Skate., a prequel to the infamous Skate 3 developed by EA Blackbox, took over the sports gaming industry after its initial release. The game was released 15 years after the original, making the wait longer than the awaited release of GTA VI.

The creators of Skate were the first to implement the flick-it system, allowing in-game skaters to do tricks by replicating the motion with the right joystick on the controller. Its system made in-game skating more realistic.

Although a promising game, some were disappointed with their focal points. The game was missing some key features, removing community parks that can be loaded anytime and switching to a 24-hour rotating style, similar to most modern games. However, their in-game shop was conveniently fully up and running compared to other lacking aspects of the game. Previously, the only things you could buy were DLC packs that skate places released later. 

While the gameplay of Skate is enjoyable, EA played into their money-hungry schemes once more. It is a free-to-play game, unlike the 3 before it; however, the cost of things in-game is far too expensive for what it is worth. The game takes away the customization of the previous games of people’s characters, and a decent amount of their core fanbase would’ve preferred a paid-for version and cosmetics to be free like its predecessors. This microtransaction system has been the downfall of games for the past few years, mainly because it targets children.

Skate. also removed the head-to-head battles they used to have for online play, making the new game more repetitive and less competitive. Being unable to play a game of Skate against friends or spot battles. It’s a fun game to play solo, but it’s not very co-op-friendly. Both the co-op system and party system malfunction far more than average games, with numerous bugs when trying to create and join a party.
Although there’s many negatives about the game, it still has positives; the maps’ fluidity from spot to spot flows well. They boast a variety of features for every playstyle, including rooftops and random street spots. The greatest part of the game is the community and the random challenges that come up.

People still love the game and can’t stop playing it, but we can’t overlook all the problems the game is having. Instead of fixing their current issues, EA only produces new in-game events, even though EA acknowledges the bugs and glitches the game has. Their history of fixing glitches that don’t impact quality of life, yet ignoring those that do, wastes the game’s potential and ruins the experience for many.