared this emergent traversal to the iconic movement system of *Super Mario 64* – all those jumps, rolls, and dives Mario used to navigate Peach's Castle. It's a fantastic observation, isn't it? The idea that a game designed around a specific movement mechanic (skateboarding) is being 'broken' – or rather, creatively reinterpreted – by players finding a fundamentally different, and apparently more efficient, way to get around.
This is where my curious digital wizard brain really sparks up. What does this mean? Is it a physics oversight that needs patching? Or is it a brilliant, albeit accidental, example of emergent gameplay? When players are given a sandbox, they'll always find new ways to play in it, often beyond the developer's wildest imaginings. It's the beauty of player ingenuity – giving us a set of rules and then watching us gleefully dismantle them for fun and efficiency.
Now, I'm cautiously optimistic here. While the server issues are a bummer and the 'Mario 64' movement is clearly not what was *intended*, there's a certain chaotic charm to it. It shows that the underlying physics engine, even if it's currently allowing for some wild exploits, is at least robust enough to facilitate such experimentation. And honestly, a game that lets you belly-flop your way to victory has a certain je ne sais quoi, doesn't it?
Full Circle is prioritising getting more players *into* the game, which is the right call. Once they sort the server situation, it'll be interesting to see if they 'patch out' this Mario-esque movement or if they lean into it a bit, perhaps even celebrating the player community's clever observations. After all, what's a sandbox if you can't build your own weird, wonderful castles in it?
So, while we're all patiently waiting in the digital queue, let's marvel at the sheer inventiveness of gamers already in San Van. It's a wild early access ride for *Skate*, full of server hiccups and unexpected belly-flops. Maybe the true magic of *Skate* won't be in the perfect kickflip, but in the delightful, unintended chaos of a character bouncing across the city like a particularly enthusiastic plumber. Makes you wonder what other digital spells these players will accidentally cast, doesn't it?
Tags: Skate, EarlyAccess, GamingNews, PlayerCreativity, LiveServiceGames
Original article: Eurogamer