Gamers and skateboarders everywhere love the EA Skate series. It took the analogue twin-stick input from Fight Night and turned it into an intuitive skate sim.
Skate 3 was so good that a non-gaming skateboarder friend bought a copy just to play at my house. It’s still got a large, active community to this day.
However, it’s nearly 14 years since the last instalment in the series.
With so much time passed and games like Sessions, Tony Hawk’s, and Skater XL trying to fill the void, can Skate 4 (officially just called “Skate”) hit the mark?
Let’s check it out.
Skate 4 Gameplay
.Previous instalments in the series struck a balance between realism and wacky player creativity.
Though skateboarding is constantly progressing, it doesn’t look that different from 14 years ago. Expect similar tricks and mechanics from the previous instalments.
In a recent episode of The Boardroom, the Skate devs discussed some new additions, such as wallies, slappies, and boned ollies, reflecting the current ‘quirky’ paradigm in modern skating.
The game features more off-board traversal than previous instalments with climbable ladders, balance mechanics for walking across rails, and an improved jump animation. Expect more verticality and hidden spots.
Skate 4 Activities
Multiplayer has been a feature of the Skate series since its first release. However previous games weren’t built on the live service model with plans for new content, events and seasonal additions.
EA has stated that Skate 4 is intended as "an authentic evolution of the Skate franchise that can be enjoyed for years to come".
This kind of strategy hints at a move away from numbered releases every few years. Unfortunately, the gaming industry has more examples of this strategy failing than succeeding (anyone for a round of Halo Infinite?).
Four activity types are confirmed so far:
- Challenges: Challenges are short, single-player experiences that will rotate in and out of the game with minor tweaks and changes. These sound similar to the gameplay in previous Skate games.
- Pop-Ups: Pop-ups are dynamic cooperative events that encourage players to work together for a common goal. The devs gave an example where players had to work together to get 50,000 points in an area.
- Community Events: Community events are light-hearted events with a carnival atmosphere. The devs tell us to expect these events to be “pretty crazy” with fun as their primary focus—maybe something like Trasher’s King of the Road
- Throwdowns: Throwdowns are Skate 4’s version of a private match. A throwdown is a user-initiated, customizable event that you can place anywhere on the map.
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Skate 4’s Free-To-Play Model Live Service Model
There aren’t many concrete details about Skate’s live service model yet, and the inclusion of a free to-play (F2P) model understandably puts many players off.
So far, the devs have been vocal about what the live service model won't include. At the moment, that list includes gameplay-altering items and loot box-style purchases.
Still, Skate 4 (we’ll start calling it just “Skate” when everyone else does) will be a completely free live service.
Without gameplay-altering items and loot boxes, Skate 4 will have to make its money from cosmetics. To facilitate this, all clothing and equipment in Skate 4 is genderless and can be worn by any player character.
It looks like almost all cosmetics, such as board graphics, clothing, and wheels, can be obtained through gameplay. Players who want to skip the grind can open their wallets and simply purchase items.
Commenting on the live service model before it goes live is impossible.
Let’s hope it’s more of a Rocket League and less of a Suicide Squad example of F2P gaming.
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When Will Skate 4 Be Released?
The development team behind Skate 3 was disbanded shortly after the game’s 2010 release. Since then, fans have consistently hounded EA about a follow-up.
We know playtesting on PC has been going on since early 2022. The available footage shows polished physics, animations, and gameplay. The visuals are still basic with lots of flat textures and unfinished assets.
After the gameplay elements are nailed down, the devs have stated they’ll focus on polishing the graphics, textures, and game world.
No release dates have been confirmed yet. However, with ongoing PC playtests and upcoming console playtesting, Skate seems close to being shippable.
Q3 of this year might be too early to expect this one, but Q4 is a hopeful possibility.
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