A game for the true skateboarding nerds out there
Session aims to be a realistic skateboarding simulator, and part of the way it goes about doing that is by being incredibly difficult. This can vary depending on the settings you have enabled and which preset you choose when first playing the game, but even its control scheme alone has a pretty steep learning curve. It uses a dual stick control scheme where each stick represents one of your feet, and for me that makes this game something truly special. Although I admit to having never played the Skate games, I did grow up playing the Tony Hawk games and in recent years have played Skater XL -- all of which are much more arcade-like by comparison. Session is in its own league. The maps are incredibly detailed and dense, and the physics for the most part are really spot on for a realistic skateboarding game. It does have some problems though, so don't go into this thinking everything will be 100% perfect right of the gate. There are still some physics bugs. Transition skating doesn't feel quite right yet, but the addition of lip tricks at least makes skating parks much more fluid than in early release. Pedestrians - which are an optional featured and disabled by default - are still a bit more of a nuisance than a quality addition to the experience. The mission system is poorly written and the trick detection far too specific and finicky (even bails count, which is annoying). The menus feel rushed and the UI needs more work to be more user friendly. There is no in-game map or custom waypoint system. The radio is limited. And the settings menu is massive, with in-game tool tips that aren't as descriptive as they could be which I suspect will turn off some people. Despite these issues, what it does come with at full release will easily keep you entertained and busy for many, many hours, so long as you're the right audience for it. This is *not* a game that you will be able to pick up and do crazy tricks or combinations on your first few tries. This is one where you skate around, find a cool spot or line, and try it many times until you get it right, and then spend more time filming what you finally pulled off to share with your friends. It's for the true lovers of skateboarding - the ones who are deeply invested in its history and techniques. If you're a casual gamer who's played some skateboarding games in the past, I probably wouldn't recommend this unless you really like challenging games. Especially if you're coming into it with the expectation of relying on the mission system to know what to do, I'd wait a while until they fix it up. But if you're looking for a game where you can relive the feeling of skateboarding and fighting hard for landing tricks, then it's for you -- for anyone who skateboards or has in the past and shares a love for its culture, history, and techniques, this is an incredibly rewarding game and I can't recommend it enough. As a full release, I'd probably give it a 3/5 - it's essentially still unfinished - but what is missing are largely quality of life updates. As a skateboarding game, it's really unique and rewarding and they definitely have accomplished the essence of what they set out to do for the genre. The pros greatly outweigh the cons for me, and because of the value in its core gameplay, I'm giving it a 5/5. There is nothing out there like it. Creature Studios seems, for now, very dedicated to the project and its continued development, so I fully expect to see the game get more and more refined as time goes on. They have already announced another update and DLC coming in December, so that gives me hope for this game's future. So to the devs, if you're reading this: the main things I'd love to see here that would really finish out the simulation side of this game are improved city life (smarter pedestrians, vehicles, world interaction such as cones falling over when hitting them), improved transition physics and controls, expanded on-foot controls, a greater breadth of animations (bails, on-foot, some trick refinement), and a map with waypoint system for more easily navigating the larger maps. The mission system can largely be forgiven for me as I see it there mostly for the people playing this who don't yet understand what street skating is about. Thanks for the great game! Read more