PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

040

PREVIEW

“THE USE OF PHYSICS

RATHER THAN

BOTTLED ANIMATIONS

GIVES YOU THE

FREEDOM TO EXPLORE

ITS SKATING SYSTEM.”

Above The visuals have a pared-back simplicity that ensures realism. Above The world is your stunt-ground, so get out there and grind.

Skateboarding games have slowly

backflipped off PlayStation. But we still

remember the pain of ragdoll trial-and-

error in EA’s Skate and Tony Hawk’s Pro

Skater, and our inner baggy-trousered masochist

wants those feels again.

Fortunately for us, and our need for board-based

punishment, Skater XL is gliding onto PS4 and is

set to revolutionise the world of skate games all over

again. Like Skate it’s aiming for total realism, but it’s

also dodging traditional videogame skater-isms to

offer something a little more artistic.

“The game is unique in that it doesn’t have any

tricks programmed into it, only control of movement

through the thumbsticks,” reveals Easy Day Studios’

director Dain Hedgpeth on the PlayStation Blog. To

be short and sweet, Skater XL lets you control the

character’s feet using the respective thumbsticks –

the right stick controls the right foot; the left stick

controls the left foot.

The use of physics rather than bottled animations

gives you the freedom to explore its boundless

skating system – essential if you want to pull off

all those neat tricks and combos. Skater XL feels

like the true successor to Skate. The physics-based

controls are consistent through all areas of the game,

ensuring you need to actively learn and master tricks

just as you would if you got on a board in real life.

It means there’s room for artistic licence, space to

invent new moves. We’re looking forward to Skater

XL’s artistic discipline more than we should.

This game’s begging

for a photo mode –

fish-eye lens a must.

Each stick controls a foot,

so you can skate as in real

life and create new moves.

Above Skate XL looks beautiful – it also looks incredibly difficult. Is this the

soulsborne of skate games? [Stop it, stop it right now! – ed]

SKATER XL

Putting its best feet forwards

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2020

PUB EASY DAY STUDIOS / DEV EASY DAY STUDIOS