SkateBIRD

 Switch
SkateBIRD Image
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
2.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

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  • Summary: Grind on bendy straws, kick-flip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks. Above all else, skate birds try their best. Grind on bendy straws, kick-flip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks!

    You're a lonely lil'    Grind on bendy straws, kick-flip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks. Above all else, skate birds try their best. Grind on bendy straws, kick-flip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks!

    You're a lonely lil' bird, and your Big Friend has hung up their board for good. Their job sucks, and lately, they're barely ever home to play with you. You're gonna fix all that with the power of being a chill little skateboarding bird. You may be tiny, but the more you skate, the more following you get, the more the world of bird skating will open up. Birds will come check out your park, help you find more parks, and together you'll (somehow) fix Big Friend's life! Above all else, skate birds try their best!

    - Explore lots of bird-sized parks, with simple controls familiar to any pro skating tiny hawk.

    - Find fancy clothing, secret mixtapes of new music, birbs that need your help, and more!

    - Skate to an original low-fi birb-hop soundtrack, and unlock new tracks from underground bands as you explore the world!    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 20
  3. Negative: 4 out of 20
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Nov 8, 2021
    80
    If you think that Super Smash Bros. Brawl's "1/100 chance of tripping" mechanic ruined the game, then SkateBIRD definitely isn't for you. But if you'd like to embrace a little chaos while getting wild in a virtual skatepark made of paperclips and duct tape, then we're birds of a feather, and this is a game you should flock to. [Issue #56 – November/December 2021, p. 20]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. CGMagazine
    Sep 15, 2021
    75
    SkateBIRD offers a similar skating game to some classics, but with a twist that can make it fun for people who don’t particularly follow the sport and its athletes. Plus, it’s just cute to see a bird with a Mohawk on a skateboard.
  3. Vooks
    Oct 25, 2021
    60
    SkateBIRD is a game you'll want to love, it's hard to be let down by it. Unfortunately, all of the issues keep this game grounded. Get it for the bird, not so much the skating. Developer Glass Bottom Games made a cute indie skating game, and it seems they're still supporting the game so it could address some of the issues. For now, SkateBIRD's appeal depends on how much you like to commit to a bird-based skating game.
  4. NintendoWorldReport
    Sep 15, 2021
    50
    SkateBird was a game I anticipated since I first heard about it. A whimsical bird-focused take on skateboarding seemed delightful, but in execution, frustration dominated my playtime, whether it was struggling to find missions or battling with the loose controls. Charm is the saving grace that led to me having short-lived enjoyment. Overall, SkateBird is way more reminiscent of the janky but sometimes enjoyable games that came out in the wake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s success than the original product itself.
  5. Gaming Age
    Dec 17, 2021
    50
    Everything is next to impossible in Skakebird. It’s the sort of game that you’ll want to love — right up until the moment you play it, at which point you’ll just be left saying, “But it looks so cute!” Ignore the cuteness, focus on the gameplay, and skip this one altogether.
  6. Pocket Tactics
    Sep 21, 2021
    50
    Despite its chill and charm, SkateBird fails to capture the basic essence of a skateboarding game, leaving you wanting something more.
  7. Digitally Downloaded
    Sep 21, 2021
    20
    I’m glad that I played SkateBIRD, and it hurts that I’ve had to give it this score. I firmly believe that as games are an art form, game developers should be trying things, even if they don’t ultimately succeed. SkateBIRD is a brilliant idea and it takes a big, heaving swing at it. Sadly, though, it’s a strikeout. However, with that being said, if the developers get another innings, I would play a SkateBIRD 2 without a moment's hesitation, and I would fully expect that the developers would deliver having had this experience.

See all 20 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 3 out of 5
  1. NindieSpotlight
    Dec 17, 2021
    5
    With the exception of the Tony Hawk redux that came to the system earlier this year, the skating scene on Switch has been on the slim side. ToWith the exception of the Tony Hawk redux that came to the system earlier this year, the skating scene on Switch has been on the slim side. To date, none of them has come to the table with nearly as much quirk as SkateBIRD, and I’d say that with its 3D gameplay rather than sticking to the simpler 2D plane it’s also more ambitious than most of its competition. That said, while it’s kind of weird and funny to take on half pipes and other skating challenges with some species of bird that is decked out in an outfit you get to choose, the game does have some rough edges in multiple places. The one that stands out foremost in my mind is the double-edged sword of your environment being seen from the perspective of a small creature in a human-sized world. Yes, it makes everything novel, but when you mix some of the areas and the large drops off of things like a table with the missions you’ll be trying to complete on the clock it can make things very frustrating. Falling off an edge while you’re trying to make things happen will often sink your entire attempt, and when you throw in the sometimes-dodgy controls that are a bit on the loose side it’s more commonly a problem than I’d prefer. However, if you’re looking for something just a bit different and enjoy skating games given the lack of options on Switch it may be worth a look.

    https://www.nindiespotlight.com/2021/09/mini-reviews-september-16th-edition.html    … Expand
  2. SpoopySkeleton
    Sep 17, 2021
    5
    Great concept, poor execution.

