Bantam Banter

Today, Skate Season 4 begins, bringing a slew of new features and improvements to the free-to-play skateboarding game from Full Circle and Electronic Arts. It has been a long and rocky ride since the game’s launch back in September, but with this latest update, it does seem to be shaping up into a game fans can enjoy. However, does the new seasonal content really make Skate that much better?

I’m inclined to say yes, but it’s a culmination of everything Full Circle has added to Skate since launch. The addition of new tricks (fingerflips were added for Season 4), the continued improvement of its gameplay, and the drip feed of playable content is somewhat enticing for those who roam around San Vansterdam every day. I’m just not sure this is the update that will bring in more people or really excite anyone beyond its core player base.

I had the opportunity to play the Skate Season 4 content before its launch today, and many of my qualms from my recent review are being answered. To be upfront, I played around an hour or two of the new content, with the majority of my time spent in the new Stadium area.

The Stadium (a.k.a. The Chum Bucket) is essentially the equivalent of the stadium venue from the end of the original Skate. The X Games branding will eventually be shown prominently throughout Season 4 as well, adding to that nostalgia for those who played the original. The venue is a nice addition, but I do think one of the sections doesn’t flow as well as I’d hope.

The Stadium is broken up into two sections: street and vert. The vert section is the piece that just doesn’t feel right to me. If you start from the tall roll-in, you get some nice air time on the subsequent ramps that follow, but by the time you get to the last ramp that leads into the large quarter pipe, you just land in flat. This seems to be the case, no matter where you begin from that side with the roll in too.

The hope would be that you would land into a down ramp that would then give you speed to launch on the large quarter, then pick a new part of the vert section to skate without a single push. Because I was always landing in flat, all my momentum would be exasperated, and I’d have to push a bit to get some air on the large quarter, then continue the line.

The caveat for this is that I’ve never really enjoyed vert skating in any Skate game. I do think transition skating in this game is arguably the best it has ever been in the entire series, but it has just never felt right to me. I have never been into bombastic flying that is usually posted on social media; yes, it is fun from time to time, but it isn’t really the reason I continue to play Skate.

So, for how I personally want to play, the vert section of the Stadium doesn’t work for me, but I could see people having a grand ol’ time figuring out how to launch themselves across the entire venue in this section.

However, I really enjoyed my time in the street section of the Stadium. There is a flow to that section that just works for me and how I like to play. I would essentially begin at the rail by the grass gap, follow that up with a grind on the flat bar, then hit the quarter. On the way back, I can either hit the huge pyramid or A-frame, then trick up the euro gap.

It has the feel of an SLS course. There may not be as many obstacles that are similar to those contests, but the look and feel of that style of contest is there. It would not be surprising if that was what Full Circle was attempting to achieve, considering the X Games collab that’s coming later.

Despite its small problems, my time at the Chum Bucket was great, and I’m excited to revisit the venue on occasion.

I also spent a portion of my time checking out the new season pass for SKate Season 4. While I still think there is something about it that just doesn’t feel all that enticing, it does seem that Full Circle is taking in the criticism and bringing in more brands and including better rewards. I don’t know if it was announced previously, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Quasi as the new board brand for Season 4. It’s companies like Quasi that bring a bit more authenticity to the game.

The season pass also included some new clothing options, like the Huf short-sleeve button-up and the layered shirts. It’s nice to see that Skate is beginning to really offer different options, and not just the same T-shirt or pants fit, but with a different coat of paint. Some of the rewards actually feel unique and are from actual skate brands. It’s not just a goofy bird costume or a basic dress suit.

I don’t think Skate Season 4 is going to wow people. It simply continues the trend of slightly improving the game bit by bit. In comparison to its launch, it has certainly improved in just about every aspect. The reality is that I’m just not convinced Skate, in its current form, is bringing in more players, which is fine. The people who play it, like myself, will continue to play it until it inevitably dies like any live service game. Until then, I’m happy to see that the developers do seem to be listening to their players and continuing to keep the people who are continuing to play entertained.