EA and Full Circle finally pushed skate. into Early Access on 16 September 2025, and I’ve been glued to it on PS5 since launch.
Here’s the blunt truth: when this game works, it really works. The tricks, the slams, the weight of the board. It all clicks. But the stuff wrapped around that? It’s soulless. It’s a shiny toy box that forgot skateboarding was supposed to be messy.
What it is, and what it’s selling
skate. is free-to-play, cross-platform, and currently in Early Access. The playground is San Vansterdam, a city stitched together with plazas, canals, rooftops and even a cathedral begging to be sessioned.
Classic Flick-It controls are back, now with off-board moves. You can drop obstacles with Quick Drop, check the Skatepedia for trick tutorials, chase rotating challenges, and skate to a soundtrack that shifts over time.
There’s also a roadmap: party voice chat, a revamped replay editor, new tricks (Impossibles, Darkslides), leaderboards, and more. On top of that, “Founder Packs” and a Season 1 skate.Pass are already on sale until early December.
Sounds decent, right? Sure. But some of those modern choices cut against what made Skate sing in the first place.
The skating is still magic
Here’s the part that feels right: the actual skating. Flick-It is intact, tricks flow well, and stringing a clean line still gives that old adrenaline spike. The physics lean more towards silly than strict realism. You’ll stomp a perfect tre flip one second, then launch like a rocket-ragdoll through the clouds, landing on a rooftop the next. Both are equally fun.
What lands:
- Controls: Snappy, responsive, satisfying.
- Trick depth: Big library, with Skatepedia there if you get lost.
- Ragdolls: Still comedy gold.
If you’re here just to skate, fall over, laugh, and repeat, the game nails that loop.
San Vansterdam is shiny, but bloodless
The city’s big. Four neighbourhoods, vertical lines to climb and drop, weird little corners to mess with. It should feel like a skater’s dream, but it often doesn’t. San Vansterdam is polished to the point of sterility. Instead of grit and DIY charm, it feels more like a backdrop for seasonal content drops.
A few gripes:
- Blocked spots: Immovable trash piles, vending machines, benches… all getting in the way of lines. In past games, you could shift stuff or work around it. Here? Tough luck.
- Multiplayer lobbies feel empty: Even when full. Replays don’t highlight your crew, and without party tools, skating “together” often feels like skating near strangers.
- Repetition creeps in fast: Without story or events to anchor things, the map risks becoming decoration instead of culture.
Vee — the tin can no one asked for
Instead of a human mentor or a pro cameo, skate. saddles you with Vee, a bouncy little robot that spews forced one-liners. Supposedly, your guide. In reality? Mascot-tier cringe. Skateboarding is raw and human. Vee is not.
A proper character could’ve grounded the world and added heart, or at least some humour. Instead, you get squeaky encouragement that makes you want to hit mute. A huge misfire.
Always-online — the worst bail
Yep, even if you’re skating alone, you’ve got to be online. No connection? No skating. If servers cough, your session dies. For a series that should scream “pick up and play,” this is a faceplant. It locks out casual players, punishes anyone with dodgy internet, and makes a simple solo sesh way too fragile.
Social and multiplayer — potential wasted
Cross-play and cross-progression are here, plus rotating challenges and Quick Drop for DIY spots. Sounds like a good time, except it isn’t.
- No party voice chat yet.
- No built-in S.K.A.T.E., spot battles, or deathraces.
- Co-op missions mostly feel like solo tasks running in parallel.
The roadmap might fix this, but right now, multiplayer feels lonelier than it should.
Tools and missing features
If you loved the old replay editor, brace for disappointment. This version is clunky, stripped-back, and missing basics like proper keyframes. Some classic tricks aren’t here yet (they’re promised later), and the game feels more focused on pushing cosmetics than refining its editor. That stings for a franchise once known for top-tier capture tools.
Monetisation and progression
Free-to-play always means cosmetics, but skate. pushes them hard from the jump. Founder Packs, seasonal passes, limited cosmetics. Not evil, but the balance feels skewed. Progression leans into repetitive grind for currency, and when the game’s in Early Access, you want depth in the systems first, not the shop window.
“Not Skate 4”. Yeah, we noticed
The devs keep saying this isn’t Skate 4. Fine. But slap “skate.” on the box and people will compare it anyway. The writing and NPC chatter are a failed attempt to be relevant to a new, younger demographic. Instead of counterculture grit, it feels inauthentic.
What needs fixing — the wishlist
- Offline mode or at least offline practice.
- Vee: mute, replace, or rewrite.
- Replay editor: full tools back, pronto.
- Moveable clutter: let us clear ledges and lines.
- Party/social tools: voice chat, proper crew play, S.K.A.T.E. mode.
- Stop front-loading cosmetics before the game has its backbone.
The bones of something brilliant are in here. But it’s hidden under a pile of baffling design calls.
TL;DR
- skate. hit Early Access on 16 Sep 2025 (played on PS5).
- The art style isn’t for me.
- The core skating is still superb. Tricks, physics, the whole vibe.
- San Vansterdam is big, but sterile and blocked in weird ways.
- Vee the robot is straight-up annoying.
- Always-online requirement is a massive fail.
- Multiplayer feels empty, editor is gutted, cosmetics are already centre stage.
- Worth checking out if you just want goofy, chaotic skating. If you’re chasing heart and legacy? Not yet.
There’s a game here that could grow into something brilliant, but right now, it feels more like a gimmick.
Stay unruly.
