It is available on Apple Arcade as of now.
Developed by Agens and published by Snowman, a firm that is well-known for its mobile-first games such as Alto's Adventure, the "sequel" Alto's Odyssey, When Cards Fall, and a handful of other intriguing titles, Skate City was an Apple Arcade launch product back in 2019. It was released in 2019. In spite of the fact that it has been more than five years after the initial release of Skate City, the Snowman and Agens team has returned with Skate City: New York, which becomes available on Apple Arcade today.
Although there have been a lot of content updates made to the original game throughout the course of its existence, this is a fully-fledged new title that features a number of enhancements and upgrades in addition to a feeling that is pretty similar to the original game. I had the opportunity to test out Skate City: New York a few days before it was released, and I also had the opportunity to talk to Snowman's Ryan Cash and Andrew Schimmel about the new game, which they stated has been in the works for a solid three years at this point.
The gameplay is similar to that of the previous Skate City game in that you move from left to right in a traditional side-scrolling fashion. Swiping in one of eight directions on the lower half of the screen allows you to perform tricks. The left side of the screen allows you to perform tricks based on ollies, while the right side allows you to perform tricks based on nollies. Simply launch the trick, and the game will ensure that you hit the ground rolling (unless, of course, you land on stairs or an obstruction). There is no need to do anything specific in order to land; all you have to do is launch the trick. Even though this is the fundamental starting position, you can also perform spins, manuals, grinds, and other moves. In spite of the fact that it is less complicated than games such as the old Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series or the more current OlliOlli World, there is still a significant amount of time and skill needed in properly executing your runs.
The original game, which was still a gorgeous game, has been significantly improved, and the visuals have become more lively. The surroundings have also been significantly improved. However, according to Schimmel, the most distinguishing feature of this one is the fact that the "Pro Skate" mode, which is the most challenging aspect of the game, utilizes levels that are generated by a procedural process.
"We didn't want to limit ourselves to the original [game's] loops through the city, but instead make something that was more adaptive and dynamic," Schimmel explained to reporters. "Procedural generation was the answer and the biggest technical challenge." It is not something that I was able to pick up on immediately because I have only played the game for a couple of hours, but Schimmel is convinced that it will make Skate City: New York have even more replay-ability than the original game did.
The idea of Pro Skate is to go as far as you can and rack up as many points as you can while fulfilling three objectives in order to level up your progression. This game reminds me a lot of Snowman's Alto's Adventure, but it's transferred to skating. Examples of objectives are "grind for 100 meters" and "land three 180-degree spins." There are several other examples. Because the stages in this game are more unpredictable than those in the previous game, you will need to improve your ability to react quickly to unexpected challenges. These challenges can put a stop to your run, but they can also provide you with an opportunity to do a good grind or trick.
There are no in-app purchases available in this game, as is the case with all of Snowman's other games. Instead, you will earn points for accomplishing challenges and progressing through the levels in Pro Skate. After then, you may use those to modify your character via the Skate Shop, which affords you a great deal more flexibility and expansion. Alterations can be made to your character's body, hair, facial traits, clothes, skateboard, and other aspects of their appearance. In spite of the fact that I haven't had much time to experiment with it yet, it is immediately apparent that there is a great deal more room for customization here.
As was the case with Skate City, Snowman guarantees that there will be a continuous flow of new challenges and more areas of the city to discover over the course of the following year and beyond. "Live services" was the term that Schimmel used to describe the game, despite the fact that there is no revenue component to it. I also inquired about the decision that the team made to distribute Skate City: New York through Apple Arcade as opposed to having it be a one-time payment or even incorporating paid updates in the game. Cash referred to this decision as a "easy choice."
"We haven’t done a paid up-front game since Alto's Odyssey in 2018," Cash explained to reporters. The current state of affairs is that we are focusing on Apple Arcade and Netflix Games. When discussing Skate City: New York, it was a simple decision to make because the first game was a launch release and achieved a great deal of popularity in that region. Bringing it back to Apple Arcade was a decision that made perfect sense. The original Skate City was eventually released for consoles and personal computers as well. Cash stated that this was definitely something that was being considered for the future, but the primary objective is to create a mobile-first game that is as fantastic as it can possibly be.
Skate City: New York is a premium mobile game, despite the fact that it does not feel very different from its predecessor. This is quite remarkable considering that premium mobile games are becoming increasingly difficult to come by. And Snowman and Agens have done an excellent job of mixing the pick-up-and-play characteristics of a solid mobile game with a deeper experience, at least from what I've seen so far. This is something that I've noticed. "We want a seven-year-old who's excited about skateboarding to have fun," Cash explained to reporters, "as well as people like us who grew up loving skateboarding and really want a challenge."
Skate City: New York is not available anywhere else but on Apple Arcade as of today.
