I could start and end this review by simply saying, this game is made for me. I’m sure everyone has this feeling from time to time with music, movies or games, where you just feel the creator has somehow peeked into your brain, plucked out your dopamine receptors and just massaged them into submission.
History Lesson
I skated in my teens, I was (and still am) obsessed with music and ended up working as a graphic designer, so when I first saw the trailer for Skate Story a few years back, I couldn’t really believe what I was seeing. It was everything I wanted in a game from the insane but beautiful art style, incredibly enticing soundtrack and the gameplay looked buttery smooth. I followed the game eagerly since then, almost wondering if it’d ever release - could I really be that lucky? And would it live up to the hype I’d created in my own mind?
State of skate games
Over the last few years, there has been a few skating game popping here and there - some good, some bad, some very ugly. There’s been a push in recent years for physics-based skating games such as Session and Skater XL, and as fun as a “simulation” experience is, they can never quite nail the game aspect. They act more as sandboxes to roam around in, and yes, there are some objectives in Session but the whole game feels very unfinished and unpolished. I see comment sections crowded with criticism about realism, gravity settings, grind alignment, pop height and realistic physics, but I can’t help thinking that a lot of these words are thrown around without much thought into what they actually mean in reality. You don’t play Mario and complain that he jumps too high, and the coins don’t hold enough weight when he ploughs into them.
I think a game should feel like a game, and yes there’s room for simulations too, but with skateboarding, I can’t help feel that hand crafted animations really add to a smoother flowing game with much more satisfaction. A requirement for a game to feel great has never been how real it appears. I spend enough time in the real world, I want to escape into a game sometimes to experience something other worldly, something that I couldn’t possibly dream of in reality.
Chefs Kiss
This is where Skate Story really works for me. You’re transported into the underworld, and you’ve gotta skate your way out. The animations of the skater are beautifully crafted and complement the visual style perfectly. Occasionally the character can feel slightly unstable when landing or pushing, which really adds to the fluidity of the game in an odd way - as humans we are clumsy slabs of meat sometimes, and this is more the case when flying around on a piece of wood.
Speaking of clumsy, the skater is made from light-refracting glass and upon bailing, smashes into pieces. This perfectly captures how it feels when bailing in real life, you’ve never felt more fragile than when falling off a skateboard at speed (which only intensifies with age, trust me).
The controls are a little unique in Skate Story, using the bumpers and triggers to position your feet for tricks. Although limited to street tricks, there’s plenty to learn and stomping a 360 flip to destroy an enemy just doesn’t get old.
Although we’ve had skating games with story lines, such as THUG 1 & 2, we have never had a truly “arty” skate game. A game that still feels like it’s tipping its hat to skate culture whilst also feeling completely abstract and unique. Where the soundtrack is perfectly moulded to the levels you’re skating through and the visual style is so unapologetically maximalist and almost garish at times, but somehow always remains beautiful.
I will admit, the story line is a little hard to grasp at times. Through my second (and third) playthrough, I found myself skipping the cutscenes, as I didn’t really feel the need to experience them a second time, and to be honest, I was eager to get back to skating, which is really the main reason to play this game.
Much like everything else, the story is pretty abstract and quirky. There’s a few characters you’ll meet along the way, each a little more odd than the last and I can see these interactions potentially putting some people off, but I do admire how Sam Eng really doesn’t try to pander to the audience here, and fully realises his vision throughout, making no compromises.
Seriously, play it
Destroy enemies with tricks, eat moons and travel on trains with legs.
Skate Story is one of, if not the best skating games I’ve played. A beautiful, dark, funny, immensely satisfying introspective game about skating through the underworld.
Seriously, get some headphones, sit in a dark room and immerse yourself.
