![]() It's a simple offering, and one that doesn't really hold up quite as well here given the Switch version's rather muddy visuals, but it's still nice to see its inclusion. To top all of this off, Skate City also comes with a photo mode where you can place your skater around levels, pause, zoom and tilt in order to capture your tricks, skills and whatever clothing you've happened to purchase from the game's skate shop. You'll also need to fork out for each and every one of the eight special board skills available if you're wanting to 100% each area, as you'll be tasked with the likes of pulling off Airwalks over sets of stairs or even performing Melon Grabs over picnic tables, which isn't nearly as raunchy as it sounds, we promise. ![]() There are also thirty bespoke challenges to take on per location within this endless mode and it's here you'll need to spend accumulated points in order to rank up your abilities if you're to fully succeed - you're not gonna land that Nollie Heelflip BS 540 if you haven't maxed out your spin ability, for example. Types of challenges on offer range from the usual (pulling off of a range of specified tricks and besting of set scores) to more unique stuff (like running away from the local cops, racing against a CPU challenger and even putting your skills to the test by avoiding pedestrians by hopping onto grindable rails and walls in order to get out of the way before you send yourself and any hapless bystanders sprawling across the asphalt).īeyond these challenges, each city also comes complete with an endless mode where you can feel free to just chill out, explore environments for potential trick spots and practice your moves. Having said that, there is a nice flow to how these locations progress the game's difficulty, with Los Angeles introducing you to the basics, giving you a tour through the various types of challenge on offer, before Oslo and Barcelona slowly begin to crank up the heat with a little more complexity introduced to the feats you're expected to nail. However, it's also one that results in locations that feel a bit too similar to play through, with very little in the way of surprises or even switching up of the game's atmosphere - besides a basic day/night cycle - as you traverse each of the three areas on offer. With muted colours, very little in the way of detail and a breezy, minimalist soundtrack that matches the look and feel of what's happening on-screen, Skate City rolls with an aesthetic that gives the whole thing an appropriately chilled skater vibe. It's all pretty intuitive stuff and, once you've got the hang of a few moves and a feeling for how tricks flow into one another, it feels pretty great to put together little runs through Los Angeles, Oslo and Barcelona, pulling off combos, nailing jumps, grinding rails and discovering new ways in which to bend the simple environments to your will - and the environments here, from a gameplay and stylistic point of view, really are rather simple spartan, even. Originally released on Apple Arcade back in 2019, Skate City is certainly a rather slight affair, with just three small locations to ollie, nollie and grind your way around but, with all-important online leaderboards present and correct alongside a handful of unlockable special tricks, upgradeable skills and a skate shop from which to purchase trendy gear for your little ragdoll avatar, there's still a decent amount of fun here for avid skaters to sink their teeth into, especially given the game's budget price. This is a much more relaxed affair and one that, for the most part, sells its dreamlike, laid back take on urban skate action rather well. There's no precisely timed landing of tricks required here, no sweaty palms, complex combos or finger-twisting barrages of inputs to worry about. ![]() If you've been hankering for a little 2D side-scrolling skateboard action but Roll7's OlliOlli series is just a bit too hardcore for your liking, Agens and Room 8's Skate City might just be right up your vert ramp. ![]() Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
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