This Ain't It, Chief

[TheBlaskar]

I'm stoked that the skating subgenre is making a return with this, Session, and presumably Skate 4... but Staker XL? Mmm, this is pretty rough, man...

The controls I can forgive at this point in time as I'm still getting used to using both thumbsticks to move the feet and the triggers to turn, but it doesn't feel fluid thus far. Almost as if I'm fighting against the controls, getting my dude to do what I want it seemingly impossible at times. With half a decade EA Skate history, I'm not sure if I'm having trouble getting accustomed to this specific playstyle or if the controls are jank af. After seeing the other aspects of the game, I'm leaning towards the latter unfortunately.

Having a new skating game is rad but I'm putting a lot of effort into enjoying it and not getting as much out of it in return. Going for the plat seems exhausting and I feel as though I'll reach a point of diminishing returns long before then, especially looking at the 1000 Bails trophy. Christ alive man that's a fucking marathon and a half of playtime in this shallow game. It's all freeroam on relatively small areas that feel repetitive and no map creator feature so that I an expand the game myself. No campaign to speak of, just a list of challenges... this almost feels like a minigame within a larger, and much better, full experience. For 40 bucks I feel straight gypped but I'm only like an hour in so maybe there's more to uncover. That being said, I've experimented with everything in the menu and feel pretty empty after doing so. 

The character creator is probably the harshest thing to report on. Looking at the characters up close is not a pretty sight, and the game lags even when previewing hairstyles to try out. I really want to dig this game, I was sooo hyped when I saw this hit the store that I broke my "no new games until I play all my PS4 games before the PS5's release"-rule... and I regret that shit immensely. I didn't even get TLOU2, Ghost of Tsushima, or FF7 this year. Maybe my 40 bucks can go towards patches because this is not a $40 game by any respectable definition. 

Ahhh dude I'm bummed

[BobbbyLight]

I'm not going to argue most of what you said because it's true. Menus are slow and laggy, they frequently freeze the game, the character customization is terrible, poor frame rate, lots of map clipping and it can feel empty.

 

But the controls...

 

*chef's kiss*

 

This is like when we upgraded from Tony Hawk to Skate controls. You have so much more freedom within the game, no two tricks look the same and the way each foot ties to each stick makes every trick feel like you're skateboarding with your fingers.

 

The problem is that you basically have to retrain your brain. I keep going at the left stick trying to move the camera. I'm still struggling with grinds because my brain forgets to hold my feet in place. Sometimes coming out of the grind you have to twist your body to land. It's really a skate sim in the truest sense.

 

I fear a lot of people are going to hate the controls. This game does well with actual skateboarders I'm not sure how a casual skate fan would react to this.

 

My hope is that this is the No Man's Sky of skate games. There's an amazing base to build off of but I'm not sure they'll ever get the budget to make a lot of things possible. It still feels like an early access game, tbh.

[TheBlaskar]

the controls have grown on me, whether because I've started to get used to them or because of your adoration I'm not sure, but I am starting to respect them more for sure. I remember having trouble with my kick/heel flips growing up and this sort of reminds me of that-- the controls sort of provide a similar challenge and reward due to the skill required. So, thank you haha I'll attribute your enthusiasm directly to my increased respect for the game in some ways.

 

now that I've started my deathcore playlist on Spotify while playing and gotten used to things a bit more, I've found a faint love for the game but I'm still not sure how much enjoyment i can squeeze out of it without it feeling repetitive

still, though, it feels as though I'm working much more for enjoying this than i should be. a skating game is right up my alley

[Riszcky]

I'm enjoying going through the challenges, but also every trick makes it feel important because it's much harder and more realistic than a Tony Hawk's. I'd love to see daily challenges or something like that where it goes up in difficulty. Or something to compare with others online. I'm looking forward to playing with friends if MP is ever introduced too. Go around trying spots with mates would be great

Edited July 29, 2020 by Riszcky

[Pray07]

I really hope there is a lot more to come for this game because I spent about 3 hours with it last night and I feel like I've already seen everything this game has to offer, which at this price, just isn't on.

[BobbbyLight]

8 hours ago, BCarsonElite said:

the controls have grown on me, whether because I've started to get used to them or because of your adoration I'm not sure, but I am starting to respect them more for sure. I remember having trouble with my kick/heel flips growing up and this sort of reminds me of that-- the controls sort of provide a similar challenge and reward due to the skill required. So, thank you haha I'll attribute your enthusiasm directly to my increased respect for the game in some ways.

 

now that I've started my deathcore playlist on Spotify while playing and gotten used to things a bit more, I've found a faint love for the game but I'm still not sure how much enjoyment i can squeeze out of it without it feeling repetitive

still, though, it feels as though I'm working much more for enjoying this than i should be. a skating game is right up my alley

 

Hey if I helped at all I'll take it!  I do agree this takes some work to like because the controls are such a mind fuck to start out with (or at least for me they were).  Imagine 30+ years of gaming where a vast majority you used the left stick to move a camera and try and take that out of someone.  Yes, I am as old as dirt.

