Prior to my arrival at E3 2018, I had received an invitation to play a yet-to-be-announced game based on the Crayola franchise of artists’ supplies. I had no idea what to expect, so I started theorizing with my colleagues: would it be a painting game focusing on the Switch’s touchscreen? Would it be some sort of “edutainment” product? No and no. I couldn’t have been farther from the actual reveal: I was going to test Crayola Scoot, an extreme sports game mixed with Splatoon.

Crayola Scoot is a weird but very interesting amalgamation of various genres and game influences crammed into one family-friendly package. A mash up of the trick system and level design from the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, the focus on acquiring territory by splatting ink all around the parks just like in Splatoon, as well as the cell-shaded visuals and hip-hop vibes reminiscent of Jet Set Radio.

There are three aspects that impressed me in a positive way when testing Crayola Scoot: the adorable cell-shaded colorful visuals are adorable and full of color (to be expected of a Crayola game), tight controls similar to older Tony Hawk titles, and splitscreen multiplayer for up to four players. Sadly, online multiplayer isn’t featured, something that might be considered a bummer for PC players, but not as much for console users, especially Switch ones.

I didn’t have much play time with Crayola Scoot, but I did enjoy some of the modes, especially the one that’s most influenced by Splatoon: perform tricks all around the park in order to control as much territory as possible with your ink. There are other modes besides this one, like a one-on-one score attack duel, for instance. The game will also feature dozens of different parks based around a handful of themes.

Outright Games allowed me to demo the game on both a PC and a Switch on portable mode, and just like their upcoming Adventure Time game, I could barely tell the difference between the two versions. The graphics were largely the same and the framerate was the same 60fps on both versions. Again, if I had to pick a version, I’d easily choose the Switch port over any other, mostly due to portability.

I still need to play a bit more of Crayola Scoot to truly see its potential. It has some great ideas, nice visuals, and I love the fact it promotes local multiplayer above anything else. I just need to see the final product in action first and foremost. Despite my slight doubts, I’m still curious about it. I’ve been craving for an extreme sports game for a while, and by the looks of it, a Crayola game will be the best option.