Skater XL

Skater XL got released by Easy Day Studios as early access on Steam the 19th of December.

It is a skateboarding simulator type game similar to EA's Skate. Skater XL is trying to go for more control of the board by letting the player control the skater with both analog sticks.

Control:

The player's left foot can be controlled with the left stick and the right foot with the right stick. The A button is used to push forward and B is used to slow down. In the air the skater can rotate the body with the left and right trigger (just like most skateboarding games). The key part here is that it is still possible to turn with either analog stick as long as the skateboard is rolling on the ground. Giving the player immense control over the skater.

Levels:

Currently the game features 1 level, West L.A. courthouse. It has a nice variety of things to do for grinds, manuals and flip tricks. The level lacks quarter/half pipes and banks.

Tricks:

Due to the game being in early access it is missing some core skateboarding features like grabs, lip tricks and manual variations. But it's possible to do most most flip tricks, grinds and manuals. These tricks can combined giving the player the ability to do sweet trick combinations.

Sound:

Currently there is no music in the game but the sound effects are very clean and satisfying. Giving the player great feedback of what's going on.

Animations:

The animations in the game are very smooth and realistic, however due to the free nature of the flipping mechanics sometimes some odd clipping and foot wrapping happens.

Mods:

There currently is a very active modding community. Quite a few level mods, skater / board skins and even a replay editor mod have been released already.