The release of SkateBIRD for PC and the Nintendo Switch has filled a gap in a once-great genre of video gaming – the Skating genre. With Skate 4 on the way, and after the dismal Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, skateboarding video game fans finally have something worthwhile to play. This new title puts its own spin on the skating tropes and satisfying skateboarding gameplay that fans all know by heart.
However, SkateBIRD is far from a perfect game. It was made by a small studio and released independently, so there is certainly some leeway to be given. Some glitches make the game virtually unplayable, though, such as the game's jumpy camera and slow movement and unintuitive controls. These elements can take veteran skating game fans some time to get used to, and could use a few tweaks to make the game even better.
5 The Camera's Incredible Glitchiness
The main problem with SkateBIRD as of right now is its camera. The camera works fine in most situations, hanging back a little bit from the player's bird and generally not causing any issues. The moment the player gets into a tight corner or gets the camera too close to an edge, though, it's a different story. When players fall off their skateboard, the game often becomes nauseating to look at because of these issues.
There was a hotfix released for Steam players announced late in September, but this option has to be enabled in the Options menu and isn't enabled by default. Nintendo Switch players have yet to hear whether camera issues will be fixed for them too, as it can be harder to implement hotfixes on the platform. It's one of the few fatal flaws in this otherwise charming skating game.
4 Clipping Costumes & Outfits
Another major glitch many players have seen in their games, especially Nintendo Switch players, is that their Create-a-Birb costumes will clip in and out of their bird. The Cape is particularly bad for this, as it seems to spend more time glitched inside the bird's body than floating delicately in the wind. Several other items share this glitch, which appears to be mostly tied to cosmetic items that flow or are attached directly to the bird's body.
It's common in video games to see objects clipping through each other unintentionally. For example, just about every FPS gamer has seen their teammate's guns clip into the wall while turning around. The clipping in SkateBIRD is much more noticeable, though, and it ruins the otherwise great aesthetics of some Create-a-Birb outfits.
3 The Skateboard's Turn Radius
One major problem that many players had with SkateBIRD on release was the control scheme. Although tricks are pretty much mapped the same way as tricks in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, controlling the skateboard itself is a completely different story. No longer are players able to turn on a dime and make daring maneuvers through tight spaces – SkateBIRD instead offers a more floaty, less precise means of controlling the character.
The most noticeable issue with the game's controls is in the turn radius of the skateboard. While other skating games allow players to quickly turn around a tight corner or adjust their sensitivity while turning, SkateBIRD offers no such mechanic. Currently, players have to endure the huge turn radius of their bird without much of a way to change the sensitivity.
2 No Option To Change View In Create-a-Birb
While this is not necessarily a game-breaking glitch, it's still a problem that should be rectified. In the Create-a-Birb screen, players are shown a preview of what their bird looks like based on their current outfit choices. One aspect that this customization screen lacks, though, is the ability to rotate the bird or see any view aside from the front. This cuts off players' ability to properly customize their characters to their liking.
It's a shame, too, because there are several options for cosmetics worn on the back, like the cape, scarf, or bandana. There are also several options for skateboard undersides that are almost never seen by the player. Currently, the only way to see what the bottom of the skateboard looks like is to leave the Create-a-Birb screen and perform a flip trick, though this only gives the player a fraction of a second to see the design they chose.
1 Some Music Tracks Play Much More Often Than Others
A less common glitch, but one that many players have reported, is related to the game's music. Throughout each level, players can find hidden mixtapes that unlock new tracks to listen to throughout the game. These tracks are played generally at random, but some players have found that certain songs play much, much more often than others.
There is an option to skip the current song (or outright block a song from playing in a certain playlist). Thus, it's a glitch that players can easily "fix" themselves, but it would still be nice to have the game properly present its soundtrack without playing the same songs over and over again. It's not a something that every player has encountered, and it might not be a glitch at all considering that songs play randomly. Still, would be a welcome change to have a system that blocked a song from playing for a specific length of time after it has already been played, and mix up the soundtrack a little.
SkateBIRD is available on PC and Nintendo Switch.