    The team behind SkateBird obviously likes skating games and wanted to create something like that. However,    Great concept, poor execution.

    The team behind SkateBird obviously likes skating games and wanted to create something like that. However, it seems that they couldn't figure out what makes skating games fun. There is very little variety in the tricks you can perform. The level design is cluttered and sparse at the same time and is more focused on the theming rather than gameplay.
    The theming is very cute, and the addition of a double jump could have opened up a lot of possibilities. However, as I mentioned before, it doesn't seem like the level was designed with that moveset in mind.

    There is no hook, you just get plopped into the game world without any ceremony or explanation, while the mechanics get introduced through walls of text. And the first few missions are so boring in their objectives that I could barely bring myself to finish them.

    I also expected the game to be far more forgiving and arcade-y because of the silly theme. Boy was I wrong. The player feels incredibly heavy and clunky to control, which to me is extra weird, given the theme.

    All in all, this game feels like a late alpha, not a full release. The basic mechanics are in, but they could do with a lot of fine-tuning.

    I hope the developers continue working because the game does have a lot of potential.    … Expand
  4. esimp18
    Sep 18, 2021
    3
    I wanted to love this game so much but after playing for a couple hours i just cant. There are so many things wrong with the game that youI wanted to love this game so much but after playing for a couple hours i just cant. There are so many things wrong with the game that you will be extremely frustrated very quickly. While this gave has some heart, the games mechanics are so unpolished that I dont think they actually play tested it. Tony hawk 1 is 10x less clunky and more refined than this game and that game was made like 20 years ago. At the current moment this game is not worth getting at all. They will need to make significant tuneups and modifications to the game mechanics before it is worth buying.

    Issues:
    ~The camera constantly clips or freaks out
    ~A really big mechanic of the game is the "fancy" gauge, its kinda like the special bar in tony hawk but in skatebird it controls your maximum speed. The issue with it is that unless the gauge is full, there are many quarter pipes that you are not able to reach the top of. So half of the quarter pipes are inaccessibly without maximum Fancy. While this is very annoying, there are two issues that make this unbearable. When you crash the gauge goes to 0 (see next issue), and the gauge fills up arbitrarily. You could do a huge combo and the guage wont fill up at all. Then you could do an ollie and it goes to maximum. It makes no sense and you end up spending most of the time during missions, just filling up the gauge.
    ~You fall randomly, and due to laggy controls & weird camera angles you will crash a lot doing simple tricks. If you bump something you will probably fall. You fall constantly
    ~The hitboxes for pickups are insanely small. You have to collect "SKATE" just like in tony hawk and to collect them you have to hit them perfectly. The
    ~The double jump would be really fun but it is very laggy and when you use it on quarterpipes it just launches you in a random direction.
    ~The soundtrack is very small so you end up listening to the same songs over and over again. You start off with like 8 generic songs and each level you can find some more. They only use like 4 bands so theres not much variety. Its mostly ska which i like but its low end bands so some songs are really bad.
    ~The grind button and stall button are both the same. So there are multiple times when you want to grind that you will stall instead.

    Pros:
    ~The quirkieness is nice and the birds are somewhat entertaining
    ~There is a lot of birds and outfits to choose from
    ~You can set respawn points and quickly respawn at them    … Expand
  5. OwlScowling
    Oct 8, 2021
    2
    Great idea, barely functioning final product. So bad I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a refund. Camera is glitchy, physics are beyond wonky,Great idea, barely functioning final product. So bad I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a refund. Camera is glitchy, physics are beyond wonky, and even simple actions seem unnecessarily challenging. I'm sure there's a great soul to this game, but the technical issues are so overwhelming calling this a final product is insulting to consumers. I want to reiterate how badly I wanted this game to be good, and I feel like the bar for "good" was relatively low here. Just "functional" would have done fine for me, but failing in that was incredibly underwhelming. If you want a skate game for Switch, get the Tony Hawk 1+2 bundle. If you want a cutesy game featuring a bird that's still functional, get A Short Hike. I'm seriously hoping they fix this game since I was really hoping it would be better.… Expand
  6. ghostlytoast
    Oct 9, 2021
    1
    Nobody was expecting this to be a masterpiece. It’s a game who’s entire existence I due to a bad pun. But it could’ve been a fun, quirkyNobody was expecting this to be a masterpiece. It’s a game who’s entire existence I due to a bad pun. But it could’ve been a fun, quirky little Tony Hawk like experience. Instead of getting a few lols at a cute bird grinding a soup bowl, you just get frustrated at the poor controls, the annoying camera and the awful level design. I’m so thankful I got it on gamepass because if I’d paid for this I’d want a refund and some compensation for the 32 minutes of my life wasted. The developer should give every species of bird appearing in this game a personal apology.… Expand

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