The Guerilla Collective Showcase that preceded Summer Game Fest kicked off with a bang when Wrekless opened the stream. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a build of the game at the Guerilla Showcase event during SGF, and we can’t help but think about all the potential there is with this one.
Developed by a small team within Free Range Games (the same publisher that brought us The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria) and set to be self-published, Wrekless is a love letter to skateboarding games and culture that looks to capture key beats and moments with its many UCG features.
While the concept takes a lot from EA’s skate, which is also set to make a return, it also has a similar control scheme–unfortunately for me. I’ve always been more of a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater guy, but as one of the developers Mikey took some time with me to help grasp the controls (trick maneuverability is all tied to the right stick, with is something I obviously wasn’t used to), things started to click. I was more comfortably performing aerials on the halfpipes, I was confidently grinding rails, and I even took some time to get off my board and enjoy the map I was on–all while finding dumb ways to kill my guy, because of the QA guy in me.
Skating is for everyone. Look at the golden chicken!
The bottom line is that the actual skateboarding gameplay works. It’ll take some getting used to if you’re not familiar with doing tricks on the right stick, but as with any skill-based title, that’ll come. I was actually impressed that I didn’t bail all that much, although that could also be thanks to the time I’ve spent playing skating games all my life.
All that aside, what really sets this game apart is the fact that the developers plan on giving an expansive toolset of customizability to the players. This not only includes ways to customize your skater’s look, but the ability to create skateparks in what looks to be a diverse sandbox of options.
It doesn’t end there either. While I didn’t get to test this aspect, Wrekless takes it to the next level and allows players to build skatepark features and obstacles in real-time. They can be as “basic poser” as putting a fish bowl under a skater, or you get can get all Fortnite and delete a rail as another player is grinding on it. Wanna build bridges between buildings to prevent yourself from falling if you forgot to ollie? That’s messed up, but go ahead! This diverse a set of UCG features makes possibilities endless, and to make things even more over the top, you aren’t limited to things you’ll see in a skatepark either. This is a video game. The devs say you can lay boost zippers all over the map, you can make the terrain slippery with ice, and they even mentioned portals in the fact sheet. Not to be outdone, the game supports up to 50 players simultaneously and you can upload your creations for other people to try much like Super Mario Maker. Imagine a game playing like THPS and skate, with some Fortnite, Splitgate, and Mario Maker thrown in. It literally is wreckless.
It wouldn’t be much of a UCG skater without an awesome Park Builder. You can also upload your creations and have everyone in the community try them too!
It goes without saying Wrekless is a game we’ll be keeping on our eye on. It’s set to go into Early Access soon with a Q3 release window softly planned on the PC via Epic Games Store and Steam.
For transparency purposes, the writer interviewed for a job with the Free Range Games team on this game. No information from these hands-on impressions during SGF was privileged content.
The Guerilla Collective Showcase that preceded Summer Game Fest kicked off with a bang when Wrekless was featured opened the stream. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a build of the game at the Guerilla Showcase event during SGF, and we can’t help but think about all the potential there is with this one.
The Guerilla Collective Showcase that preceded Summer Game Fest kicked off with a bang when Wrekless opened the stream. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a build of the game at the Guerilla Showcase event during SGF, and we can’t help but think about all the potential there is with this one.
Developed by a small team within Free Range Games (the same publisher that brought us The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria) and set to be self-published, Wrekless is a love letter to skateboarding games and culture that looks to capture key beats and moments with its many UCG features.
While the concept takes a lot from EA’s skate, which is also set to make a return, it also has a similar control scheme–unfortunately for me. I’ve always been more of a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater guy, but as one of the developers Mikey took some time with me to help grasp the controls (trick maneuverability is all tied to the right stick, with is something I obviously wasn’t used to), things started to click. I was more comfortably performing aerials on the halfpipes, I was confidently grinding rails, and I even took some time to get off my board and enjoy the map I was on–all while finding dumb ways to kill my guy, because of the QA guy in me.
Skating is for everyone. Look at the golden chicken!
The bottom line is that the actual skateboarding gameplay works. It’ll take some getting used to if you’re not familiar with doing tricks on the right stick, but as with any skill-based title, that’ll come. I was actually impressed that I didn’t bail all that much, although that could also be thanks to the time I’ve spent playing skating games all my life.
All that aside, what really sets this game apart is the fact that the developers plan on giving an expansive toolset of customizability to the players. This not only includes ways to customize your skater’s look, but the ability to create skateparks in what looks to be a diverse sandbox of options.
It doesn’t end there either. While I didn’t get to test this aspect, Wrekless takes it to the next level and allows players to build skatepark features and obstacles in real-time. They can be as “basic poser” as putting a fish bowl under a skater, or you get can get all Fortnite and delete a rail as another player is grinding on it. Wanna build bridges between buildings to prevent yourself from falling if you forgot to ollie? That’s messed up, but go ahead! This diverse a set of UCG features makes possibilities endless, and to make things even more over the top, you aren’t limited to things you’ll see in a skatepark either. This is a video game. The devs say you can lay boost zippers all over the map, you can make the terrain slippery with ice, and they even mentioned portals in the fact sheet. Not to be outdone, the game supports up to 50 players simultaneously and you can upload your creations for other people to try much like Super Mario Maker. Imagine a game playing like THPS and skate, with some Fortnite, Splitgate, and Mario Maker thrown in. It literally is wreckless.
It wouldn’t be much of a UCG skater without an awesome Park Builder. You can also upload your creations and have everyone in the community try them too!
It goes without saying Wrekless is a game we’ll be keeping on our eye on. It’s set to go into Early Access soon with a Q3 release window softly planned on the PC via Epic Games Store and Steam.
by Danreb Victorio
