A review of Session: Skate Sim from the viewpoint of a lifelong Skater & Gamer

So there I was, sitting on my couch on the night of September 21st, 2022 when I came across an Instagram post from Donovan Strain announcing the release of Session: Skate Sim for this generation of gaming consoles. I was a little confused, because I remember playing Session years ago when it was a free to play Xbox Preview game. Long story short, I had $50 to burn and decided to give Session a try, and let me say, HOLY SMOKES THIS GAME IS AMAZING!

There have been two hobbies I’ve stuck with my entire life. Those being Skateboarding and Gaming. I began gaming from the very early 90’s with a Super Nintendo and a copy of Super Mario World and started skating in 99’ following the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Without video games, I would’ve never discovered Skateboarding. These are two hobbies I’ve never given up or looked back on with regret. With that being said, a skateboarding video game is right up my alley, and with the recent releases of THPS1&2 and SkaterXL (both great games, btw), I’ve been in the mood for more. Other than The Arcade OlliOlli series and the infamously AWFUL Tony Hawk Hawk Pro Skater 5, there were zero skateboarding game releases in the 2010’s.

To start with this review off, I would just like to say that Session: Skate Sim is probably not a game a casual fan of skateboarding would enjoy. This game seems like it was crafted for the hardcore skater. It has a VERY tough learning curve and is very unforgiving at first. As a skateboarder, it will be an odd feeling where real life transfers over to game very well. You will sit there and try a trick for awhile, get extremely frustrated over not getting it, then BLAM! you land it and receive a rewarding feeling of achievement. I don’t see somebody who doesn’t skateboard enjoying the learning curve very much. It most definitely isn’t an instant gratification kind of game.

As for gameplay, this review was conducted using an Xbox Series X version of Session: Skate Sim. This review was also done by a Regular Stance skateboarder, so if I ever describe controls using the sticks, imagine them mirrored. With that being said, the left stick is your front foot while your right stick is your back foot. Turning your board and spinning is done with the triggers. Similar controls to SkaterXL, however they feel way less arcadey and WAY more realistic. Unlike EA’s skate, where all board movements are done completely with the right stick. So for example, instead of flicking the right stick forward then back at an angle to the left to do a Nollie flip in EA skate, you have you move the right stick forward and right stick back TIMED CORRECTLY in order to do a Nollie Flip in Session. Like real skateboarding, timing in Session is extremely important for your board’s pop. Timing is also important for catching your flip tricks on harder difficulties. As for grinds, you have to control both feet in Session rather than just jumping on a rail in EA Skate or SkaterXL. On harder difficulties, you also have to lock your grinds in using your wheels, just like real life, in order to hold grinds for a decent distance. So now imagine doing a simple trick like a Kickflip Backside 50-50 grind on a ledge in EA Skate. You do the Kickflip motion, and basically just land on the edge of the ledge in order to grind. Where as in Session, you have to move both the left and right stick in order to flip the board, catch the board also using the sticks, and then precisely land on the ledge while adjusting the sticks to lock your grind in using the sticks to catch the flip trick. As it sounds, it becomes a brain glitch. Now, for Switch Stance Skateboarding, invert those controls. When you’re tasked to do switch tricks, especially flip in and out tricks, it messes with your mind. It’s all a learning curve in Session, however once you master it, it’s an amazing feeling.

There is a story mode featuring many Pro Skateboarders and notible figures in the skateboarding world including Louie Barletta, Nora Vasconcellos, Mark Appleyard, Daewon Song, and many others. The beginning of the game, basically the tutorial and introduction to the game, is guided by Donovan Strain, and features a story of gaining exposure in skateboarding and networking with pro skaters in order to gain notoriety for growth in your skateboarding career. You go from unsponsored, to shop flow, to regular flow, to Amateur, and eventually Professional ranks. Session features three real life cities with a ton of real life spots, such as New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Completing goals given by locals and pros progresses you and your skater throughout the game. These goals range from doing things such as setting up a DIY Spot with Ribs Man or doing SS Kickflip BS Tailslides on benches with Donovan Strain. The story features no voice acting and isn’t nearly as elaborate as EA Skate’s story, however its very fitting for Session and I personally really like how crea-ture studios emphasized controls and basic movement over a story mode. There are three stock difficulties, easy, default, and hard, but every setting from how magnetic your skater is to rails, darkslides, primos slides, and casper slides can be altered with. You can adjust the game to be as easy, or as hard as you see fit. It’s very refreshing to see a game developer give their players such options to better suite their gameplay.

The ascetics of Session are also lacking in comparison to EA’s skate, and Session seems to have some odd skater glitches. For example, occasionally when doing a Kickflip Backside Boardslide, your skateboarder’s feet will invert, most NPCs T-Pose until you’re up close to them, and the game overall isn’t as polished as an EA release. There’s no voice acting or cinematic cutscenes, but this all adds to the charm of Session. Session focuses way more on the gameplay rather than the cutscenes and other things.

Last and not least, I’m going to talk about the Achievements and Trophies. As an Achievement whore, I must say I’m very satisfied with Session’s achievements. No Online, no time grinding, and no annoying achievements. The game mostly consists of achievements such as completing the story, doing 500 of every trick overall, with Kickflip and Heelflip having their own at 1000 each, and completing all Pro Challenges.

Overall, as a skateboarder, I would give Session a solid 10/10. Great effort, amazing game with a tough but fun learning curve, and a true love letter to skateboarding in video game form. As a gamer, I would give it a 7/10 because of the glitches and bugs. Thank you crea-ture studios!