Fans have been asking for a skateboarding title to land on PC for years, and the cries have seemed to consistently fall on deaf ears. Instead of concrete playgrounds to style upon, we’ve had to make do with 2-dimensional titles that, while outstanding in their own right, were admittedly a far cry from the legendary sessions available on title such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, or the more recent franchise that has fallen wayside, Skate. Of course it’s a shame that the few titles that manage to accurately portray the street culture of skateboarding eend up falling to the wayside, and none seemed ready to take their place.
Enter Session, an indie skateboarding sim that is coming from the developers at crea-ture Studios Inc. The full title is Sesson: Skateboarding Sim Game, but we’re all kind of hoping that the tail of that title dies in a fire, as it’s a bit on the nose. Session is looking at recreating that Skate vibe with beautiful three-dimensional playgrounds echoing Brooklyn and other New York City hot spots, with a fantastic control system that simulates each foot with an analogue stick of the controller.
https://twitter.com/DonovanStrain/status/1227013731416080386
Before you get too excited, the title is in the Early Access Program on Steam, meaning that incremental updates will be the way for a long while, along with nasty bugs, a lack of content, and everything else that the Early Access nomenclature infers. It also allows players to get in on the ground level of the title, offer feedback to the developers, and help build the title into something greater than the mere sum of its parts.
The latest update is 0.0.0.3 in what is an increasingly annoying version numbering that crea-ture Studios is using. With it, you’re getting a brand new stretch of pavement to use to slap your board around on. Featuring the Brooklyn Banks Archways, the new level has almost everything that would want from a veritable playground of skate, and it’s a good chance to show off some new mechanics in the game.
First, legacy controls have been implemented, giving the control scheme that some have found a bit confusing an overhaul to make it similar to the Skate series. The new control scheme is in early development, so some things such as altering your grinds and feebles isn’t yet possible. It is, however, an absolute gift for those that have found the new scheme to be a bit wonky.
https://twitter.com/actionofcreate/status/1228099784772218880
Big drops are available now, with timing necessary to properly land drops onto horizontal concrete without eating it yourself. It definitely takes a bit of getting used to, but the mechanic allows players to properly pull off massive drops without the RNG fashion that has been seen in other titles. It’s ultimately rewarding, although admittedly many have found it to bee a bit of a pain to get used to.
Players will also now bail when landing off-rotation; meaning if the board isn’t facing the direction of travel, you’ll get to lose some metaphorical teeth in the process. Players can opt to use the auto-rotation mechanic to help them land the 180s, but it, of course, means you’re a casual.
Finally, some smoothing has been done in terms of grinds and slides, making it a bit prettier and more fluid to stack your line together. The fluidity means it’s far easier to bring in a grab during your line without bailing, and the skater will also adapt and transition into grinds as they change without the board needing to be popped up.
The title is solid, the updates keep coming, and the music is impeccable; Session is shaping up to be a fantastic means for the older generation to once again enjoy placing wheels onto concrete.
