I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the original THPS released a long time ago. My intention is not to have you immediately contemplate your own mortality, but given the subject matter at hand, it does feel appropriate.
My intention is to highlight just how few in number skating games are. But ever since the birdman released his chokehold on the genre, there have been a plucky few willing to try their hand at shredding the gnar in video game form. Some sticking the landing, and some bailing hard.
Skate Story is one such game that aims to push into this exclusive sub-genre, and was a game that, after several delays, I all but assumed would fall into the void never to see the light of day.
However, by hell or high water, Sam Eng’s Skate Story has come to fruition, in all its trance-like, surreal, vaporwave glory. It’s a game that I can barely put into words, as there’s nothing quite like it. But, seeing as it’s my job, I’ll put a few lines together, much like I did as I battled through hell on my trusty 2×4.
Skateboarding: The Eighth Mortal Sin
I’m not usually someone who deems it necessary to introduce the concept of a game in a review, because, after all, you’re here for a reason. However, in the case of Skate Story, even after playing the game in full, I’m still a little confused as to what the game is all about.
To boil it all down, you’re a skater bound to hell, made of glass, and in return for a skateboard to navigate the deepest layers of hell, you’ll sign a contract with the devil tasking you to eat the moon. If you’re already lost, good, embrace that feeling, because it only gets more surreal from there.
The best way to describe the writing style and the narrative of Skate Story is somewhere between mindful poetry, and a s**tpost. Heavy handed metaphors, philosophical musings and matters of eternity and morality are abundant and beautifully presented. But equally, there’s a tinge of absurdity to everything on screen, as the game isn’t all that keen to take itself too seriously.
The best way to describe the writing style and the narrative of Skate Story is somewhere between mindful poetry and a s**tpost.
Which ultimately leads to helping Pigeons get their screenplay off the ground, or doing the devil’s sentient laundry. Concepts that would be a jumping-the-shark moment for most games. But weirdly, Skate Story’s madness is compelling, and you can’t help but press on to see what other curiosities lie ahead.
That said, if you’re someone truly looking for a profound and memorable narrative-driven adventure here, mileage may vary. The pacing is a little askew, the thread of the narrative is often hard to follow on account of the absurdity, and there’s ample opportunities to Softlock the game at the time of writing which may harsh your vibe. However, if you’re able to embrace the weirdness for what it is, you should be able to find joy in your eternal damnation.
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Delightful Damnation
You would think that, in a skateboarding game such as this, the gameplay would be the star of the show. We will get to the action, I promise, as the concept of skating through hell is a concept that is inescapably enthralling, even if games like Helskate may have convinced you otherwise.
But, without a doubt, Skate Story wouldn’t be half as special as it is without the unique art style, and indeed, the absolute masterclass that is the soundtrack provided by Blood Cultures. Rarely does a game make me an instant fan of a band or musician, but in this case, Blood Cultures is getting dropped into my heavy rotation.
Picking up on the visuals and world design first, playing through skate story feels like existing in some sort of vapor wave re-imagining of hell. Sort of like stepping into a slightly camp, but ultimately cursed VHS tape. There’s an abstract nature to each layer of hell, an intentional blandness and barrenness. But equally, enough surreal landmarks that hint at greater meaning within this nonsensical void.
Skate Story wouldn’t be half as special as it is without the unique art style, and indeed, the absolute masterclass that is the soundtrack provided by Blood Cultures.
This is all tied together neatly with Blood Cultures signature brand of synth mastery, allowing players to routinely enter a sort of trance-like state as they race against the clock to pluck the moon from the sky, navigate the portals through hell, or just put together a sick line.
I could feign some sort of high-minded understanding of the symbolism on offer throughout the game’s run, but I’m not quite smart enough to pull that off. However, what I will say is that the entire experience feels like a fever dream in the best way possible. So even if it washes over you like the molten rivers of hell, it’s still a delight to take in as a spectacle.
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Hey Demon, Do A Kickflip!
Thanks to the mind-melting high-concept story and the sublime presentation of Skate Story, it’s an experience that I would recommend to anyone. However, if you’re asking me whether it’s a игра I would recommend, I’m a little more hesitant to sing this title’s praises.
