Session: Skate Sim

Easily one of the most ambitious skateboarding games of the decade so far, Session: Skate Sim breathes new life into a sport that used to be the embodiment of coolness at the turn of the millennium. Featuring a marked emphasis on realism over arcadey controls this game might just be the one that skateboarders had always dreamt of.

While some old-school fans of retro games might prefer a more traditional approach to skateboarding in their games, there's no denying that Session: Skate Sim tackles a very specific gamer niche that's been craving a title such as this for a very long while.

Become a Skater Pro

Session: Skate Sim's innovative dual-stick controls might be familiar to some of the more veteran players out there. After all, the gameplay is more or less a more refined take on the fan-favorite EA's Skate formula that saw great success a few years back. If we go a bit farther back in time, we might also find a more archaic version of this mechanic in Tony Hawk's Project 8 "Nail the Trick" minigame.

Still, the core concept of having an open playground carefully planned for skateboarders to enjoy remains the same in this game. Sure, skating around might be amazing, but fooling around with your friends as you play with the game's physics engine might be even more rewarding in the long run.

Despite the almost limitless trick combinations available to the player, the controls still feel natural and easy to grasp. It will only take the player an hour or two before they're skating like a pro – in the game, that is. Don't try to skate in real life with the experience you get in the game – you'll most than likely break your jaw, especially when we consider one of the game's biggest flaws: its glitches.

Skating Through Walls

Once you've mastered Session: Skate Sim's controls, you might feel like you're ready to tackle any of the game's skate parks. The only issue comes once you realize that the game's engine seems to be playing against you at every corner.

Things like clipping, faulty collision detection, and some very distracting visual bugs are dime a dozen in this game – which is a shame, really: it might be the closest PC players have ever gotten to the original Skate 3 experience.

Don't let these minor faults stop you from trying the game, though: there are still tons of tricks to see and customizables to unlock to let your enjoyment last quite a bit. Plus, there's nothing better than going through this whole experience with friends – something that can definitely help make up for this game's shortcomings.

Thanks to the hundreds of licensed parts and real-life brands, Session: Skate Sim is every 90s skater's dream come true. But once you've put the controller down and stopped smiling at how cool you look, you'll start to realize that the game doesn't offer much to keep the experience fresh after you've played through the entire campaign. Still, the video capturing features and the active online community offers a great chance to share your best clips with other gamers.

Pros

• Very responsive controls that feel wonderful once you master them
• Tons of customization options, including real-life clothing and accessories.
• A thriving online community of skating aficionados

Cons

• Annoying bugs that sour the otherwise polished experience
• Some minor performance issues on low-end PCs