Skate. Early Access Met With Excitement, But "Mixed" Reception

After more than a decade of waiting, EA and Full Circle have finally brought back Skate (styled as “skate.”). The new free-to-play skateboarding game — a follow-up to 2010’s Skate 3 — entered Early Access recently, and its launch has been met with a wave of excitement, tempered by mixed reviews and frustration over missing features.

One thing Skate does right is its core mechanics. Reviewers and players agree that the Flick-It control system feels responsive, and skating around the fictional city of San Vansterdam is satisfying. The physics, trick variety, and overall flow of movement have been praised, and this alone makes the game worth trying.

Skate is also free for the first time in the series, opening the door to a much wider audience. It supports cross-play and cross-progression across PC and console platforms. Cosmetic microtransactions exist, but early impressions suggest they are not overly aggressive, with many items still unlockable through gameplay.

Despite these positives, the game’s reception has been far from universally positive. A large portion of the community has expressed frustration at what feels like a stripped-down version of Skate 3. Features considered staples — such as Hall of Meat, robust career challenges, and offline play — are absent at launch. Players have also criticized the art direction for being too clean and overly sanitized, lacking the grit and personality that defined earlier entries. Character models and world design have been accused of looking generic, drawing comparisons to Fortnite rather than Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Technical issues have added to the frustration. Skate requires an always-online connection, and servers struggled under the load during the first days of Early Access. Many players reported long login queues, disconnections, and matchmaking failures, making it difficult to experience the game. Once inside, some have found missions and challenges repetitive, and the open world, while fun to explore, can feel underdeveloped.

This mixed reception is reflected in the game’s roughly 12,000 Steam reviews, which currently sit at “Mixed.” Some players are enjoying the chance to simply skate with friends, while others feel the game is a shadow of what it could be. Critics generally agree that the core gameplay is strong and full of potential, but the overall package feels incomplete. For many, this version of Skate serves more as a foundation than a finished product.

Because the game is in Early Access, there is still hope. Adding missing features from past titles, improving server stability, expanding mission variety, and polishing the visual presentation could go a long way toward satisfying long-time fans. The developers have promised ongoing support and have already begun responding to player feedback, which has been appreciated by the community.

In summary, Skate is a promising but imperfect revival of a beloved franchise. The skating itself is fun and faithful to the series’ roots, but the surrounding package still needs work to capture what made the earlier entries cult classics. If Full Circle delivers on its promises, skate. has the potential to become the definitive evolution of the series.