Back in the late-90s and early 2000s, when skateboarding videos were, in fact, released on physical VHS cassettes (and eventually DVDs), there 𒉰was one particular pro skater whose name has stuck with me to this very day: Kerry Getz. Getz was a talented skateboarder of the time, but it’s not his skills that remain at the forefront of my mind when I reminisce on the golden days of skateboarding. What sticks with me is his anger and frustration that was caught on video from not being able to nail a trick after numerous attempts - often in .
Which brings us to Skater XL, published by Easy Day Studios and available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Touted as “more of a creative and expressive instrument than a traditional game,” I can confirm that this is far from any entry in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. While playing, Skater Xl, more often than not, has me feeling just like Getz, wishing I could hurl my digital skateboard far off into the pixelated distance. That said, Skater XL breathes new life and new mechanics into the skateboarding genre, and while its learning curve is steep, for those who stick with it, there is some fun a♒nd satisfying skateboarding action to be had.
Tony, Who?
First and foremost, as mentioned, this is no Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game. Going into Skater XL with that expectation is a great way to set yourself up for disappointment. There are no pre-programmed tricks in Skater XL. Hitting the X-button on your controller followed by a direction and the 🐈Square-button won’t make your skater do a kickflip. All of yไour skater’s actions are controlled by the joysticks. The left joystick controls your left foot, and the right joystick controls your right foot. The trigger buttons move your skater left or right, while the R1-button can be used for board grabs while airborne.
Coming from a lifetime of games featuring the aforementioned pre-programmed tricks, this was a significant departure from anything I’ve ever played before. As such, getting used to the more immersive controls was a pretty massive hurdle - so much so, that following my first two-hour session of playing the game, I admittedly walked away hating the entire experience. However, during my next (longer) playthrough, I was finally able to grasp the controls and figure out exactly what it was that Skater XL is: a digital, interactive skateboarding video.
Ready For My Close-Up
“A creative and expressive instrument” is a pretty concise way to sum up the Skater XL experience. Players can choose from a small selection of professional skaters, or elect to customize their own skater, complete with outfit❀, board setup, and skating stance. They can then select from a handful of different maps at will, which includes terrains such as downtown street skating, skate parks, and big-air mega ramps. From there, it’s a wide-open world where pretty much anything can be used to jump off of or grind. Waypoints can be set anywhere in the map to allow you to immediately restart after messing up a line or falling. And, ꦚboy... you'll be falling a lot.
It’ll probably take you some time to string together a line of tricks. At least, this was the case for me. In some cases, after figuring out the line of tricks I wanted to accomplish - be it on my own or using the in-game combo challenges - I would spend anywhere from 30-60+ minutes trying to perfect it. As frustrating as it would become - be it from my own boneheaded joystick miscue or from the overt touchiness of the controls (seriously, shuvits and ollies would randomly happen far more often than I would have liked) - once I hit the perfect line, it was all worth it. It was like being terrible at golf, but the🐠n hitting that one drive that sailed perfectly through the air, reminding you just how much you actually do enjoy the game.
Practice Makes Perfect
Unlike many games where it’s easy to play and hard to master, Skater XL is difficult from the get-go and even more difficult to master. That alone will no doubt turn off some of the more casual skateboard genre fans. That, along with moments of buggy gameplay and laggy menu selection, makes Skater XL a better game to snag when it goes on sale. Granted, at $40, the game is already cheaper than most new releases, but it needs a bit of tightening up befor⛦e I can truly recommend it as a must-own skating title.
That said, for those willing to put in the time and effort (along with any of the glitches), Skater XL is a fun experience that skateboarding fans can enjoy - a statement that is even truer for those who also happen to be cont🅷ent creators, as some players out there are already putting together some pretty … likely after having plenty of their own Kerry Getz moments left on the cutting room floor.
A PlayStation 4 copy of Skater XL was provided to TheGamer for this review. Skater XL is available n💛ow ꦇfor PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Skater XL i❀s a physics-based skateboarding simulation from Easy Day Studios. It uses twin sti🎃cks for tricks, rather than buttons, and features a range of courses and riders.
