"Maybe you've noticed, but everywhere you look now, skating is back. Though skateboarding games once dominated the gaming scene in the 2000s, the well appeared to all but dry up as the ambitions of the games industry evolved through the decades. Recently, however, there's been a resurgence of skating games, and an audience made up of both oldheads and fresh-faced players alike has been showing up for them. It feels safe to say there's still an appetite for these kinds of titles."
"I first clocked this resurgence a while ago while playing an entirely different kind of skate game: a remarkably chill longboarding game called Driftwood. In Driftwood, you take on the role of a pretty cool sloth who carves and bombs--in skating parlance, to "bomb" means to ride down a huge hill-- picturesque mountainsides. As a guy who longboarded back in high school and primarily cruised through the city, Driftwood brought me back to what first turned me onto skating--the rush of wind in my admittedly unprotected hair as I barreled down derelict roads and hills, and the satisfying (not to mention casual) coolness I'd feel swerving through throngs of walkers and traffic. It feels suiting, then, that the game that reminded me why I loved skating also opened my eyes to just how many skating games had emerged in the past few years."
Skating video games have experienced a broad resurgence, attracting longtime fans and new players across diverse subgenres. Major releases include EA's Skate early-access revival and remakes of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, signaling renewed commercial interest. Chill indie titles like Driftwood evoke nostalgia through longboarding mechanics and relaxed pacing. Developers have produced a spectrum from whimsical entries such as SkateBird to realistic simulators like Session: Skating Sim and SkaterXL. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk returned with high energy and a forthcoming sequel, while the OlliOlli series expanded in scope and style. The revival spans remakes, indie experiments, and rigorous simulations.
Read at GameSpot
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