Skater XL tickles the same part of my brain as my favorite racing sims. It provides a compelling sandbox with enough depth that it makes me want to do a difficult thing well. It’s simultaneously relaxing. You can fall on your face 500 times, but there are zero consequences for any of it. No one’s keeping score, not of points or broken bones. In troubled times, a low stakes challenge can be a welcome one.

There’s way too little content in Skater XL and a lot of missing things like NPCs which make it seem like the game never got out of early-access. Playing it, however, feels great. Let’s just hope that the developers update the game with a lot more stuff than it currently has.

To say that Skater XL's finish leaves something to be desired is an understatement.

If there's one thing Skater XL excels at, it's that it has a great foundation that shows Easy Day Studios knows how to make quality skateboarding mechanics. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience isn't quite there yet. The uninspired levels, barebones features, and overall unfinished-feeling state makes its 1.0 release look like it's still in Early Access. Its trick system deserves more, and with time, it could grow into a great experience. As it is now, Skater XL lacks spots worth conquering and fails to entice past this initial bail.

Fresh out of Steam Early Access, Skater XL attempts to resurrect the once-popular skateboard game genre through the use of a creative, intuitive control scheme. The core skating action is good, but the game still has too many rough patches.

Skater XL is, simply put, an unfinished product. It's a Skateboarding Simulation Game without the game. A barebones five developer-created maps and three user-created maps have no path, purpose or direction with just a handful of 'challenges' that are identical to tutorials. The skateboarding itself is great, the tricks satisfying to perform and a joy to pull off, particularly due to the control scheme. Will you enjoy it? Possibly, if you're happy making your own fun and you like skateboarding. If you expect a video game, you're going to be sorely disappointed.