Skater XL

About

Skater XL is a single player and multiplayer open world sport game. It was developed by Easy Day Studios Pty Ltd and was released on July 28, 2020. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

Skater XL is the evolution of skateboarding games and moves the genre towards expressive, physics-based gameplay. Players will experience unparalleled board control and responsiveness while they skate legendary real-world skate spots. With ground-breaking and intuitive controls, skateboarding in a video game has never felt more authentic, fluid, and responsive.

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 12,639 reviews

gameplay283 positive mentions

story87 negative mentions

gameplay
805 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
59%
6%
The gameplay of Skater XL is characterized by its innovative mechanics, allowing for a high degree of control and realism in executing tricks, which many players find addictive and rewarding. However, the game suffers from a lack of content, bugs, and clunky controls that can lead to frustrating experiences, particularly in transition skating. While the modding community enhances the gameplay significantly, the base game is often viewed as incomplete, with players expressing a desire for more updates and features to fully realize its potential.
- “The gameplay is really good, makes you think about the tricks themselves first and later about the location, pretty good physics and easy to understand.”
- “The mechanics are so much more fun and dynamic compared to any other skate game out there.”
- “The gameplay itself is fantastic, fluid, steezy, rewarding and a blast to play.”
- “A barebones game with unrefined mechanics, it fails to capture the essence of skateboarding or provide an engaging experience out of the box.”
- “Gameplay is completely bare bones and lackluster even after all the updates.”
- “The gameplay itself is, however, very solid and shows a ton of promise despite the many physics bugs.”
graphics
363 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visuals as "amazing" and "beautiful," particularly when enhanced with mods, while others criticize them as outdated or lacking polish, comparing them to older console graphics. Many users note that while the graphics can be decent, they often suffer from bugs and performance issues, leading to a consensus that improvements are needed, especially in the vanilla version. Overall, the game's graphics are seen as a strong point when modded, but they fall short in the base game experience.
- “The controls are intuitive and the graphics are stunning, making for a truly immersive experience.”
- “The graphics are actually really nice, the shading on some maps is just amazing.”
- “This game is the perfect skating game for PC, with good graphics, a really active modding community, and just a great game in general.”
- “Terrible graphics and physics.”
- “Vanilla graphics look like something from a day one PS2 game.”
- “The graphics are terrible, Skate 2 looks better, and you can get off your board in both Session and Skate 2 & 3.”
story
318 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
66%
27%
The reviews overwhelmingly indicate that the game lacks a traditional story mode, objectives, or meaningful challenges, which many players find disappointing. While some appreciate the free skate experience and realistic mechanics, there is a strong desire for the inclusion of a narrative or structured gameplay elements to enhance engagement. Overall, the absence of a story is seen as a significant drawback, with many reviewers expressing hope for future updates that might introduce such features.
- “This is the best skate sim but not the best skate game; if there was an attempt to add some kind of story mode to the game, it would easily take the crown.”
- “For me, a skating game needs some sort of motivator, and that can either appear in the form of interesting challenges, some sort of economy to let you purchase gear, or even just some amount of story to give you a sense of progression and/or a reason to explore spots that the developers have laid out for you to discover.”
- “I would love to see a story mode of some sorts.”
- “There is no story, no good challenges, and it is not worth the $40.”
- “However, there is no story to speak of, no challenges, and no real in-game goal to reach.”
- “If you're looking for a story mode and the depth of features in previous skateboarding titles, then this game isn't there yet.”
stability
260 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting significant bugs, glitches, and incomplete mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Many players note that while the game can be fun and has great potential, it often feels like a "buggy mess" that requires extensive modding to enhance playability. Despite some positive remarks about the controls and physics, the consensus is that the game remains unpolished and frustratingly unstable, especially for its price point.
- “Smooth, generally bug-free, perfect for those who enjoy the rock up and session a spot type of skating.”
- “After a few updates, this game is smooth, runs great; honestly, it's shaping up to be pretty great.”
- “Great game and runs great on laptops; also, the modding community is super nice and the game is awesome.”
- “This game is a buggy mess where the developers refuse to even try fixing the damn game.”
- “The game is buggy as hell and has very little content.”
