SkateBIRD Switch Review – Skating is a Birden Now

When it comes to skateboard games, birds are something I do not think should be grinding the rails. Well, Glass Bottom Games thinks differently, as SkateBIRD is basically that. Imagine Tony Hawk Pro Skater, if you will, but instead of top-tier skaters, we have birds that can wear cowboys hats, scarves, and belts.

The premise is definitely intriguing, but is SkateBIRD a fun skateboarding game that can amusingly satisfy the Tony Hawk fans out there? Or is this one for… the birds? Well, let’s find out!

At first glance, we do have ourselves here a cute skateboarding game with birds on miniaturized skate parks that have some funny parts to them made from straws, magazines, pizza boxes, duct tape, and more, and it is a nice little aesthetic that give SkateBIRD a unique look and feel unlike anything else in the skater game market.

When you start the game, you do not have access to everything quite yet. You only have a couple songs, minimal clothing options, and just one place to grind the rails. The story is that a bunch of birds are building up their skating confidence, earning their spots, and making their way out to greater areas to prove themselves. It is a simple concept that keeps the flow of the game going, but I do feel like the amount of time it takes to get through each skate park is brutal. You see, you have to do these tedious missions from other birds, and just when you think you have done enough, they throw more at you. Unfortunately, you have to keep on grinding through this until it feels like forever, and then you finally move on to the next skate park.

SkateBIRD does take a lot of tips from previous skate games before it, but there is just something about this particular title that does not feel right when it comes to earning unlocks. Mix Tapes (songs), Socks (Clothing items), and skate parks all take too much effort to unlock, and most of the time I just found myself ignoring them because they were making me so angry. When playing these types of games, I do not like when the controls get the best of me, but… well… we have to talk about the controls.

The biggest problem with SkateBIRD, by far, is the combination of unresponsive/poor controls and a camera that is simply infuriating. The controls are incredibly wonky, and I found myself struggling with just getting the birb (What they call birds in the game) to do what I wanted. No amount of correct input could solve this problem, because the game has a mind of its own and your bird will just do whatever it wants at random times. You want to grind on that straw? Well, too bad. You are going to perform a different trick somewhere else instead.

And this combined with the camera is brutal. Since SkateBIRD takes places in such a small place and within relatively tight quarters, the camera shoots around all over the place when you get too close to a wall or corner or ramp. All of this hurts so much, because when you actually pull off tricks you want to do, its does feel like these birbs are potential Tony Hawks (Sorry, bad pun).

However, since this is a skateboarding game and there are others on the market, even on the Switch, the fact that SkateBIRD controls so badly hurts the experience tremendously. It is because of this reason and some of the unreasonably timed missions that unlocking more skate parks is a total grind (Okay, last pun… maybe). There are just a lot better games out there to play than to frustratingly slog through this one.

Without question, though, the strongest point in the game is its soundtrack. There are quite a few fun punk tracks on here that really give SkateBIRD the sound of a great skating game. Bands like Illicit Nature, HolyWOW, Grave Danger, and We Are The Union all put in some fun tracks that really spice things up. Unfortunately, as has already been discussed, majority of the soundtrack is locked behind finding hidden Mix Tapes throughout the skate parks. Not ideal, as a full soundtrack off the bat would have been much, much better.

The art style is rather cute, and the birb/bird models are all quite well done. Decorating them with various costume pieces also gives them a lot more flair, but again, many of the clothing items need to be discovered.

Some skate parks look incredible with fun designs that make sense in a miniaturized skate park for birds, but sadly a couple parks are a bit more lazily put together and do not feel as inspired. It would have been nice to see more parks unlocked right from the get-go, because spending the first couple hours on one park is a drag.

SkateBIRD is a hard sell, because this is not a very cheap title and it is not very fun. This is a rather failed attempt at being a unique title within the skateboarding genre of video games, as it fails in its controls, camera, and its extreme requirements to unlock things.

It does do some things right, though, and I do have to commend it for being a funny experience despite its flaws. The music is great, the birds look amazing, and most of the parks are well designed, and this could be a worthy pickup at a discounted price. However, these poor birds have had their wings clipped, and they will not be flying off the shelf any time soon.

SkateBIRD Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Glass Bottom Games & Plastic Fern Studios
Developer: Glass Bottom Games
Release Date: September 16, 2021
Price: $19.99, £15.09, €15,09
Game Size: 3.1GB