The multitude of game experiences users can play in Roblox remains one of its most appealing features. Games like Phantom Forces and Operation Overlord can provide gameplay similar to Call of Duty or Battlefield. At the same time, roleplaying experiences like Welcome to Bloxburg and East Brickton have helped define the type of gameplay Roblox is popular for. Roblox fans easily immerse themselves into these experiences and routinely payout if the experiences are monetized, as seen in Roblox’s earnings reports. This method of monetizing digital experience has attracted brands like Gucci and Netflix into partnering with Roblox for exclusive collaborations. Vans is the latest collaborator with Roblox. The Vans World experience that debuted yesterday has already achieved 250,000 visits, according to Roblox news aggregate RTC on Twitter.

No lie, Vans World on Roblox may be the best Tony Hawk pro skater rip-off that’s available for play right now. The Roblox Vans World collaboration drops players into a skatepark where they can freely skate and perform tricks, earning them Vans coins that they can use to upgrade their skater using an RPG style skill system or change their skateboard’s appearance. Other things players can unlock using coins include new tricks, skateboard trails, and other small cosmetic changes to your avatar and skateboard. Players can even purchase in-game Vans apparel using Robux, but the Vans World page on Roblox’s site does note that players can earn a free item of their choice. 

Other features of Vans World include multiplayer freestyle competitions and races. Even Steve Van Doren, Vans’ CEO, makes an appearance in-game to give you a pair of Aloha slip-ons. One of the bigger features is the ability to create and customize your pair of Vans to wear and show off to your friends.

The Vans World game is surprisingly large and includes a shop hub, plenty of urban locations to freestyle skate in, tons of bowls, half-pipes, verts, ramps, and rails in the experience’s skatepark area, and a beachside area you can explore. The skating gameplay is a little clunky and isn’t as smooth as the Tony Hawk games, but it’s pretty fun for a Vans corporate collaboration. Trick animations look funny with a blocky avatar, but the board’s movement looks kind of realistic and shows careful attention. One of the smaller issues with animations is how your avatar will float in midair during a trick with their feet parallel to the ground rather than perpendicular, which kind of ruins the immersion of the skating experience. 

Overall, the Vans World collaboration between Roblox and Vans exemplifies how to do brand partnerships in metaverse games best. Roblox has an advantage over platforms like Fortnite simply because gameplay experiences are varied and aren’t rooted in a specific genre, not to mention creator tools and scripting tools allow developers to get creative and intricate. 

Those looking to scratch their Tony Hawk itch outside of the remakes should look into Vans World, if only for a brief glimpse. It’s a cool and innovative little game that goes beyond what one would expect of a brand collaboration.