The upcoming skateboarding game Session recently released a new teaser trailer. The trailer highlights the tricks, hip-hop soundtrack, and detailed urban setting that will be the heart and soul of the game. The game was originally announced in 2017 after a successful Kickstarter campaign that September and is in development by French developers Crea-ture Studios. The game is slated to be released in early-access on September 17.
Session is often referred to as the spiritual successor to the Skate games, as fans have been asking EA for Skate 4 for a while now. According to the studio’s website, the game is “inspired by the golden era of skateboarding” (a.k.a. the 90s) and promises an authentic skateboarding experience “where there are no other goals other than expressing your creativity and achieving success through hard work, perseverance and bits of madness for no one else other than yourself.”
The game’s creators, Marc-Andre Houde and Vincent Da Silva, have drawn inspiration from the great skateboarding games of the past, namely the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Skate series. In an interview with Game Reactor, Houde states that he loved the Skate games due to their realistic gameplay. The duo wanted to bring more of that into their game, rather than the over-the-top antics of Tony Hawk. He also says that Session will have a “street vibe, this street skateboarding vibe,” as well as a unique control scheme.
According to the Kickstarter page, the left and right control sticks represent the skater’s left and right feet, as opposed to the Skate control scheme where one stick represents the body and the other represents the board. The triggers will control banking, allowing players to align themselves with rails and curbs. “Every skateboard is your instruction manual. Just think about how you would move your feet or transfer your weight while on a skateboard and apply that to the sticks.” The game will not have a point system either, allowing players to do the tricks they want without penalties (other than bailing).
Session is slated to hit Steam early-access on September 17 and Xbox Game Preview in October. You can also download the Kickstarter prototype demo if you’re too excited to wait for the game to launch in early-access.