Session: Skate Sim: PS5 Review

Developed by Crea-ture Studios, Illogika
Published by Crea-ture Studios, Nacon, BIGBEN INTERACTIVE
Platform: PS5

Granted, there are a plethora of skate simulators, but for many the Tony Hawk games have really been the only sims on the block worthy of your time.

Olli Olli World does well with its lo-fi indie feel, and Hawk's sim is more professional, leaving a bit of a gap for a simulator which could fit the more incompetent boarders among us, but could also teach the basics while making it fun.

Step forward, Session: Skate Sim, a simulator that builds you up but isn't afraid to knock you down as you learn the basics of the game.

And yet, there's still a level of skill that you need to achieve something damn near board-nirvana throughout this game, a certain je ne sais quoi that takes the essence of skate-boarding and instils it into a console level experience.

However, it's also not afraid to punish you too, as mistimed moments can leave you ragdolling on the floor and decrying the fact you'll never get this right, and it's not worth your time.

Flip tricks, grinds, just skating - they're all here for the taking in the industrial urban land on offer, and they're all quite difficult to master in varying ways. Sensitive controls don't help matters, with the slightest touch of a wrong button meaning you're on your face, laughing at your character's demise, but growing increasingly frustrated with the fact you can't make it.

There's not a narrative to pursue here, merely a learning of skateboarding, a fuelling of four-wheeled knowledge (and a chance to customise your character with various outfits and so on). It's grounded in a reality that most simulators eschew - and while it ditches other people, because of your need for concentration, it's barely noticeable.

Patience is the key for Session Skate Sim - it won't be the easiest game to play and admittedly, it will take a while for you to master something going on decency, but when it falls into place, the game does make you feel like a boarder - albeit one in a completely empty world where there's no one to bother you and no one to trip you up. 

Except yourself.