Session: Skate Sim Review – A Skater’s Perspective (PS4)

Crea-ture studios promised to bring the most realistic skateboarding game to date- and the Montreal based indie studio did not disappoint. Flying under the radar for console users the past three years, during which early access was available for Steam, skateboarding fans were finally treated to the official release on 22nd September. Session: Skate Sim is one of the strongest examples of putting kickstart funds to effective use and is a must play for skateboarders or those who appreciate the grind of skate culture.  

Session: Skate Sim is $49.99 USD ($50 EU, £44.99 GBP) and is now available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X, and Steam.

Story 

Your story 

Similar to most skateboarding games, there is not really a developing narrative. There is a character arc, in the form of your custom skater making a return to the sport following an injury. You take control of your skater through the techy controls (more on these later) and help them to find their feet back on the board. Throughout there are objectives to complete in the form of lines and trick sequences. Progress can be slightly halted, in particular if you are going for a hyper-realistic experience, as you can only progress to the next objective upon completion of the first. As you progress through these objectives, you gain money and exposure. Which, in turn, unlocks more apparel and hardware for you to purchase. 

A sample of the deck designs available. Featured are Enjoi, DGK and Welcome Skateboards.

Pro Skater Arcs 

Session: Skate Sim also offers the opportunity to skate as some of the most talented and creative skaters in the profession. Including names such as Samarria Brevard, Manny Santiago and Torey Pudwill. Their stance and style been accurately represented and their in-game characters have been very well designed, alongside their sponsored apparel. There are also various objectives to be completed with the pro skaters. 

A selection of pro skaters available in the game. (From left to right) Samarria Brevard, Manny Santiago and Torey Pudwill.

Historical Locations 

This really hit the spot for both the skater and gamer nerd in me. Throughout the stunningly recreated locations across NYC, Philadelphia and San Francisco you can find real-life spots. As well as being inventive and sesh-ing these spots in your own way, there are numerous hidden challenges for you to discover. These challenges take form in replicating tricks pulled off by various skaters throughout the years. 

How you do this is of course up to you. Skate the spots and unlock historical challenges accidentally, search the spots on YouTube and watch what the pros have thrown down, or search for other players advice. Whichever you choose, there is still the challenge of landing every trick and line. The difficulty of this depends on both your game skill and understanding the physics of a skateboard.  

Gameplay 

Controls 

Crea-ture studios excelled with the physics in this game. Similar to the style of Skater XL and the earlier Skate franchise, the anolog sticks each represent the left and right foot respectively. If you’re skating regular stance, then your right-hand thumbstick will need to be pushed down to pop. Your left-hand thumbstick will be pushed up simultaneously to create the ‘ollie’ motion.

Much like in real-life, once you have mastered this motion it can be turned into various tricks as your skill grows. You control your direction of travel through transferring of weight through the shoulders by using L2/R2. This control element felt natural on the Dualshock 4. Not only does this allow you to steer your board, it enables you to perform 180 flip tricks without adjusting your grip. 

Session: Skate Sim’s default controller layout.

However, the realism doesn’t stop at accurately popping and flicking the board. Session: Skate Sim has the option of a ‘Manual Catch’. So not only is timing everything when you flick after the scoop of a tre (360 flip), you also need to be aware of when to land both feet squarely on the board. This is mirrored also in the grind mechanic in the game. If you wish to perform a nose-grind, not only do you need an accurate run up and sense of timing, but also an idea of when to push your front foot forward upon contact.

As well as technical inputs in the game, there is an option to enable big drop inputs. This again adds yet another layer of realism to the game, as you must plant both feet and bend the knees upon landing from ridiculous heights. You won’t be gliding over curbs either, as each bump in the road could throw your skater off board.

Accessibility  

By no means is this game supposed to be easy. The in-game menu itself states that it will “test your patience”. Although personally I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge that comes with the technically accurate controls, I am aware that non-skaters or less-patient gamers may not find as much joy in attempting the same ‘mission’ for a week. However, when exploring the options menu, I discovered that there are various ways to alter your skating experience. 

A sample of the intricate gameplay settings. Each tab has its own list of options available.

There are multiple sections available in the Options menu: here you can alternate between left/right foot controls to front/back foot; you can turn off manual catch, and the detail is to such extent that here you can adjust truck tightness with immediate effect. The settings are extremely detailed, with separate setting tabs for flip-tricks, grinds and body rotation. If you’re still not happy with your precise set-up, there are more options in the Advanced Settings menu.

Experimental Features 

Everything in my Session: Skate Sim experience so far has been extremely well received. The developers are obviously a team of enthusiastic skaters as well as talented designers. This really shines through in all areas of the game. With mechanics so well designed that it is equally confusing to skate in switch as it is in real-life, when I saw “Experimental Features” my interest soared. 

