Skate's Got the Moves, But Where's the Moxy, Mate?
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
EA's new *Skate* is hitting early access with its signature 'flick-it' controls beautifully intact and a promising open world, but Jeff's noticed its live-service model might be clashing with its counter-culture soul, leaving it a bit too squeaky clean for a proper punk-rock attitude.
Right, so you know that feeling when you've been waiting for a sequel for so long it becomes a meme? Like, 'Half-Life 3 confirmed... not really, lol.' Well, that's been the *Skate* situation for what feels like a millennium. Fans have been begging, pleading, probably sacrificing old skate decks to the gaming gods for a new instalment. And now, EA's finally delivering. *Skate* is dropping into early access on September 16th, and I've been tinkering with a pre-release build. And bloody hell, it’s a curious beast, this one. It’s got the moves down, mate, but I'm left wondering if it's forgotten its own attitude.
Making a new *Skate* game sounds like an easy win on paper, doesn't it? A built-in, ravenous audience ready to throw cash at the screen. But here's the kicker: that passion can be a burden. If you don't bring it back just right, you're not just failing; you're actively annoying the very people you're trying to impress. And that, my friends, is the gnarly grind EA's new *Skate* needs to nail. While it triumphantly brings back signatures like the iconic 'flick-it' controls, it's doing so within the context of a full-on live-service game – complete with daily missions, a battle pass, and microtransactions. It’s a whole new world for the series, and developer Full Circle is certainly taking a risk by throwing it into early access in this state.
First off, let’s talk about the magic. That signature 'flick-it' control scheme? It’s back, and it feels as tactile and brilliant as ever. Seriously, twisting that right joystick to pull off tricks instead of button-mashing feels like conducting a tiny digital orchestra with your thumb. It's what always set *Skate* apart from the *Tony Hawk* school of thought, where every trick was a button combo, and it’s a genuine joy to rediscover. The core skating remains as fluid and natural as you remember, letting you glide and trick around the city with an almost effortless grace. San Vansterdam, the new open world playground, feels primed for it too. Divided into these cool quadrants that unlock as you progress through the main story, it pulls you from challenge to challenge like some kind of digital siren song – almost *Breath of the Wild* levels of organic exploration, if you can believe it. Your eye is naturally guided to the next objective, each offering currency for those all-important clothing and customization options.
But here's where my 'optimistically chaotic' side really kicks in, because the 'early' in early access is, well, *early*. The game throws in this parkour system, letting you ditch your board to climb buildings like a deranged digital Nathan Drake and seek out high points to 'caveman' off of. Sounds wild, right? And it is! But the current movement feels a bit stiff, like your skater has temporarily forgotten how knees work. Compared to the seamless flow of skating, getting off your board feels clunky, almost stilted. And then there's the 'diving' – a sort of slapstick leap of faith, a riff on *Assassin's Creed*'s iconic move, that often results in your character becoming a human (or rather, skater) balloon animal after ricocheting off a dumpster. It's less graceful drop-in, more 'Goat Simulator: Extreme Sports Edition.' Hilarious in its own way, but definitely needs some wizardly tweaking to feel less... *rubbery*. These physics led to more than a few instances where my poor avatar twisted into peculiar shapes after hitting a rail the wrong way.
Now, let's chat about the 'attitude,' or the curious lack thereof. The original *Skate* games had this edgy, punk-rock vibe, a bit grittier than *Tony Hawk*'s pop-punk sheen. This new *Skate*? It's brightly lit, squeaky clean, and visually a bit sterile. Full Circle, the devs, reckon this might change, but I'm gently skeptical of a full visual overhaul. They say San Vansterdam is a former skate paradise taken over by a soulless corporation, which *could* be a clever bit of corporate satire. But then you're playing a free-to-play, live-service game with cosmetic 'Product Boxes' (read: loot boxes for fashion) and a battle pass, all from EA. It’s like trying to lampoon megacorporations while simultaneously *being* one. Bit of a hard sell on the punk credentials there, mate.
The soundtrack's a bit of a mixed bag too – some genuinely cool indie cuts from bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Cloud Nothings, but then a heap of dull, unlicensed 'blog rock' that just washes over you like a gentle, uninspired tide. Where's the *edge*? The raw energy? It's like a college radio station trying to be cool but playing it safe. One can only hope that the promise of more songs with each season helps drown out the filler, and maybe even introduces custom playlists, because right now, the vibe ain't punk, mate.
This is where the rubber meets the road, or perhaps where the skateboard meets the monetization rail. The game's designed from the ground up as a live-service experience, complete with daily missions, that inevitable battle pass, and microtransactions. Now, I'm always curious about 'what happens if...' with these models, but for a game built on the spirit of counter-culture and freedom, tying everything to progression and cosmetic purchases feels a tad... corporate. Are we meant to be rebellious skaters, or are we just digital shoppers at a virtual Zumiez? The article mentions the 150-player servers and seamless multiplayer integration, letting you teleport straight to anyone, which sounds amazing for community-driven shenanigans, and the park editing tools are genuinely powerful – imagine players turning a vanilla city into their own skate utopia of jumps and rails. But what does this mean for the long haul? Can a skating game sustain a live-service model without feeling like a chore? Or will it just become another game you dip into for 15-30 minutes, as one Alpha player in the comments section suggested, rather than a world you truly live in?
So, where does that leave us with *Skate*? It’s a genuine paradox wrapped in an early access package. The core skating mechanics are phenomenal, a real testament to the series' legacy, and the potential for a vibrant, player-created community is definitely there. But the transition to a live-service, free-to-play model seems to have sapped some of its unique 'tude. It’s early days, of course, and Full Circle has pledged to shape the experience with the community. I'm cautiously optimistic that they can find that missing spark, inject some proper punk ethos into the clean corporate machine, and make San Vansterdam feel less like a shopping mall and more like a proper skate haven. For now, it's got the tricks down, but it desperately needs to find its own voice before it truly fits in with the cool kids. Here's hoping the wizardry of community feedback can conjure up that missing attitude, eh?
Tags: Skate, Early Access, Live Service, Skateboarding, EA
Original article: Polygon