Skate 4 Needs To Make Its Open-World Feel Alive

thegamer.com:

It’s no secret that we have been asking for a new entry to EA’s Skate series for over a decade, and in 2020 we finally got confirmation that it was in the works. Now, a few years on, we’re hoping that the big reveal is right around the corner, and everyone has their wants and expectations going in. The world itself could do with a big overhaul compared to the older games, and that’s the top of my personal wishlist of changes for this series.

There’s no doubt that the skateboarding will be great - it’s been excellent in each prior entry, so that’s going to be the easy bit. What will be more difficult is making the game feel like it can fit in with every other modern open-world game, and last for years to come. Skate 2 featured one big open-world, and Skate 3 had multiple maps to explore, but in both games, everything felt a little… dull. Games have moved on a lot since Skate 3, and the new game needs to make sure it keeps up with fan expectations.

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In the arduous wait for Skate 4, other teams have tackled the medium to try to fill that space. Session and Skater XL are two notable games that continue to evolve and try their hand at the genre. However, even though they have both added so much over a few years and put their own spin on the skateboarding genre, they have both fallen into the same trap - the skating is great, but the worlds are so bland. Maybe this will change over time, and skating is the priority in a skateboarding game, but Skate 4 needs to make sure it avoids this pitfall altogether.

EA’s new entry in the Skate series promises a large open-world to explore and skate freely. This sounds exciting, but it really needs to step it up from Skate 3 - you’d