Skatelander

Skatelander is a side-scrolling auto-rolling skateboard game we first saw at our Very Big Indie Pitch in Bangalore. It mixes together bits of Crossy Road and its ilk to create an experience that's slick, but not always super exciting.

There's a neat beat to proceedings, and it loiters at just the right side of the difficulty line. But it doesn't quite have that compulsive snap that the very best games in the genre have.

The game sees you pelting down a road covered in obstacles. You push on the right of the screen to move right, and the left of the screen to move left. A bar charges as you skate and when it's full you can tap a button to perform a trick.

The farther you get along the randomly generated road the more points you get. There's cash to grab as well, which you can spend on unlocking different characters. And that's about it.

It's a simple set up, but there are a few niggles that keep it from being brilliant. For one the restart time is too slow. You want to jump straight back into the action, but it takes a few seconds to drop you back in, and that breaks the game's flow.

Some of the collision detection is a little off as well, and the perspective means it's sometimes quite difficult to find a safe line between the fences, spinning aeroplanes, and meandering old men.

The tricks also feel a little weightless. And you're never really sure whether you're going to leap gracefully over a barrier or thwonk into it like a berk.

Skatelander has its moments, and it's fun dodging your way through the obstacles it plonks in your way.

But there's something slightly lacking that means it's unlikely to hold your attention for more than an hour or so.