Since its unveil,Sessionhas been talked about as the spiritual successor to EA’sSkate. Similar to the activity itself, the decline of interest in skateboarding overall has impacted skateboarding games even more. There have been attempts to revive the sub-genre, but not even a newPro Skatergame was able to rekindle the former glory of skateboarding games.
Sessionfinds itself at a unique opportunity to distinguish itself as something new whilst also proving that there’s still interest and desire for skateboarding games.
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The State of Skateboarding Games
Since skateboarding on its own has faded from being the pop culture phenomenon it was in the 90s, skateboarding games have suffered even worse in terms of relevancy. The last mainstream skateboarding game to come out wasTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5in 2015, which had a lot of problemsupon release and received very poor critical reception. For a franchise that basically built the sub-genre of skateboarding games to suffer as hard as it did in 2015, it’s no wonder there haven’t been many skateboarding games released since.
The last well-received skateboarding game was EA’sSkate 3in 2010, the only other well-established skateboarding game franchise out there competing with theTony Hawkgames.Skatewas praised for its slightly more grounded approach to skating compared to theTony Hawkseries, separating themselves from its counterpart. Many have been hoping for aSkate 4announcement from EA, especially afterEA renewed the trademark for theSkateseriesand sparked community hype for a potential sequel on its way.
The unfortunate truth is that hope for proper sequels in both franchises is very bleak. Putting aside the fact that skateboarding on its own is no longer as popular as it was, both franchises have in one way or another de-confirmed any potential sequels from any of these series.Electronic Arts' CEO has confirmedSkate 4is not currently in development, disappointing several fans who were begging on social media for the highly requested sequel.
Tony Hawk himself also confirmedhe is no longer working with Activision’sPro Skaterseries, citing he’s more focused on hisPro Skaterdocumentary as well as his own skateboarding game separate from Activision. While that’s slightly more promising news, it likely spells the death of the iconicPro Skaterseries players know and love. With the two major skateboarding intellectual properties likely dead in the water, it leaves a small but significant space wide open for a newcomer to reinvigorate skateboarding video games.
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The Potential of Session
Bring onSession, a new title in the sub-genre of skateboarding games from a completely new developer. Crea-ture Studios’Project Sessionis a skateboarding game designed with simulation in mind, striving to be as close to the real thing as possible.Session’s main focus is attempting to capture the creativity and ingenuity of skateboard tricks, which transfers well into the gameplay’s current design. There’s a reason whyplayers believeSessionmay be the nextSkategame, or at least a spiritual successor of it.
The defining difference so far betweenSessionandSkateis its control scheme, which is more complex in comparison. Each analog stick now represents the character’s feet in an attempt to capture hardcore realism in gameplay. Players will have to balance themselves in the use of both feet when pulling off tricks, essentially an expanded version ofSkate’s “flick-it” trick system. Even though they will be adding a “legacy” control scheme,Sessionis staying true to its skateboarding sim commitment,which is exactly whatSkatefans have been waiting for.
The main thing Crea-ture Studios will need to do to set it apart fromSkateandTony Hawkis frame its gameplay around personal progression. The game’s creative director Marc-Andre Houde has made it clearSessionwill not use a traditional scoring system from tricks. Instead,Sessionwill focus on the personal and social aspect of the real-world sport and incorporate that into gameplay progression. Players will need to focus on their execution to get better at performing certain tricks. The game will also include a photo and video sharing social system for players to show off their progress. A system heavily reliant on player interactivity is a wonderful idea, and encourages community participation. At the same time it begs the question: for players who don’t want to film or photograph their avatars doing these tricks, what can they do in the game?
Sessioncould still adhere to its core philosophy of personal progression, but an idea would be to incorporate stunt/trick activities that require a unique approach. Something like clearing a large set of steps without hitting the ground, grinding a rail the whole time, etc.Forza Horizondoes this well by breaking up the monotony of just racing by including Stunt races and other types of races. Now it doesn’t have to beas crazy as aHalocrossover in a racing game, but adding activities that encourage creativity could bringSessiona step further.
Other than that,Sessionshows great promise in revitalizing the skateboarding games sub-genre. Players have beendemanding for anotherSkategameor a betterTony Hawkgame for years, andSessionmay be coming out at the perfect time to surpass both.
Sessionis out now on Steam early access for PC and will be released in spring 2020 for Xbox One.
