Session: Skate Sim – A Year in Review (PS5)

It has been over a year since Session: Skate Sim rolled out of early access for full release and has since sold over 1 million copies. During this time Crea-ture Studio has released multiple updates, maps and a Nintendo Switch port, as well as bringing on board new staff and more partnerships with skate brands to provide in-game apparel and decks. August’s update saw the addition of a free sewer map as part of a collaboration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. There has also been two paid DLCs released in the form of additional maps; the waterpark and an abandoned mall. Therefore this review will be focusing on the DLC maps and content added over the past year. You can read my full review of Session: Skate Sim here.

Session: Skate Sim Waterpark & Chris Cole is available on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam from £9.99 ($12.99).

Session: Skate Sim Abandoned Mall is available on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam from £6.49 ($7.99).

Board Breaking Updates

There have been numerous updates to Session: Skate Sim over the past year, each bringing tweaks to enhance the overall experience. A personal favourite is the experimental board snapping mechanic. This can be switched on/off in the settings, alongside a durability multiplier which effects the fragility of your deck and adds to the realism of Session. When turned on, awkward or heavy landings cause the deck to snap in two, revealing the layers of plywood. Earlier in the year the tutorial was elaborated upon, in order to become more beginner friendly. Some HUD changes have taken place too, now being able to toggle objectives being displayed on screen by pressing L3. Unobtrusive markers lead you to skate shops or quests, useful for new players or the geographically challenged.  

While not changing the whole map, there is an appearance variation option for Brooklyn Banks which adds a platform stair set, and another at LOVE park in Philadelphia, which adds a Christmas tree if you’re feeling festive. Skate shops have seen multiple new arrivals, of both apparel and DIY items, as well as an updated deck selection. There has also been a few general updates to sound design, including footsteps on different surfaces or different parts of the board hitting off objects. However, the most intricate element of sound design is that added to manuals, the shift of weight onto two wheels emitting a gentler rolling sound to when all four wheels are on the ground.

Sewers at 122 1/8 

As part of a collaboration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie, the entrance to the sewers at 122 1/8 can be found by fast travelling to Madison Park, and then finding the sewer cover outside the Food Store. The turtle’s sewer map will then be available for fast travel. Accompanying the map are a selection of T-Shirts and gear celebrating the turtles both as a group and their individual shells. Another highlight of this update is you can skate as the TMNT too, with the costumes available to purchase at skate shops and can then be equipped at any time in your apartment. 

The sewers at 122 1/8 doubles as a perfect homage to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a novel skate spot. There is a scattering of metal pipes and rails where you can get creative with technical tricks, the curved walls of the sewer have been converted into skate-able ramps, and platforms have been turned into manual pads. The sewers succeed in making a small map feel large through use of interconnecting tunnels leading into the next section, and the combination of mellow ramps with plenty of grindable ledges makes it easy to find a flow.

I can’t say I have spent much time in sewers myself, however Session: Skate Sim creates what I imagine the vibe would be at a skatepark located in a drainage system. Steam releases from open valves and lighting is scarce, one light usually illuminating large areas and leaving corners in shadows. This isn’t an unwelcome aesthetic though, contributing to a chilled, gloomy atmosphere. Brightening the grey is vast amounts of graffiti throughout, the majority of which pays tribute to the four ninja turtles – and pizza. The pepperoni on top is all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle related content was part of a free update. 

Waterpark and Chris Cole

Once you have installed the Waterpark DLC, Chris Cole will arrive in Philadelphia, near Nocturnal skate shop  (‘Bull’s Hit Coffee/Skate shop’). Talking with him opens a dialogue and adds missions to the list. Cole will then tell you about an abandoned waterpark and ask you to meet him there. It is worth mentioning that you are able to access the waterpark before finding Chris Cole. Although the DLC only adds a handful of missions, it was nice to have another set of objectives to complete in a new location with my custom skater, and it’s always good to see another street legend join the roster.

