I've had the opportunity to play Skate early, and I have to say I had a lot of fun exploring the world of San Vansterdam. Full disclaimer, I didn't play any of the original games, which means I don't have a pre-established emotional connection or hands-on experience with the franchise before this game. That is to say, I'm looking at the game with a fresh pair of eyes, so keep reading if you're interested in my first impressions of Skate.
As an absolute noob, the game held my hand pretty nicely, allowing me to learn all of the moves through the tutorial story and the AR challenges. The unique Flick It mechanic was definitely challenging but enjoyable the master, especially for someone who has been a Keyboard and Mouse player for most of her life. The Skatepedia was my guiding light until I got my sea legs (or better to say skate legs).
I did wish for a few more complicated button x stick combos (the children yearn for the insane Tekken combos - I am the children), but that could also be something added later in the updates, since Skate only just released into early access. New moves mean new controls, so it's going to be interesting to see how the skating mechanic develops.
I've seen people complain about the more cartoonish, sims-style art direction. I really don't mind it, but I think since they've already committed to it, they could have committed to it fully. The customization options at the start of the game do offer some variety, but not that much. For example, hair color, which was my biggest gripe. I don't have the same hair color month to month in real life, I'd want to match that in the game as well. It doesn't have to be extravagant, just an RGB wheel, rather than the most standard hair options.
The clothing customization, for as much as I have unlocked it, had some items that I loved, especially the oversize shirt and short skirt combinations. Doing challenges and earning reputation will provide you with Rip Chips which you can spend at the shops to unlock lootboxes, though a lot of the items are recolors. If you want even more options, you can also unlock the paid track, which is essentially the most of the microtransactions in the game. Considering that Skate is free-to-play, knowing that progression isn't locked behind a paywall, only character customization, is a big plus.
Another cool feature that I haven't encountered in any other games was music collection. By exploring the world and keeping your ear out, you can hear music from speakers, cars, etc. If you like the song, you can approach and collect it, adding it to your own playlist. I do enjoy discovering new songs, but an integrated Spotify (or other music providers) feature where you can play your own existing playlists would be amazing as well.
I have to say, there's nothing more fun however, than ragdoll physics. Nose diving off a building spread eagle into a trash can is the biggest blast. But even just a simple trip on a step will cause you to eat concrete (or car, or tree, or a very long list of things I fell face first into). I couldn't even get mad, just laugh. My thirty-year-old knees wouldn't have done much better in real life either.
When it comes to the world of Skate, while big and full of challenges, it felt a bit empty. Since I did have a press early build, I was mostly alone on a server, apart from one person that found me during a session, approached me, did a backflip, and left, nothing else exchanged. Shout out to you legend, whoever you are! With the game now live, the feeling of emptiness should be fixed to a degree.
San Van is an open world where you can go anywhere, explore neighborhoods to complete even more challenges, and use your skatey senses to figure out the best spots. Seasonal community events will do a lot to make the game even more entertaining, but I'd love to see more outside of that, more types of challenges, more story, etc. Again, Skate is in early access, so it's going to be a shifting game, hopefully with a lot of good upgrades in the future. I've played 7 Days the Die for at least 6 of its 13 Alpha years with barely hints of a story, I have the patience.
Overall, while I think there's areas for Skate to improve in, I think that's the point of Early Access, and my first impression has been pretty positive. If they listen to community feedback, I can see the game thriving. I'll keep grinding, and if you see someone on your server that keeps falling off their board and into bushes, that's not me, I'm too cool for that.
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