Experimental features include liptricks, demonstrated here in FDR Park, Philadelphia.

Experimental features are elements of gameplay which are not yet polished. They are simply there to show the direction the developers wish to take with them in the future. These include the ability to experiment with lip tricks, bringing more variety to the way you can skate the bowls littered throughout the game. Casper catches can also be enabled and sometimes can work out better in saving you from a hilarious bail. There is also an option to enable city life such as pedestrians. However, seeing as this is one of the less desirable aspects of street skating, I soon turned that off. 

Customisation  

As mentioned previously, there is a large variety of skate brands featured throughout the game. This list does seem to expand as you complete more challenges throughout. Brands such as Adidas, Blind and Grizzly make an appearance. There is a range of hoodies, T-shirts and shoes on offer. I was also delighted to see that the clothing options for women skaters didn’t differ from that for the men. Meaning I can fall over comfortably in baggy trousers both in game and life. 

A large range of skate-branded apparel, such as OJ Wheels and Adidas.

The hardware gives options I haven’t had presented to me in a skate game so far. In addition to the usual decks and wheels, there is deck rails and truck risers on offer. There is a variety of different board and wheel sizes too, which actually have an impact on gameplay. The flip on an 8” deck is much quicker than that of a 9” deck; wheel size impacts speed. They’ve been inclusive of us skaters who opt for an 8.38″ skateboard. Everything is with the goal of realism, all the way to realistically priced merchandise. (Using in-game currency). The only thing missing here is bolts and bearings, but seeing the current direction of Session: Skate Sim, I wouldn’t say they are off the table. 

DIY  

Not only are you free to skate the open-world-styled maps at your own leisure and in your own style, but you can customise spots too.  Of course, in the real world a lot more precautions are taken before hitting a DIY spot. Whilst the realism in Session may be lost at flinging your skater into a ragdoll oblivion, the accuracy comes back in the DIY settings. Opened by L1, the DIY setting allows you to place items you have unlocked and purchased into your desired position. You must ensure that the object is either flush to the ground, or you are prepared to ollie it. You will be eating pixelated dirt otherwise. 

Graphics and Sound 

Visuals 

The attention to detail in Session: Skate Sim does not stop at technically accurate controls. There is detail everywhere. Shadows fall where shadows should be; flags and wall hangings ripple with the wind, and the texture of the floor itself is enough to induce a wince each time you bail. My favourite bit of non-skate related detail however is the “This is an AD” advertisements on some billboards. This would be easy enough to leave blank and could possibly go unnoticed.

Alongside the amazing details hidden in textures and design throughout, there is also the optional wear and tear mode. When turned on, this shows the damage received to your board so far. It doesn’t just show up as a few scratches or a whole mess on the board either. If you do a lot of tailslides, your tail end will have more damage than the middle. Likewise with grip tape, over a short period you begin to notice the glistening turn to scuff marks. After an hour, it’ll resemble a muddy piece of sandpaper. 

Editor replay on, showing es branded footwear.

Session: Skate Sim, has a variety of different camera options accessed through the game menu. You can apply different filters such as blue tint or black&white and change the screen aspect ratio to make your whole gameplay experience feel like a 90s skate edit. 

Filmer/Editor Mode 

Since landing tricks in this game is not always first try, the ability to be able to replay your last few minutes of gameplay is an excellent feature. By clicking the touch pad, you can rewind, change camera angle, zoom in and out- then appreciate the frozen image of your skater executing said trick. What really made this feature stand out though was the filmer/editor mode that comes with it.  

Session: Skate Sim allows you to film and follow your skater, as though you were another skater filming. Again, you can change the aspect ratio of the screen, as well as being able to use different fisheye lenses. Not only this, but Crea-ture studios really captured the 90s vibe with the ability to film using the VX1000. As someone who has watched many skate edits and loves viewing skateboarding photography, this is a much-loved aspect of the game for myself. 

Skating Ambience

Session: Skate Sim leaves no stone unturned, and this is also true when it comes to the game’s sound. The game features a soundtrack of reggae and beats which will leave you head bopping as you repeatedly try to perfect a line. Of course, the music can be turned down through the options menu. As can the skateboard sounds itself, though I can’t imagine anyone wanting to.

Turning down the music, putting on headphones and playing Session can result in skateboarding ASMR. The sound of the wheels rolling over the pavements is brilliant. Finding a path which leads into a change of tiling or cement was a joy right from the very start. You can hear the sound of the wheels intensify as you push the board and the satisfying sound of a properly popped ollie. The sounds of grinds and slides are on point. Whether the rougher sound of a concrete ledge or the metallic ting as you exit a rail, the sound design has been beautifully developed.

Session: Skate Sim was reviewed on PS4, with a key provided by Dead Good PR.