- “The developers are lazy and there are plenty of glitches within the game.”
music
208 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the soundtrack's nostalgic vibe and its alignment with skate culture, featuring artists like Modest Mouse and Interpol. However, several users criticize the limited selection, noting that it can become repetitive and suggesting the option to customize playlists or add more tracks. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the chill experience of skating, it lacks variety and depth, leading some players to prefer listening to their own music instead.
- “Great game, awesome maps, real skate feel... amazing soundtrack too!!!”
- “I love this game because I can listen to my audiobooks or my music productions while I play.”
- “The soundtrack is the perfect blend of rock/rap/alternative that truly complements the experience.”
- “Wasted my time downloading this 5 gig game that could probably be 900mb, the animations alone put me off and don't get me started with the music.”
- “The soundtrack is very limited and gets repetitive and annoying really quickly.”
- “The music is outrageously boring and if this isn't early access and the final product, please trust me you are spending $40 for a game that will entertain you for a half an hour.”
grinding
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
14%
82%
The grinding mechanics in the game are a mixed bag, with many players finding them clunky and inconsistent, often leading to frustrating experiences. While some enjoy the challenge and potential for creativity in grinding, others criticize the physics and controls, noting issues like awkward animations and a lack of responsiveness. Overall, grinding can be satisfying for those willing to invest time, but it requires patience due to its current technical shortcomings.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Everything feels clunky and grinding seems broken.”
- “Grinding doesn't feel right.”
- “The game's grinding system just feels awkward and leads to weird situations such as getting stuck on the coping of a ramp or being able to grind the flat parts of ledges that shouldn't be grindable.”
humor
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely derived from its unrealistic physics and numerous glitches, which often lead to hilarious ragdoll falls and unexpected character antics. Players find joy in the game's comedic elements, such as funny bugs and the absurdity of certain animations, making it a source of laughter despite its technical shortcomings. Overall, while the game may not excel in realism, it provides ample entertainment through its lighthearted and humorous gameplay experience.
- “Without the mods, the game is so unrealistic that it's genuinely funny.”
- “I find so much satisfaction in setting up a line for areas I find, recording the sick tricks on the video editor, and catch myself laughing out loud when my guy just bails or launches in hilarious ways.”
- “The bugs that appear (of course there are gonna be some, it's early access) are more funny than annoying, and don't ruin the fun of the game at all.”
optimization
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
36%
30%
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting high CPU and GPU usage even on low settings, leading to poor performance and stuttering issues. Despite some users noting decent performance on specific setups, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, particularly for lower-end PCs, and has not seen significant improvements in years. Many players express frustration over the lack of developer responsiveness to optimization concerns, resulting in a disappointing experience.
- “Smooth, optimized gameplay.”
- “Performance is super solid and the graphics look pretty decent; however, there are mods that take it to a whole new level with very little performance loss.”
- “Great game/mechanics, very good optimization.”
- “This game is horribly optimized. I have a 3060 and on very low settings it was using 60-70% of my GPU and constantly using at least 80% of my CPU. I feel as if I should be given a refund because this game is almost unplayable.”
- “The game lacks optimization and runs horribly even with a 3900X and an RTX 3080.”
- “For a game that is well into its development cycle, this game is poorly optimized and lackluster in base content.”
monetization
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
2%
95%
The monetization aspect of the game has been widely criticized as a cash grab, with many users expressing frustration over the developers' lack of engagement and failure to deliver meaningful content updates. Players feel that the reliance on community mods to enhance the game experience highlights the developers' neglect, leading to a perception that the game is unfinished and primarily designed to extract money from players. Overall, the sentiment is that the game could have been a standout title in the skateboarding genre, but its monetization strategy has left many feeling disappointed and undervalued.
- “I hope this game avoids microtransactions considering players did purchase the game, so we shouldn't have to pay for cosmetics.”
- “Skater XL had potential, but the devs decided to make it a cash grab.”
- “Not recommending this simply because the studio behind this game used it as a cash grab, and are depending on the community to make content for them, while ignoring basic requests (stats menu).”
