Session: Skate Sim

 PlayStation 5
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
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  1. Game Rant
    Sep 26, 2022
    30
    Session: Skate Sim is a skate simulation that was very clearly designed with skaters in mind. From the extremely involved control scheme to the perfectly captured recreation of skate culture, the game seems like it was never intended to be a gateway for non-skaters to get into the sport. But the bugs, difficulty, general lack of fun, and incomplete state of the game make it difficult to recommend Session to its target audience as well. Some gamers may be able to break through the learning curve and appreciate the thoroughness put into creating such an involved skate sim, but at the end of the day, it's simply not fun.
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  1. Eurogamer
    Sep 30, 2022
    Imperfect, unkind, and rough round the edges, Session captures more of real skateboarding than almost any game that has come before.

User Reviews

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User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 7 out of 12
  1. fallacies
    Sep 25, 2022
    1
    I played this game on pc when it was still in early access and I liked it, but as a complete version 1.0, I can't accept it. There is too muchI played this game on pc when it was still in early access and I liked it, but as a complete version 1.0, I can't accept it. There is too much wrong with it. They programmed the skater to be regular and if you try to make your skater goofy they just give you a regular skater who is skating switch. I chose my skater to be goofy and as soon as the game started I was like "why is his footing so weird?" Well, that's why.

    One of the first missions is to do a trick on a manual pad that has a curve in it. Turning while manualing is so incredibly frustrating. The triggers just don't feel right for turning no matter how you adjust the settings, and he seems to just give up and put all 4 wheels down arbitrarily, despite me still holding the stick in the manual position. So why did they choose a curved manual pad for the location of their 2nd mission? Did they want to showcase how broken the game is? I finally did a manual kickflip out on it in hardcore mode and I wanted to pull out my hair by the time I landed it. Like many things in this game, it would have been easier to learn the trick in real life. THE GAME DIDN"T EVEN RECOGNIZE THAT I DID THEIR CHALLENGE! Then I did it again but this time I put 4 wheels down by accident before kickflipping off the ledge and then it recognized it as a make. That happened a bunch of times on the previous challenge too. I did like 4 nosemanuals and then on the last one I hit my back wheels on the way out and it recognized that one.

    Character models look really bad. You meet Mark Appleyard and he looks like a bum, then they show you the photo of him (there is no voice acting, just static photos with text) and you wonder how they made such a hideous in game model of such a handsome guy.

    Controls are way too finicky and don't give you feedback about what you're doing wrong, nor does the tutorial go in depth about the subtleties of the (questionable) game mechanics. For instance, I can't seem to frontside crooked grind without heelflipping out. Eventually I figured out that you have to pop out at the opposite angle that you're locked in, but even knowing that, he still heelflips out most of the time because it's so finnicky about the angle. It just feels broken in so many ways. If you try to do a line with quick footing, the game just doesn't respond to what you want to do. If you don't stay crouched long enough before you pop, the skater will just shuffle his feet to the front of the board to set up for a nollie. This game needs WAY more playtesting, fine tuning, and quality control.

    I'm more than happy to revise my review down the line because there are things I like about this game, but I'm offended that it's being a released as a complete game, and it's broken-ness extremely apparent even seconds into playing, that's why I'm giving this abysmal score. The game is decent as an early access game, but don't tell me this game was ready for launch. As much as I want to try and show love to smaller studios, this is a prime example of why bigger studios dominate the market.    … Full Review »
  2. Jt0429
    Sep 26, 2022
    6
    Good-
    Great physics-driven systems; plenty of moves and tricks to master; great gameplay customization.
    Bad- Lackluster story mode; bland    Good-
    Great physics-driven systems; plenty of moves and tricks to master; great gameplay customization.

    Bad-
    Lackluster story mode; bland visual presentation; steep learning curve.

    Thoughts-
    In conclusion, Session: Skate Sim is a hardcore simulation game which means it might not probably appeal to anyone not willing to spend dozens of hours in trying to understand the many nuances of this complex web of mechanics and physics. On the flip side, the bland visual presentation and the lackluster story campaign will put off even the most ardent fans of the genre.    … Full Review »
  3. MyInitialsAreMT
    Sep 25, 2022
    3
    The character customization is humorously lacking and basically unacceptable in 2022. The controls do not feel intuitive at all. I had highThe character customization is humorously lacking and basically unacceptable in 2022. The controls do not feel intuitive at all. I had high hopes, which just makes the drop-off even more pronounced. I couldn't be more disappointed in this game.… Full Review »
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