Skate 4 gameplay leak draws mixed reaction from fans

Pre-alpha footage of Skate 4 has made its way to social media and after viewing it, the reaction has been a mixture of good vibes and negativity from fans and industry insiders.

Once the Tony Hawks franchise reached its apex, the games began a slow descent that saw their popularity dwindle until it was cast aside in the doldrums for a few years. In the meantime, another skateboarding franchise came along to steal its thunder and fans — Skate.

EA’s take on the genre moved away from button-orientated combos and controls to the “flick it” system. Skate’s gameplay wanted players to make use of thumbsticks and move them in certain ways to pull off tricks.

Players have been clamoring for a long-awaited sequel to 2010s Skate 3 and this was confirmed not too long ago. There hasn’t been too much on the Skate 4 front recently, but some pre-alpha footage seems to have leaked, leaving players divided over what they’ve seen.

Skate 4 fans could revert to something else?

News about the Skate 4 pre-alpha first leaked on April 20, 2022, and Jeff Grubb, a respected industry insider, and analyst, shared the footage of the gameplay via his Twitter account.

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He said: “This is Skate 4 pre-alpha footage. This is in line with what I’ve heard about where the game is at from multiple people. They’re trying to get the feel right, which is probably the most important aspect of a Skate game.”

In the 33 seconds of gameplay, we get what is surely a very early build of the game showcasing a player grinding down a road, hitting some vintage kickflips, before going fully board-free and pulling off some insane front flips. We also get to see the bail engine in effect as the skater fails to land properly.

Grubb said “this is all exciting” and described how EA are working hard and giving the game time to flourish and meet its potential. A couple of commenters agreed with one person saying: “This is a great start. That front flip off the board and landing on it is sick af. Can’t wait. Hope the city is more.”

On the other hand, fellow industry insider Tom Henderson wasn’t as glowing and as positive about the footage saying: “It’s sad to see Skate 4 leak in this kind of way (because it’s really early development footage).”

It seemed that some of his followers were also unmoved by the early gameplay: “It’s sad to see but at the same time we must be cut-throat against EA, sad for the devs but the work looks like it speaks for itself. Reminds me of skate 3 I hope for the best,” one user said.

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On the Henderson side of things, it’s hard to tell if the disappointment is aimed at the game being in such an early state or because it looks too much like Skate 3. Either way, there’s sure to be more reaction to Skate 4’s development moving forward.