This time five years ago, skateboarding games were in a rough place. The last major skateboarding game was the truly awful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 and EA’s Skate series had been dormant since 2010 despite fervent fan demand for a new entry. Around that time Montreal-based developer Creā-ture Studios first showed off Project Session which looked to scratch the Skate itch. In the five years since, things have started to look up with Tony Hawk’s triumphant comeback in Pro Skater 1 + 2 and a new Skate on the way. Despite this, Session: Skate Sim manages to carve out its own unique take on the skateboard genre.
Realism is the name of the game in Session. While the Skate series was decidedly more realistic than Pro Skater, it still had a fun pick-up-and-play nature to it. To be blunt, Session is hard: you will likely not have fun for the first few hours after you pick it up (something the developers acknowledge themselves). The game is controlled with the left and right sticks corresponding to each leg, with tricks being performed as they would in real life (so you pop up and kick your front foot to the side for a kickflip, etc). However, once you get the hang of it, it’s extremely satisfying. The game also offers up a selection of modifiers like pop height and gravity to make things easier or harder as you please.
The mission structure of the game devolves into going to a place, doing a trick or route, strung along by forgettable story dialogue. The missions have a habit of being poorly explained, furthered by being unable to re-read text boxes explaining what you need to do. And rarely do the inputs needed for specific moves get shown during these prompts. For better or worse, Session is a game for the hardcore skater. While its dedication to realism is impressive, the frustration in the early hours is likely to turn most off.
Comments 14
I’ve put a whole lot of hours into this and Skater XL on PC and I’d say this is the better game. The physics are spot on and it’s as close as you get to a true simulation of actual skating. It’s hard to recommend to anybody that isn’t a skater or truly interested in real skating though.
@SMcCrae95 Inhuman Creation Station? Attached at the Hip? 96 Quite Bitter Beings?
Been playing Session on PC since 2019 when it released and it has become worse
I am down to buy this on a sale. Practically addicted to skating games.
"Brutally difficult to begin with" as a con, really?
THPS is enough to hold me over till Skate 4 eventually comes, this looks too technical to be fun for me.
@GrandMaster5 I think that line was aimed at everyone else that isn’t a Grand Master. Haha.
Great skating game, but only if you're interested in skateboarding and are familiar with its history. The mission especially are based on historical tricks and spots. Im totally in love with session 1.0, but if you only have a passing interest in skating, i would nog recommend. If you live and breathe skating, there is nothing beter than session 1.0
@Actionhank89 I really like skateboarding but can't actually skate (I'm 42, it's never going to happen now!) so will I still like this or not? I certainly don't want to spend £50 on it if I won't. But I am intrigued.
@tomassi well if you love skating and at least understand basic principles of how tricks are done. I would say yes, but maybe wait for sale. Im amazed by the insane amount of famous spots and the realism of the skateboarding. Not sure if its mentioned in the review, but thickness of wheels actually makes in impact on friction in grinds, same goes for boards, wider boards mean slower flips etc. Im 32 and have not skated in years, but still watch more skatevids then is probably healthy. I love seeing all the spots and being able to realistically do my own digital sessions on them. If that sounds like you, pick it up. Still on the fence, wait for sale!
Not for me. If I wanted realism Id get my old board out and dust it off!
I play games because they can simplify things I can't do, so im much more aligned with a game like Tony Hawks, than a more complex sim. I do understand those who will enjoy this, and I salute their commitment!
Never skated in real life but have always had a fascination with skateboarding and the surrounding skate culture. I can only do the simplest of tricks still but I'm enjoying skating around the city. The day to night cycle is great. The cities look good. There's a bit of polish that could be done to the animations and graphic but for a team of I believe 9 people releasing on multiple platforms this is a really good game.
Is it difficult most definitely but I don't see it as a con. There are also difficulty levels and assists that can be turned out to make it a bit less difficult. It's still hard but the assist def help. I don't see difficulty being a con in reviews for other difficult games Elden Ring, Sifu so why is it here?
You don't need to be a a hardcore skater, it helps but I have never been much of a skater and this is my favourite game. You have to play it and stick with it til it clicks before you can even know if you'll like it. The potential is there for you to absolutely adore it though. I can't even tell you how much this game has helped me through the last two years. It's just pure bliss and the difficulty, it just feels like learning to skate. I'm not a good seller but don't be put off if you don't skate. If you're already thinking about it, give it a go. Then join the community on discord etc it's a wonderful, welcoming one and you can ask anything. They really helped me.
@SoulChimera hahaha. Nah but tbh it seems out of point to add that as a con for a review, at least that's what I feel like
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