Nothing is more satisfying than kicking off with your skateboard and clearing a gap or pulling off a trick you’ve been practicing for weeks. Skateboarding takes an immeasurable amount of skill, coordination, and patience. If you can do it, kudos to you. But when you aren’t skinning your knees from a failed grind, perhaps consider playing one of the 10 best skateboarding video games. Maybe it’ll give you a few ideas for your next trick?
10 Best Skateboarding Video Games
Skate City
Not every skateboarding game needs to involve collecting letters or racking up the highest score; Skate City is super-chill, just like the people who love skateboarding in real life.
It takes a small departure from typical skateboarding games by being a side-scroller. Skate City drops you right into a level, you enjoy the view, and perform a few tricks along the way. And if you want to turn up the heat, try out the in-game challenges.
Skate 3
Skate, to some, is seen as a spiritual successor to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, at least to some degree. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater definitely has a more arcade feel to it, whereas Skate leaned heavily into a more realistic skateboarding experience. It’s essentially the difference between dumb, goofy fun and a serious simulator. And since EA has already confirmed Skate 4 being in development, now is the time to revisit Skate 3 or the series as a whole.
The Ramp
Just about every skateboarding video game on this list has some level of preparation and expectation. Only a few are perfect for dropping in for a few minutes. The Ramp is one of those games, a small, casual experience.
In terms of content, The Ramp doesn’t provide much. To be fair, it was developed by a single person. The joy you get out of The Ramp is what skateboarding is all about: nailing that tricky move you’ve been practicing for weeks.
OlliOlli
Similar to Skate City, OlliOlli presents another venture into skateboarding that’s a little calmer and laid back but with a dash of arcade qualities. It’s just you, your board, and long stretches of urban environment to mark.
There’s more of an emphasis on scoring; otherwise, you won’t be reaching the next level. Part of the fun, other than scoring big, is how it challenges you to make the most of an area. If you fall in love with OlliOlli, check out the sequels, too.
SkateBIRD
SkateBIRD is just a lovely combination of skateboarding love and, well, birds. You’re just a regular-sized bird grinding on rails with a skateboard no bigger than a Tech Deck.
Other than being a cute bird—which you can customize, by the way—the levels are cleverly designed with the size of the bird in mind. For example, hopping off the end of rulers or doing tricks inside of a bookcase. For a wholesome experience, try SkateBIRD.
Skateboard Park Tycoon: Back in the USA 2004
There have been a handful of skateboarding video games that give you a fair number of tools for creating your own skateparks. Skateboard Park Tycoon: Back in the USA 2004 takes that up a notch.
At least half of your time will be spent creating the perfect skatepark. You’re welcome to test it out and ride around yourself, but the overarching goal is to please skateboarders that attend. If you can look past its dated skateboarding mechanics (they’re a bit clunky) and like managing your own park, boot up Skateboard Park Tycoon 2004 Back In The USA.
OlliOlli World
Roll7 took what they created with OlliOlli, gave it a colorful, whacky coat of paint, and gave us OlliOlli World. The game presents skateboarding in just the right light, not just in terms of gameplay, but as a culture as well. And there’s a heartwarming story baked in for good measure.
OlliOlli World retains its relaxed, arcade-like qualities; in fact, if you feel like challenging yourself, earn a place on the leaderboards for all of Radlandia to see and collect cosmetic gear in return. Part of the fun is completing a sick track and giving it to friends, as a code, to try out as well.
Tony Hawk’s Underground
Tony Hawk’s Underground was, for the most part, more Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. What Underground did differently was expand upon how you interact with the levels. On top of that, more customizations, activities, and a story mode that gives you a real taste of the skateboarding culture. It was still weird by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater standards, but nonetheless one of the best in the series.
Session
Out of the skateboarding games listed here, Sessions is by far the one title most concerned with skill. In fact, it has an interesting gimmick linked to the two analog sticks: each one controls a different foot.
Because of that, in addition to other mechanics, Sessions has a high learning curve. Even performing a simple kickflip takes practice, not unlike real life. One aspect you won’t see is a scoring system; Sessions opts for rewarding players for performing specific tricks in certain areas.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2
The king of skateboarding games, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, which is the remastered version. You’ll get two games for the price of one, an already fantastic deal. This brings the arcade-style skateboarding game back from the dead, but with many quality-of-life changes and not just a graphical update.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 should appeal to both casual and hardcore fans. You can hope into a freeskate gamemode and practice without a timer. Alternatively, you can challenge yourself by beating the high score while also obtaining every collectible in the level, like tapes (yes, VHS tapes) and the letters to create S-K-A-T-E.
It’s fitting to end this list of the 10 best skateboarding video games with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater; the game defined much of the genre back in the day. If you love cats just as much as skateboarding, then read up on the 10 best video game cats or find out the best Xbox games releasing before the end of 2022.
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