Skateboarding video games are a hell of time and EA’s current skate, the free-to-play title aiming to reboot EA’s once-cherished collection, is making an attempt to lure of us again into the thrills of digital ollies and kickflips. And since it’s a free-to-play sport from a AAA writer in 2025, it’s received microtransactions and seasons and all that stuff. Whereas we principally tolerate this silliness in video games these days, some stuff is simply too costly and too ugly to move with out remark.
As an alternative of throwing cash on the display for a pores and skin of house zombie-stomper Isaac Clarke from Useless Area, followers of skate have taken to the web to throw shade on the builders for promoting such an unpleasant model of Clarke for $35 bucks (h/t comrade Pitts at GameSpot). That’s like, a complete meal at Taco Bell today (with possibly a drink in the event you’re fortunate). It’s additionally the value of many full, full video games you may play from begin to end. That’s in all probability what’s left of us so sore: skate. Is the kind of sport you might as soon as plunk down a reasonable sum for and be finished with it, however is now one more nagging pockets leech making an attempt to financial institution in your nostalgia.
You should buy 3 Useless Sapce video games with that cash (and doubtless 3 Skate video games)
— Diogo Rodrigues (@Rodrigues_520) October 7, 2025
The state of affairs reminds us simply how far we’ve come from an period of gaming that felt extra respectful of our money and time. One fan over on r/SkateEA factors out that 2010’s Skate 3 had an Isaac Clarke pores and skin–however it was free and appeared extra trustworthy to the character’s look within the authentic sport.
It’s an actual disgrace as skate seems like time in any other case, stuffed with all the loopy stuff we’ll by no means have the ability to do in actual life on a skateboard.
And as one other fan on Reddit opines, the sport’s battle move (skate move?) simply comprises “ugly accessories and clothing along with phoned in feeling graphics for decks” as a substitute of stuff from precise skate manufacturers. And if ever there was an trade that was ripe for having its aesthetics lower up and bought in little bits, it’s the skateboard trade. With its numerous legendary designs, from the epic birds of Birdhouse Skateboards to the beautiful paintings discovered in your common Element board (which used to my model of selection again within the day), there’s a ton of cool designs that could possibly be packaged into the sport as a becoming tribute to the trade. I’d nonetheless be irritated if these price $35 a bit, however no less than they’d really feel slightly extra related.
C’mon, EA.
