Full CircleIt might not feel like it, but it’s been 15 years since the last Skate game was released. However, thanks to the advent of social media (and Xbox’s backwards compatibility program), the legacy of 2010’s Skate 3 remained ever-present for far longer than anyone expected. From hilarious memes starring Jesus himself to genuinely impressive stunts, the series never felt like it truly left despite consistent demands for a new Skate game.Well, some five years after it was first announced, that dream fourth Skate game has finally arrived. Things are different this time around. Skate is now a free-to-play game in early access. It’s also changed its look and structure quite a bit from what people may remember. But in the places where it truly counts, Skate is a mostly faithful and fun follow-up, even if some cumbersome kinks need to be ironed out in the months and years leading up to its 1.0 release.If you’re out of the loop on what makes the Skate series tick, it's simple. It’s a skateboarding game with a unique control scheme meant to replicate the feeling of skating more accurately than something as arcadey as the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. Players use the analog sticks to control their feet and body, allowing them fine control over flipping the board under them, and pulling off other complex stunts. The result is a game that perfectly captures the expressive, at times, meditative side of the sport.If you’re familiar with any of the previous Skate games at all, you’ll feel right at home in the new one. The game may have a slightly exaggerated art style compared to the realism of what came before it, but its control scheme and physics are unchanged. If you’re not, the game does a decent job catching you up to speed with a tutorial, and even offers new players a simplified control scheme if the old one proves to be a bit complex.I’d advise against simplifying the controls, but I do think it was smart to include the option. It’s clear that the new developer has been paying attention to the virality of the last game in the series, and Skate seems built around getting players to have that kind of fun quickly. On top of making the game easier to get into than ever, it’s built an open world map to accommodate the wildest of imaginations. The fictional city of San Vansterdam is a skating paradise whose every inch feels like it was custom-built to be a perfect skate spot. Sloped roads, hidden backyard pools, and conspicuously skatable construction sites are just a few of the discoveries I found, and they were all a joy to trick off of.The new game also adds an Assassin’s Creed-like parkour system that lets you get off your board and climb nearly anything. This means the game's coolest spots aren’t limited to the street level. Some of my favorite parts of the map to skate on are tucked away atop skyscrapers. There’s something magical about finding an area that feels like it's undiscovered.Realism is not a burden that Skate concerns itself with. | Full CircleIt’s here that I believe Skate succeeds. In a way that’s true to the sport, Skate is a very laid-back experience. There are challenges scattered throughout the city, which reward you with currency to spend at the in-game shop for cosmetics. But none of it gets in the way of the pure gameplay loop that is exploring in search of the perfect spot, and doing cool stuff. One of the biggest concerns about Skate going free-to-play was how it could impact this core tenet of the series. And thankfully, developer Full Circle wisely let it be.But it’s not all sunshine and laser flips. The transition to becoming a free-to-play, persistently online game does have its drawbacks. It’s been around two weeks since launch, and the game is clearly having a tough time handling its popularity. It’s fairly common to have to wait 10 to 15 minutes to get into an instance during peak hours. Server maintenance can also be an inconvenience that renders the game unplayable for hours at a time. This wouldn’t be an issue if the game had an offline mode like its predecessors, but that does not exist at this point in the game’s existence, and probably won’t for a while. The online requirement does add a sense of scale to the game, as you’ll always see other players shredding alongside you. But that opens the door to griefing and immersion-breaking. As you’ve undoubtedly seen on social media since launch, Skate’s community has an identity crisis. While some players are all in on beating score challenges using tricks one can pull off in real life, Skate has also embraced the ridiculousness of the series’ viral TikToks. Exploiting the game’s parkour to gain speed boosts isn’t a happy accident like the old games, but is seemingly encouraged. The ability to glide when free-falling from high up has essentially added flying to the game, letting you maximize your potential for insane trick opportunities. While it doesn’t bother me, sharing online spaces with players who spend more time flying than skating will extinguish any sense of immersion that Skate could have had for certain players.As thrilling as the skating can be, the same can’t be said about the game’s cosmetics. It’s very early in the game’s lifespan. But so far, I couldn’t be bothered to visit the in-game store. Customization options are very grounded to the point of being kind of boring. While the inclusion of modern skate culture and fashion lends a bit of credibility to the experience, it’ll be negligible for those not as tapped in. Being forced to unlock these cosmetics via loot boxes sucked all the interest I had in the game’s rewards very early on. Hopefully, that’s something they work on adjusting.Which brings me to my list of things I hope to see change in future updates. For some reason, the game defaults to playing in silence. It’s a shame, as its 95-song licensed soundtrack is probably the year’s best. It’s a baffling decision that actively hinders the game’s chill vibe. Vert skating seems underbaked this early on, proving just how much emphasis was put on ensuring ludicrous, physics-breaking stunts over the basics of the sport. Vert skating feels like an afterthought in Skate. | Full CircleLastly, while I do enjoy the skating oasis that is San Vansterdam, the city needs a few rough edges. Sterility haunts every moment of Skate. There are no threats, such as the security guards that will kick you out of private areas, like in the first two games. All of the game’s NPCs lack actual personality (literally, as your main companion is an AI). Even falling off your skateboard lacks any consequence, as the game strangely explains away all injuries. All of this can make the game feel a little stale, as if all the series' personality and humor have been sanded away to capture as many players as possible. For a sport that centers self-expression and individuality as much as skateboarding, Skate’s sanitized approach to literally everything feels wildly out of touch with skate culture.Ultimately, though, Skate succeeds in updating the series' winning formula for a newer generation. If the game weren’t in early access, I would be disappointed that this is the game we got after 15 years. But as a starting point for a live service skating game, I’m happy to see such a faithful reimagining of what this beloved series has always been about at its core.Skate is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.