REVIEW – Session: Skate Sim doesn’t offer what the Tony Hawk games do, so if you want to do combos that last for minutes and net you millions of points, you won’t find them here. This game offers a more complex simulation like Electronic Arts’ Skate series. Consequently, realism and non-simple gameplay await the player, so the product should be treated appropriately.

Made by and for skaters, the dual stick controls faithfully reproduce your feet on the skateboard for an ultra-realistic experience. Try out real-life iconic skate spots, and customize your skater and equipment with items from the top brands.

Kickflip

When you first start the game, you’ll receive a tutorial within a short time. You’ll need it, and it won’t be enough. The previous paragraph mentions the two analogue sticks for a reason, they will be your feet in the game, and you need to move them precisely. Otherwise, the tricks that are easy to do in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games (THPS from now on), for example, won’t work here. On the PlayStation 5, haptic feedback doesn’t seem to be present, but it’s weird how you move your skateboard with the triggers. This handling is entirely unusual and takes some getting used to. It doesn’t matter if you’ve played THPS or Skate in the past. Don’t expect half and quarter pipes because Session: Skate Sim is mainly designed for street skating. It should be stressed again that this requires patience. In the beginning, because of the realism, you will often end up falling on your face, but as you get the hang of it, you will find that grinding down the stairs, for example, will be a joy to watch, let alone experience.

We can fine-tune our options a bit: tighten up the turning of our board, how we balance our weight in handling, that sort of thing. When it says Skate Sim in the game title, it’s on purpose because Session is meant to be a simulation. In this approach, the basics are fine, but the surroundings (as so often) spoil the overall picture. Unlike in THPS, it’s not a case of getting a mission list and completing it, but instead of finding skaters in a big open world and doing their bidding (so it’s a bit like, say, THPS4, although there was a menu from which you could start the mission you wanted at any time). No, they won’t tell you how to do the trick with this button and this button but will explain how to move your foot forward when rotating your board, for example. It will not be easy because although the explanation is clear (they couldn’t have explained it more authentically), it is very much an example of deep water.

Heelflip

The problem with missions is that once you are told what the mission is, then poof, the information disappears. Perhaps the skateboarders could show in a short video how to do the trick because in Session: Skate Sim, there are no less than eight trick lists (e.g. the nollie and switch give different lists), and browsing through them is an ambience killer. Sure, realism was the aim, but players with little patience will find themselves cursing after a while, clutching the controller, because Session won’t give you any help, and there won’t even be a points competition due to the game having no scores at all. Instead, the real world awaits: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York have been taken as a base, and the lack of life will undoubtedly be conspicuous. The landscape is dead. Not a car anywhere.

And pedestrians are unnecessary… so they should be minimized because then, the focus will be on skateboarding. If we slowly master the necessary moves and approach, we can buy more branded t-shirts because our character customization is not that extensive. The money can also be used to buy more objects for skating. Pipes, small ramps, that sort of thing, but not sure if it’s needed. Plus, to be honest, it doesn’t seem like an obligatory purchase. As for the audiovisuals, it’s average graphically and musically, without the fancy trendy music, the soundtrack sounds on point. We appreciated the distinct lack of those soda pop music you hear in most games nowadays.

360° flip

Session: Skate Sim deserves a seven and a half out of ten. It’s a bit of a bold score, and you must admit that it’s nowhere near the realism and arcade nature of Skate and THPS, respectively, but a small team developed it with little help. For anyone looking for a skate game, it’s recommended… if you’re patient. It is paramount: if you give up after repeated failures, the game will not unfold because it can do so. The problem is that the presentation feels very dry and doesn’t give you much leeway (or help). It’s somewhat of a vacuum because of the lack of life, but if you’re persistent, you’ll get into it. It will be a niche game, but the rating has been calibrated accordingly. The big question is how Electronic Arts can fight back with a free-to-play skate. (that’s not a typo, that’s how they call it). Session has put the bar pretty high with realism, so it will be good for gamers to give it a whirl…

-V-

Publisher: Nacon

Developer: Crea-ture

Style: Skateboard simulator

Release: September 22, 2022.