Skate City

A simple game with a new control scheme to get used to, Skate City is no frills fun. Yet rather than sounding detrimental, the chill vibe it brings to addictive arcade gameplay is a welcome addition to the handful of skateboarding games on the market.

It’s about as relaxing as skateboarding games get, so if you just feel like losing yourself and forgetting your worries in a sun-bleached world, this is the place to do it.

Balancing a 50/50 between overly simple indie and pro skater itself, Skate City doesn’t offer anything we haven’t seen before. However, its intuitive controls, presentation, and overall flow of gameplay make it endlessly replayable.

Skate City may have simple origins but it fits very well on the Nintendo Switch. While short, and certainly not a groundbreaking game, this skateboarding experience does a great job on its new home, thanks to slick controls, a wide variety of moves, and a great visual environment. While the experience is rather short, fans of skateboarding will certainly find Skate City worth looking into.

It’s a laid back, short session skateboarding game with a great style. Unfortunately, it does feel like a mobile game with its simplistic gameplay loop, reused challenges, and few maps. Despite its limitations, I found myself returning over and over again to try to 3-star every challenge long after I maxed out my stats. That’s what Skate City brings to the table. A breezy, no-stress experience that’s addicting for 15-minute intervals. If you are looking for some low pressure coffee shop skateboarding, this is the game for you.

Skate City is a calm game that is ideal for those who like casual games. It has simple controls, requiring only the analog stick to be moved to do the tricks. Despite being fun, the game has mediocre performance and short content.

Skate City also arrives on Nintendo Switch, and in a fairly good conversion.

It almost feels unfair to poke away a game that’s all about being chill and just having a good time. I definitely had a fair amount of fun in Skate City, but it never really felt substantial enough to really get stuck in. On a phone, I could definitely see the appeal of jumping into the game whilst sitting on a bus and trying to nail a challenge, but on the Nintendo Switch, I don’t think it fits as well. If you’re looking for a chill skating game with simple mechanics, this might be for you, but if you’re looking for depth and a longer shelf life then I’d wait for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.

Skate City is a laid back, chilled out alternative to the more hectic skateboarding action of the likes of Roll7's OlliOlli series. The various tricks and skills here won't take you long to master, putting together little runs through Los Angeles, Oslo and Barcelona feels satisfying and the overall aesthetic suits the rather simple, straightforward nature of proceedings. However, there's an undeniable lack of actual challenge and variety here, alongside a few niggling framerate issues on Switch, that result in a game that's reasonable enough value for a quick bash, especially given its budget price point, but one that won't last anyone beyond the most avid of skateboarding fans for much longer than a couple of hours.