Skatesterre review – A Tony Hawk’s wannabe that falls short

It’ll likely be a long time before we get a brand new Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game. That’s if we ever get one. It’s perhaps for that reason that Skatesterre exists. Developed by the amusingly named Goon Squad and published by Headup, this fast-paced arcade game featuring Dutch surf and skater star Sterre Meijer tries to capture the magic of the aforementioned series, but unfortunately falls short.

If you’ve ever played a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game, you’ll feel right at home with Skatesterre. Jump into its Career mode and you’ll find you initially only have one location available to you – a factory – and only by completing multiple of the objectives available will you be able to open up more. You can probably guess the nature of those objectives, too: in addition to meeting score targets, you’re also required to do things such as collect objects and pull off certain tricks in the right locations.

They say imitation is a form of flattery, and it’s clear that Goon Squad really loves Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, with Skatesterre even having a two-minute time limit for each run. Add in a near identical control scheme, and a casual gamer could mistake it for the real thing at a glance. But there are some differences here, and unfortunately none of them are good.

Some of the differences are fairly minor, and perhaps don’t really impact your enjoyment of it all that much, such as the fact that there’s no Special gauge, and with it no outlandish special tricks to perform. There are no stat pick-ups to hunt down, either; with only Sterre as a playable character, she starts essentially fully maxed out, giving you access to her full capabilities from the outset. You do unlock customisation items as you play, though, allowing you to change her outfit and the design of her skateboard.

The real problem with Skatesterre is that it just doesn’t feel anywhere near as good to play as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. A lack of polish means that its mechanics don’t feel as tight and rewarding. And when it comes to the controls, they just don’t feel as responsive as you’d expect them to be at times. Plus, if you come to a stop, you can’t get moving again unless you hold the ollie button, which is a strange decision.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and its many sequels are the successes they are because their controls are finely tuned and their mechanics polished to the point where if you mess up a trick or a combo you know it’s on you. That’s not the case with Skatesterre. So, while it means well, and offers a similar experience at its core, after playing it you’ll likely just want to download and play one of the remastered Tony Hawk’s collections again. What’s more, you’ll definitely have more fun with either of them, making Skatesterre rather redundant considering it doesn’t have anything unique to offer.