- “But this game is treated like a cheap cash grab and the devs aren't doing anything to change that.”
replayability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
47%
10%
The game's replayability is significantly enhanced by a vibrant modding community, which offers extensive customization options and custom maps, providing players with virtually limitless replay value. While the base game may feel limited at times, the ability to mod and create unique experiences keeps players engaged long-term. Overall, the combination of satisfying gameplay and community-driven content makes it a highly replayable skateboarding simulation.
- “The vast customization options, including different skateboard brands and customization of tricks, add to the game's replay value.”
- “The game's replayability comes from the modding community around the game.”
- “Since release, a myriad of mods have become available, allowing users to tweak finer aspects of the character's movement, such as pop height, push and spin speed, etc. Additionally, the mod community has been working hard on releasing a ton of custom maps, giving this game (even while in early access) infinite replayability.”
- “All in all, my experience of Skater XL on release is identical to my experience with early access: it's an extremely fun arcade-like experience in the short-term, but for long-term replayability, mods are absolutely necessary.”
- “Now that Easy Day has basically banned him from creating, the game will fall back in line as an average and boring skate game without his help in creating variety in physics and replayability.”
- “Once again, it's left to the community to add replayability to a game intrinsically designed to be based on replayability.”
emotional
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional responses to the game are mixed, with some players expressing nostalgia and joy in mastering skating tricks, while others feel frustrated by the game's numerous bugs and clunky mechanics. Many appreciate the wholesome community surrounding the game, but the overall sentiment is marred by dissatisfaction with the game's technical issues and lack of content. Ultimately, it evokes a sense of both fondness for the skating culture and disappointment in the execution.
- “Hats off to Easy Day for making such a solid game and a heartfelt love letter to the skating community.”
- “Some of the button inputs and using the analog sticks for tricks and movement took me some time to get used to, but focusing on the controls and coordination made me feel like I was a kid learning to skate again (not gonna lie, I was pretty hyped after landing my first 360 flip) and I already feel like I've got the hang of it to the point where I can enjoy the game.”
- “Good, wholesome fun.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The atmosphere in the game is polarizing; while some players appreciate the vibrant culture and engaging environments, others criticize the lack of depth and immersion, citing poor graphics and animations that detract from the overall experience. Enthusiasts of skateboarding culture may find enjoyment, but many feel the game lacks the necessary polish and fluidity to create a compelling atmosphere.
- “You definitely will benefit from loving the culture and atmosphere of skateboarding if you want to play Skater XL; and if you're looking for an even more hardcore (but less fluid) experience, try out Session.”
- “It has a lot of atmosphere and interesting points to skate around.”
- “Multiplayer would be nice and a relaxing atmosphere.”
- “Not atmosphere whatsoever.”
- “No atmosphere.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Character development in the game has received mixed feedback, with some players appreciating the potential for customization through community-made content, while others criticize the lack of depth and narrative. Although the character design is seen as basic compared to older titles, the game's early access status leaves room for improvement and expansion, particularly in features like a character creator and more diverse environments. Overall, while the game shows promise, it currently feels limited in character development and storytelling.
- “The story and character development is beyond expectations.”
- “Great new entry into the skate genre. Since it is very early in development, there are some technical issues, but if you overlook that, this game is extremely promising. It also has great moddability with the ability to add additional parks, skateboards, and character designs.”
- “I'm sure this didn't have good sponsorships or something, but I found better character design in games 15 years old.”
- “This game has so much potential, but at the moment it's more like an expensive demo. It's fun, but after a few hours of doing the same gaps and tricks over and over again, it kind of got boring. I can't wait for more maps. I'd love to see a create-a-skater or a park builder. I still dig this game and I love it, but I don't know how to feel at this point. It's fun and looks nice, the game is smooth. It's kind of a shame there is no story, but that's fine. The map, even for early access, is a bit small. There are a bunch of areas people could see that you could go, like a parking lot and a street. You guys are doing an awesome job, so keep it up. Also, I feel like your character design was made with MakeHuman.”
- “This game will be great if/when they add more maps, tracks, parks to skate on, and maybe a character designer.”