The skate game genre has disappeared, now there is a chance to return with Session!

I still remember when I hit puberty and I wanted to have a skateboard, be one of the “tough guys” and do the same stunts in real life that I saw in rap videos, movies or video games. But after five minutes, I cut myself so badly that it somehow dawned on me that the road did not lead there. That’s why I came home with broken knees, sat on my sore ass in front of the TV and played over and over again. Tony Hawk Metropolitan 2. But this crazy game didn’t really provide an all-round experience that made you feel like you were part of a community. This name was not taken seriously. All tricks were performed by pressing a few buttons, and the skate itself developed high speeds and violated many laws of physics. Overall, the game was closer in genre to Airblade than realistic games. But because of this, she gained fans, even those who were not usually a fan of figure skating. Compared to its predecessor, the Pro Skater, you they didn’t just play for famous skaterslike Tony Hawk, Chad Musk or Bam Margera, but also for Shrek, a soldier from Call of Duty, a sausage vendor or an alien.

But people gradually began to demand more realistic names. Especially since games like Simpsons Skateboarding, Disney Sports, and Skate and Destroy, full of fairy-tale characters, began to appear on the PlayStation and GameCube of the second generation. All titles began to look like through a copier.

With the advent of a new generation, i.e. PS3 and Xbox 360 at the time, a completely new series emerged. Skate from EA. The first volume came out in 2007 and was an immediate hit. A realistic game with simple controls, so it was easy to perform basic tricks, but at the same time the player did not fly from one side of the map to the other. In addition to several competitive modes, Skate mainly contained Freeskate, in which, as the name suggests, you have the freedom to skate around a small map with friends or random players. The second part more or less only improved something, but in 2010 the third part came out, which for many is the idol of scat games. Excellent board simulation, the ability to play online, customization of your character or detailed locations created such a unique experience that the name even reached people who had never been interested in skateboarding before. To be honest, I don’t even know anyone who would dedicate themselves to completing tasks or completing a story. Most were just fooling around in the open world multiplayer mode. He’s so popular that there are now compilations of the best tricks, if not an entire TikTok trend based on Jesus.

The game was so popular that it destroyed two competing brands released in the same year. Ubisoft has come Sean White on a skateboardwhere you color the whole city while driving and performing stunts. It was basically a great concept, but the poorer controls and emphasis on pure single-player couldn’t stand up to Skate 3. That same year sequel to the Tony Hawk series subtitled Ride, which focused on realistic control using body sensors. The game also required the purchase of a special “controller” in the form of a skateboard. But difficult controls and poor shooting have become another nail in a dying series.

But since then, the field of simulators of this sport has been rather empty. The veterans of the game took advantage of this, they founded Crea-ture Studios is now bringing us the finished and polished Session: Skate Sim.which awakens the naive teenager in me again.

Let’s start with character creation itself. Sufficient, but far from detailed. You can choose an outfit, but don’t interfere directly with the character’s appearance. There are not many animals, people or vehicles in the world. The intelligence of the walkers is purely fabulous stuff, but at least it allows you to slightly increase their number or turn it off altogether.so they don’t get in the way. Anyway, we’re talking about a skateboarding sim here, not a new addition to The Sims. As soon as you get up on the board and jump up for the first time, you will get goosebumps all over your body. The visuals themselves are a bit above average, but the sound system is at such a high level that it noticeably enhances the overall driving experience.. The wheels sound completely different on every surface, so even by the sound, plus or minus, you know how perfect the surface is to drive. Even their physics and overall behavior is top notch. The same applies to the board as such.

Management is focused primarily on the controller. You can also play the game on the keyboard, but the controls there are completely out of hand. On the contrary, the controller is configured very promisingly. You control your left foot with the left joystick and your right foot with your right. So, if you want to jump and your right foot is in front, first you should put the right stick forward and then the left stick down to copy the movement of the legs on the skateboard as best as possible. But as soon as you change legs, you have to switch controls as well. At first it takes some time to get used to the game, but then everything seems very natural. Additional buttons help you perform more complex tricks., but basically you can get by with levers. If you want to grind successfully, then after the jump you spread the levers so that the movements of the levers evoke the movements of the legs as best as possible.

You can enable all assistants, making tricks and controls very simple and very similar to arcade games. But on the other hand, you can make it so drenched in simulation that often any little movement will make a difference. The chance of landing on your knees is then just as high as in real life. Maybe even more. However, not all helpers create such big differences in visual effects or in the behavior of the skate. Rather, they just help you with the sensitivity and difficulty of some tricks. At the same time, the control is not complicated, but rather very sensitive. Luckily, you can customize it however you like. I am very grateful to the developers for this, because they have thought of almost everything.

Until recently, he was the main contender for the Skater XL title. But last year, the developers brought some significant updates, thanks to which you can now better customize the behavior of the skateboard. Basically, a number of bugs have been fixed and new tricks, famous skater costumes and locations have been added. In the last year alone, the game has grown so much that it has more content than Skater XL, which is just waiting for new updates. In the meantime, Session should be getting an update soon, adding more 360-degree tricks., as well as fixing other bugs and adding new options to Photo Mode. And most importantly, a DLC with another larger location should be released soon. So even though Session is officially out, there will still be more content that fans have been demanding. Therefore, we can expect that, in addition to new tricks and possible collaborations, a full-fledged multiplayer may appear, which is not yet in the game.

Certainly with the last big update came the finished story. But don’t expect a masterfully written script. This is a series of tasks that follow each other. In addition to different locations, they will introduce you to other skaters, tricks, or unlock new outfits and other equipment. By completing these tasks, you only get the currency to buy this equipment, but if you just want to ride in peace, you can do it. You have tricks unlocked from the start. History is just a big textbook.

Apart from your own character, you can also play as some famous skateboarders like Billy Marks, Dane Berman or Ribsman. To be honest, I personally didn’t use much, because thanks to the sound system, the driving experience, the great soundtrack and the locations, I already felt like a full-fledged skater. A few more songs from Joey Valance & Brae and I’ll be very pleased. Anyway locations are split between New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.. Each city has several parts that you can visit. They come in several sizes, but mostly feature unique locations, be it garages, department stores, or Chinatown. And if you are missing something in the location, you can easily add a bench, for example, through the editor. In this direction, I hope that in the future the editor will be more advanced and allow you to easily create your own locations.

What I haven’t mentioned yet is that the game has a pretty decent photo mode. But I should appreciate more the ability to shoot and then edit your own videos. Your friend can even film you. The community is really creative and there are hundreds if not thousands of videos of this mod not only on Reddit but also on the Steam Workshop. There is no need to control the camera with unofficial modifications or edit in an external program. The game itself will help you in everything. The controls are simple, so everyone can handle it, but at the same time it is complex enough to please even cameramen and directors.

Session: skate simulator it still has a long way to go, at least that’s what the creators say. At the moment, anyway, I’m not afraid to call this the only name the best simulator of its kind, which competitors, especially EA with its Skate series, have a lot to learn from. If you’re not looking for a strong arcade game, then this is a great game that will not only last you dozens of hours, but also bring additional content in the future.