Essentially a virtual skateboarder’s playground, the waterpark is a custom location created by Crea-ture studio, allowing them creative freedom over the design. There is a bit of something for everyone; shallow pools or steep slides, water tanks surrounded by rails and a scattering of picnic tables. In fact, it is not hard to imagine a meeting where each of the Crea-ture team describe their ideal spot, the dried out lazy river acting as a half pipe while looping all of these ideas together. Even the nature is skateable too, with fallen trees to boardslide or rocks perfectly angled for stalls.

Ironically, the coolest part of the waterpark is the fire barrels. If you have the day-night cycle enabled or set the time past 9pm, barrels become ablaze like beacons dotted throughout the map. Unfortunately, these barrels cannot be moved using the object dropper, so you will have to work with their set positions to plan your tricks. That being said, the carpark offers a large, empty space for DIY shenanigans or homemade skateparks. While the waterpark map doesn’t offer much flow, the obscure spots encourage you to skate creatively. 

Phat Nugget Mall

If the waterpark doubles as a skateboarder’s playground, then Phat Nugget Mall could be a filming studio. Shops are shuttered, main lights are off and even with the experimental ‘city life’ option being turned on there are no wandering shoppers in the way. The large and empty mall is another original map by Crea-ture, and there are an abundance of interior architectural features which are ideal to skate, with so many steps I’m sure my virtual skater was thankful for their respawn abilities. As well as many stairs, design choices include a variety of ledges, rails and an ornamental book. Every mall has a gigantic ornamental book.

The layout provided is ideal for filming lines, every obstacle leading to the next. Multiple stair and ledge sets in a row, rail to rail combos to be discovered and a seemingly endless supply of edges to throw yourself at. There are also some extreme gap opportunities, barriers broken down and escalators covered with plywood boards to create steep mega ramps. Restaurant tables and benches are overturned yet stuck in place, and construction barriers are pushed to the sides, able to be moved in DIY mode. Due to the overhead lights being off, some kind souls have left a bunch of floodlights around the shopping center, which can also be moved for your convenience.

Despite the lack of electrical lighting and falling down ceiling panels, you aren’t left to skate in darkness. Skylights allow sun to pour through and project onto the ceramic tiles, casting shadows from obstacles and skaters throughout the Phat Nugget Mall. There is a small area more closed off from the rest, which I can only describe as a glow in the dark section. Neon street art covers the walls and yellow paint usefully indicates surface edges you may wish to use. Combining these visual highlights with the sound of the board popping then landing on the floor echo through the empty halls, and the occasional squeak of your shoe on the floor, is both satisfying and exclusive to the Session Abandoned Mall DLC.

Blackriver Ramps

Included in the Abandoned Mall DLC is an assortment of DIY objects, 38 to be precise, all of which are recreations of Blackriver ramps. Blackriver are a fingerboard centric company, who focus on delivering hand-made ramps and obstacles for fingerboarding antics. Session: Skate Sim resizes and digitises these miniature models to be shredded in virtual form; brick ledges, iron copings and wooden ramps are meticulously converted, and once the DLC is installed are available for free at in-game shops.The large obstacle variety can be used solo or placed together for new inventions, a task which is easier using the improved DIY system.

DIY Improvements

The most significant change to the base game came in October’s update, as a complete overhaul on the DIY object dropper. A slight downside of this update was all previous DIY items have been returned to your inventory, meaning you will have to rebuild any spots made previously. Aside from that, the DIY upgrade is a definite improvement. Still requiring you to be off your board and opening DIY mode using L1, there are no longer restrictions on how far away you can go with the DIY camera relative to your player. Controls to pivot items have been moved to L2 and the thumbsticks, with more concise explanations of how these controls work.

A few more useful additions include being able to reset items to their original position, automatically place them flat on the ground or recall them to your inventory entirely. The most significant change however is that of the UI. Tapping square opens the inventory, displaying the ramps, rails and miscellaneous items you own in separate tabs, which can then be navigated using L1 and R1. Multi-select is now also an option, ideal for moving a group of objects as opposed to repositioning them one at a time. This layout and control scheme is a vast improvement, providing a more fluid DIY experience. The final notable change for the object dropper is malleable obstacles now have an animated sheen, meaning you no longer need to hover over each item individually to check if they can be moved. 

Session: Skate Sim has been reviewed on PS5, with a key provided for the Abandoned Mall DLC by Dead Good PR.