

However, with that being said, if the developers get another innings, I would play a SkateBIRD 2 without a moment’s hesitation, and I would fully expect that the developers would deliver having had this experience. SkateBIRD’s story, which revolves around improving the life of the birds’ human pal, does a pretty good job of offering justification for missions, and the script has its share of funny moments. SkateBIRD is a brilliant idea and it takes a big, heaving swing at it. This game may star winged skateboarders, but it never manages to get off the ground.
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One mission required bouncing off a vent fan – something you’re taught at the beginning of the section, with no ability to reference it again – and I spent a solid hour trying to work out how to do it correctly.įrom the big things, like its camera and level design, to the smaller quality of life features – like including a way to relearn moves after the solitary time they’re first introduced – SkateBIRD is hampered by consistent fumbles. But if you forget how to do anything slightly more complicated, you’re out of luck. There are tutorials in the menu on the basics, like how to ollie, kick flip, grab trip, etc. These problems are compounded by the fact that SkateBIRD has no move list for players to reference, so if you forgot how to do a trick, good luck. When a late game mission required me to complete four objectives in a row without bailing, I almost set the controller down at the sheer impossibility of the request. The result is that it’s much easier to fall off your board than it is to string a few tricks together. Even after I felt like I had a solid handle on the mechanics, I was constantly falling over invisible bumps on the ground, or ramps that, for some reason, began an imperceptible inch above the floor. The best thing I can say about it is that it will give you a new-found appreciation for the elegance of a THPS stage. It runs around the screen like one of our hero’s barnyard cousins with its head cut off. The way the camera freaks out is almost nauseating. It’s constantly getting stuck on geometry, especially in the opening stage, which is set in the bedroom of your bird’s big human friend.
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SkateBIRD has the worst camera that I’ve dealt with in a game in years it’s straight out of the PS2 era. Īlso, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.But there’s more to the bird than the sheen of the plumage, and the debut game from Glass Bottom Games is dealing with a pair of clipped wings. Follow us on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Besides, who doesn’t want to see a bird do sick tricks on a skateboard?Ī Nintendo Switch review copy of SkateBIRD was provided by Glass Bottom Games for this review.
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If you love Skateboarding games such as SkaterXL, The Ramp, Session, or the old-school Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games, then I think you’ll find a lot to love in Skatebird. I might not be very good at Skatebird, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know a fun, wholesome experience when I see it. You can also choose multiple different bird species, to really nail your custom skateboarding avian friend. The outfits are all super cute and allow you to personalize your bird to whatever your style is. The music was made specifically for the game and has a Hip-Hop Lo-Fi-type feel to it. As you progress through the levels you can get new outfits and music to customize your experience. The accessibility options are vital though because, between that and the options to make the text more easily read, I think a lot of different types of players could enjoy this game. The controls themselves aren’t super complicated, but for people (like myself) that may not have super fast reflexes, I could see some folks struggling. However, the developers added a slew of accessibility options that allow you to bind multiple actions/tricks to the Ollie button, which makes it easier to execute certain tricks. In truth, I’m not the most coordinated player. Grinding is particularly tricky since you have to carefully balance while maintaining momentum. These quests can be timed and usually involve skating to a specific point, which may require you to master grinding or some other skill in order to reach the item or thing you need. Certain obstacles can only be traversed with a higher fancy meter.Īs you play, you’ll have a variety of quests to undertake, such as finding your human’s phone charger. Your speed is tied to the “FANCY” meter, which fills as you pull off tricks without falling off your board. You can pull off all sorts of tricks, similarly to other popular skating games. You control your bird on a skateboard, traveling around Skate Park areas made out of things like straws, cardboard, staplers, tape, and more. Gameplay is simple in theory but more difficult in practice.
