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It’s ultimately a game about trying your best, not about min-maxing every moment. There’s no particular focus on fine-tuned controls or in-depth mechanics like, say, in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. What it does have, though, is lots of original spins on the skating genre that set it apart from the rest.

8 “Screm” Like A Bird…

SkateBIRD features lots of intentionally misspelled words referencing internet meme culture. One of these intentional misspellings is a way to get points without actually doing a trick: the Screm. By pressing the left bumper, players get a quick 100 points and hear their bird skater make a little high-pitched scream.

It’s actually part of a mission in the first area of the game, too. Players are instructed to leave a respawn point, jump off the edge of a table, respawn themselves at their marker, and then “Screm 10 Times At The Floor.”

7 …Which Strings Together Combos Without Manuals or Reverts

SkateBIRD isn’t about stringing together ridiculous combos and doing wild tricks to increase a special meter — it’s about trying one’s best. Although Manuals aren’t needed to tick up the combo multiplier, and Reverts aren’t a mechanic, the Screm button can be used to rack up impressive combos instead.

When the combo multiplier is about to run out of time and allocate a total score to the player, players can press the Screm button to give themselves a few more seconds. It makes Combo-based challenges a lot easier, and it’s a pretty simple way to extend time and overall score.

6 Ollie Twice (Double Jump)

Because players take control of a bird instead of a human, they are given a number of special abilities that only birds can pull off. One of these is the Air Ollie, which essentially serves as a double jump.

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Press the Ollie button to get into the air, then press it again at the apex of the jump to get even higher and re-direct oneself in mid-air. If it’s done near a wall it will count as a wall jump, which can be followed with an Air Ollie for the elusive Triple Jump.

5 Get Yeeted Into The Sky, Safely

In the second level in the game, the rooftop area above Big Friend’s office, players meet a seagull who promises to catch them if they fall off the edge of the roof and into the clouds. A mischievous bird will teach the player one neat trick regarding the air vents around the rooftop.

When holding a Grab button as the player lands on an air vent, the bird will be launched off of their skateboard and sent hurtling into the sky, usually far beyond the bounds of the course. No need to worry, though, as the seagull will always be there to reset the player’s position.

4 Load Your Own Songs Into The Game

SkateBIRD has its own original soundtrack with music provided by a variety of bands, with genres ranging from punk to classic jazz and everything in between. On the PC version of SkateBIRD, though, players aren’t restricted to this playlist and can in fact load their own songs into the game.

By going to the game’s installation location on their PC’s storage, players can simply drop their own MP3s to play during their next session into the music folder.

3 Create-A-Birb

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series popularized and debuted the Create-a-Skater mechanic that has been so integral to skating games ever since. SkateBIRD has its own version of this: Create-a-Birb. Birbs are, of course, a humorous intentional misspelling version of Bird.

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Throughout each level in the game players can unlock a huge number of additional customizations to use in Create-a-Birb. This menu can also be accessed at any time during gameplay (except during missions) as opposed to THPS which forced players to exit the game first.

2 Meet Referential Characters, Like A Splinter Cell Bird…

SkateBIRD is nothing without its irreverent humor and unexpected references. In the second level of the game, players quickly meet Sam King, a bird heavily inspired by Sam Fisher of the Splinter Cell series of stealth games.

Sam King plans to break through the skylight of the rooftop with a blowtorch to get to Big Friend. His name is likely another bird reference — Sam King, Sam Fisher, combine the last names to get Kingfisher…geddit?

1 …And Even Play As A Tiny Hawk

One of the funniest references in the game has to be in the Create-a-Birb screen where players are given the option to play as a Tiny Hawk. This is of course a reference to Tony Hawk, whose name is avian enough already. In SkateBIRD, the Tiny Hawk birb looks just like a miniature falcon.

There are plenty of customizations in SkateBIRD for players to choose from, but this direct reference to the main inspiration for the game (and one of the most legendary skaters alive) is one of the most distinct.

SkateBIRD is available on Nintendo Switch and on PC.

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