Tony would be a little disappointed.

Strange how things come together, isn’t it? I can’t believe I’m actually playing a skateboarding game that features birds, but here I am. While the material may be strange, for the most part, this is classic skateboarding a la Tony Hawk (hehe, I get it) mixed in with a few features that normally don’t come with the pro skater. There are some glaring issues, though.

SkateBIRD is literally what the title says – a skateboarding game with birds. It feels a lot like the Hawk games we all know with simple flip tricks and grabs that can be done via a button press and a direction. One unique thing is since I’m playing as a bird, I can also double jump with the flap of my wings. This came in handy a few times since jumping and controlling can be an issue at times.

Platforms: Xbox, Switch, PC
MSRP: $19.99
Price I’d pay: $8

Just like in the Pro Skater series, players will skate around doing tricks, performing combos, and doing small missions that vary from collecting letters, to reaching a certain location in a timed manner. If I wanted to get to a higher lip, I would have to do a few tricks to bring up my combo. The higher the combo, the faster my speed would increase. I could also keep my combo going by screeching. Screeching is designated via a button that would extend my combo for a short time just incase I wasn’t close to a grinding area or a ramp. Much of that didn’t matter since I could always do a double jump and a quick flip if I needed an extra combo multiplier.

There are collectables in the levels that can add to the soundtrack, new clothing accessories to dress up my bird, and other cosmetic things. Players start off in the bedroom, but after doing a certain number of missions, they unlock more levels to take on with their own set of objectives. Many of the levels are sometimes a bit too big for their own good. Trying to actually find a mission giver in some of these areas would take much longer than it should in some cases.

There is a simple story here told mainly through mission givers and it leans into the tongue-in-cheek nature of the fact that birds are skateboarding. It’s there, it’s never overly long or intrusive, and has a few jokes thrown in that may give the player a chuckle.

What dampens the experience is the movement in the game. First, it’s difficult to actually turn from a standstill. This game really wants player moving at all times. The problem is, when moving fast, it’s hard to actually aim a turn properly. Then, I run into the issue of not being fast enough to reach a jump or get high enough for a collectable. On top of all of this, the hit detection could have used a bit of leeway. There were times I would absolutely touch a lip, but the game wouldn’t have my initiate a grind or I would hit a small bump and my bird and skateboard would either flip without warning, or worse, would pop my in the air and take away my entire velocity. It was almost like edges in the game served as a reset for motion. This becomes a problem when I have 120 seconds to collect seven things and now, I have to climb a ramp again because I hit an edge at just the wrong angle. If this wasn’t the case, this would have been a great skating game.

SkateBIRD has the skeleton of a great skateboarding game, but with the collision issues and the movement being as spotty as it is, it just brings down the entire experience. There were times in my play sessions I was having a blast pulling off combos and tricks and would come crashing down when I would hit a grind that didn’t work, or I would tap on the edge of a wall and fall off. Then on resetting my character would have the camera facing the wrong way and would be moving forward right back into the wall I just hit. It’s a sad truth, because under that, there’s a great skateboarding game here. Players looking for a new skateboarding game may get some enjoyment out of this, but keep in mind you most certainly will find issues with the movement. If you’re willing to put up with some frustrations, there’s something here for you, but if you’re easily bothered, maybe wait for a sale.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.