 

But to me it's very satisfying lining something up and trying it 50 times before you actually get it because when you do, it looks awesome and feels very rewarding.  Just like real skateboarding.  When you see skate videos you typically see the end result, not the potential dozens of attempts prior to the one successful one.

 

Your point on music is a great one.  I listened to maybe two or three songs on the game's soundtrack and while I'm sure I'd find some that I thought were okay, I made some Spotify playlists in anticipation of this game and it makes all of the difference in the world.  One on the chill side and the other on the aggressive... but not quite deathcore levels of aggressive.

 

5 hours ago, Riszcky said:

I'm enjoying going through the challenges, but also every trick makes it feel important because it's much harder and more realistic than a Tony Hawk's. I'd love to see daily challenges or something like that where it goes up in difficulty. Or something to compare with others online. I'm looking forward to playing with friends if MP is ever introduced too. Go around trying spots with mates would be great

 

So the devs have said online is in the works and possibly even a map editor.  Get those things in and polish the remainder of the game over time and this could be an amazing game.  Get all of the best community maps to consoles as fast as possible.

 

To your point about it being harder... I am kind of thinking of this game like the Gran Turismo of skate games (sadly this is completely lacking in even an ounce of the polish GT has).  It takes work to get the controls down and your more advanced tricks with amazing lines are really, really hard to do but when you do them, they are way more rewarding than in past skate games. 

 

To no one in particular... Something I realized was that all of the guys I was watching on YouTube up to release (Nightspeeds and Garret GInner mostly) are actual skateboarders with a lot of real life skate experience.  I think this game is made for those type of people because it does a better job of being a sim than any skate game prior.  The problem there is that I think this one is going to absolutely flop with a lot of more casual skate game fans because there's too much work and without anything to actually work towards other than getting better at the game many are going to get really bored.

 

TWO TIPS FOR ANYONE:

1. Go through at least the basic challenges on each map.  They each show things that are way more in depth from the tutorial and I'm learning about mechanics that aren't explained anywhere else.
2. Clicking down on the sticks acts as pushing your foot to the board or towards the ground and it allows you to manually catch tricks.  This is basically hinted at but never stated.  If you're doing a quad heelflip or something you can manually catch (stop) the trick so that the board doesn't keep spinning.  This gives you control over when to stop a trick to better land it.  It also acts "in general" as placing your foot towards the ground.  Let's say your grinding into a vert or pool and your left foot is in the air on a grind.  If you click down on the stick that's tied to your left foot, it will push that foot down and transition you into the ramp.  Trying clicking down the stick in different instances, it gives you more control over what happens and can make getting out of grinds a bit cleaner as well.

The potential is there, lets see if they can make it reality.

[Pray_4_the_End]

I love the controls personally, I've also been playing it on Steam for over a year now so there wasn't a learning curve for me per-say. It does feel considerably stiffer on consoles which is too be expected given all the modding options that the pc version offers. Hopefully we'll get a "Stats menu" mod at some point like the pc version, it basically lets you tweak all the settings to your liking (high/low pop modifiers, board rotation speed, pop force, and flip speed to name a few). Getting the "EA Skate" controls out of your mind when playing this game is for sure a challenge and steering with  &  instead of the sticks is one of the toughest things to re-learn. The graphics do look like shit when compared to the pc version, but that is also to be expected given the limitations of the console in comparison and the lack of modding options. Like others have stated though, this game is more of a skateboarding sim and I feel is aimed more at actual skateboarders than just the casual audience. Most people will probably think it's trash because they won't be able to do crazy EA Skate/THPS type combos and shit like that. I myself have been skating on and off for almost 20 years now so rolling around in game and actually having to think about how to approach lines, angles, how high you have to pop, body/feet placement, and all the technical aspects of skating is beyond fun for me. Like all difficult things though, it'll take some practice to become proficient. Remember to steezy out those flip tricks or shuv-its by clicking  or  for front foot/back foot catches! Also 180/360 revert your flips tricks by holding the L & R sticks in towards each other or away from each other depending on whether you're reverting BS or FS right before you land for even more steezy to your flip tricks!! Keep push'n guys and enjoy this dope ass game that we get for only $30! \m/

Edited July 29, 2020 by Pray_4_the_End

[GizMo_The_Great]

It became very apparent to me yesterday that the game was severely lacking in content.

 

I began streaming the second it had installed, and streamed for 1hr 11mins. In that time my excitement turned to just pure disappointment as I realised I had seen everything this game had to offer.

 

With no solid time frame for more content, this game is ridiculously overpriced currently.

 

While a map editor, and multiplayer would definitely be a huge boost. I think the game also needs some form of progression. Without something to work towards, it just feels so empty. Even working towards the trophies is so lacklustre, because they are so easy. I’ve played for 3 hours total, and I’m at 68%.

 

Controls took some getting used to, but eventually I got the hang of them and I really like how the game plays. Although I do occasionally go into autopilot and try to play it like Skate. 
 

The fundamentals are there, and they are pretty impressive. The gameplay is fun, and I did find myself spending a while in one spot trying to nail a sick line that I could record in the replay editor.

 

But ultimately the game feels like a shell, like it’s the base from which to build an actual game.

 

The devs have the main gameplay down, but they desperately need to bulk out the games content fast.