Recent reviews by sosa

TL;DR: SkaterXL in concept and execution changed the pace in skateboarding games, but the lack content is what made the game fall short.

Without sounding repetitious to the many reviews before me. I have to say playing SkaterXL was very fun. I breathe of fresh air in a gaming genre untouched for a long time. For an indie studio to dip their toes into the shark-infested reviewing waters of the skateboarding genre it was cool to see.

Sadly after playing for a while I feel as if the game fell short, and heavily at that. With eight maps at launch three being community-made ones the game felt lackluster in that aspect. Seeing as there is no story or challenge incentive (outside of the weird trick challenge thing that plays more like a tutorial than a challenge) the maps need to carry the game hand and hand with the mechanics.

Five maps have been made by Easy Day studios, but only three of which feel like they were made for SkaterXL.

• Easy Day High School: is a mid-to-large size map that feels like an L.A. High School. Tons of spots to skate tons of rails to grind there are definitely hours of spots to sesh.
• The Big Ramp: in my opinion probably the most disappointing maps in the game. Vert is just not made for SkaterXL. The mechanics just don’t feel there with the controls. I feel every time I reach the top of the halfpipe at the end of the ramp I either shoot forward and lose my board or I just spin aimlessly and land weird. Plus the size of the map just doesn’t cut it. Small and dumb...
• Downtown Los Angeles: similar to EDHS it’s a mid-to-large size map with tons of spots to skate. Nothing to complain about. As well probably my favorite map made by the devs.
• California Skatepark: this is the third and last map I enjoyed from the devs, but it just barely made the cut. I feel like this map suffers from the effects of a real map ≠ skate game. The size of the hubbas and rails don’t translate well to a skateboarder who can land any and all tricks you throw at them. That’s not to say the map isn’t fun. I still enjoyed playing this map.
• West L.A. Courthouse: i don’t know what to say… ridiculously tiny map. Should’ve stayed in early access and swapped with something else. Two maybe three things to skate with a long rail.

Now all of my gripes with the maps made by Easy Day Studios are almost void because of the modding community. The modding community in this game is awesome. There are tons of maps made and being made for the game to satisfy anyone’s aimless appetite for skating.

This doesn’t negate the fact that the game released on Xbox One & PS4 for the same $40 price tag. I know that this review is on Steam, but I can’t help but feel bad for the console players who paid full price for whole the game. I mean I probably wouldn’t have played more than 10 hours if it wasn’t for the modded maps.

Physics were nailed in this game. Playing SkaterXL definitely feels like an unmatched digital experience in skating. I don’t feel any other skateboard game has nailed. The idea of each joystick controlling each foot works. There is a learning curve involved, but a learning curve that is rewarding. Which that philosophy transfers into every trick you do.

There are a million ways to go from point A to point B. Every trick you do is different, and it’s wickedly rewarding. No two tricks will look the same so skating a line or grinding a rail will look and feel different every time. This unique take made me want to retry tricks I landed just to make them look cleaner. If I landed a kickflip out of a 5-0 sloppy I’d retry the line even though I landed the trick.

Furthermore the replay system: I think the replay system is just finicky. I don’t know if anyone else has had this issue, but my replays sometimes get corrupted. If I open the replay my whole game crashes. Editing and messing with clips is cool, but with my issue, I can’t give it a good review.

SkaterXL has changed the idea of skateboarding game physics for the better. The realistic almost sim-like control & feel is amazing. I found myself spending a lot of time focused on not only landing the tricks but how well I landed tricks. With all that they did right, there wasn’t enough at launch to warrant a $40 price tag. Though the modding community remedied that complaint. Console players are left with the 8 maps at launch and that’s it. If Easy Day comes out with a community content uploader like Fallout (minus the micro-transaction currency) my opinion might change. For now, the game feels more like a tech demo on its own than anything.

10/10
wasted too much time.