I may be a harsh critic when it comes to skating games, on account of playing near every one in existence and being a real-life skater myself. So, you do need to take that into account, but there is just something about Skate Story’s action that just didn’t scratch my little rat brain for the entire run. But, it sure did have it’s moments.
On a positive note, I was so pleased to see that Sam Eng didn’t just settle on being an EA Skate or THPS clone. The core skate mechanics, to the developer’s credit, do feel completely unique within the space, offering fast-paced, true-to-life, tricky to master physics, but with an arcade-like feel to each action. Really, it’s the best of both worlds.
This means that, when Skate Story is at its best, and you’re in a flow state, everything feels extremely buttery. There’s a focus on speed, reactionary movement and keeping your tricks fresh to avoid endlessly doing kickflips to up your score. So when you’re racing through portals against the clock, this feels truly epic.
But, the downside to all this is that, when exploring the Emptylands, or free-skating, the cracks begin to show. Namely because the physics engine is still very wonky at the time of writing, with endless instances where you’ll shatter into one million pieces for no reason, not be able to turn easily to navigate bends due to stiff controls, or just fall through the map after a weird collision.
The wonkiness, I was more than willing to overlook, as the good outweighs the bad. Butwhat I struggled to forgive is the lack of depth to the gameplay, progression, and core mechanics. With reference to the mechanics, this may be because I understand the minutiae of skating more than most, but even before more advanced tricks were tutorialised, I was popping tres and doing rotations with ease, which meant that new monolith discoveries weren’t all that rewarding.
The skating really only allows for basic grinds, ollies, rotations, a handful of flips and variations, and manuals, reverts, and the like. Which would be fine if the core narrative and quest design were enthralling enough to carry the burden of this simplicity. But if you don’t vibe with the chaos, everything feels like a low-budget version of old THPS 4 quests, which gets old after a while.
Truly, by the third, maybe even as early as the second level of the game, I felt like I had mastered everything and the game had little left to teach me, and very little else to offer me in terms of exciting action. That wasn’t entirely true, as the high-octane moments elevated by Blood Cultures’ tunes still made my neck hair stand on end. But it’s the moments in between that left a lot to be desired.
In short, Skate Story is one hell of an experience, and there’s truly nothing like it on the market. Plus, credit where it’s due, it’s an undeniably unique skating game. But, at least in my eyes, it’s not a great game.
Shatters Like Glass
I’m not always super keen to rag on a game for technical issues, especially in an era of gaming where a day-one patch can leave you looking rather foolish. But, in the case of Skate Story, I almost feel a duty of care to give anyone interested the full picture. Sam Eng has clearly wrestled with this game to get it in a workable state, a grudge match where they have come out the victor, but it’s far from a pristine final product.
I’ve already mentioned the wonky physics engine and the countless occasions spent tumbling out of bounds. But that really is the tip of the iceberg. Throughout my time with Skate Story I experienced a couple of hard crashes, several awkward camera angles that detracted from the action on screen, large pockets of silence that, even in a game that utilities silence, seemed like they couldn’t have been intentional, and plenty of moments where I got trapped in various environments, leading to me needing to extract to the Skater’s Dream and load back into the level.
However, the cherry atop the cake where jank is concerned was right at the end of my playthrough where I reached the final boss, but due to some actions that I did before engaging with this boss, the game couldn’t handle this sequence of events, and when I beat the boss, it would throw me back into a previous level, forever stopping me from finishing the game. This was remedied by the Dev team granting me access to the internal cheats console, but it basically sums up many of the gripes I have about Skate Story.
Yet, despite all the moments that detracted from the immersion, and every irritating bump in the road, I can’t help but give Skate Story a pass. Mainly because it’s a game that shoots for the stars, aiming to do something different from the rest, succeeding, and then some. Perhaps the jagged edges are an allegory for hell and the suffering we must endure. Or, you know, just developmental hell in general.
Review code provided by publisher. Reviewed on PS5
7.5
«I can wholeheartedly say that Skate Story is not what I thought it would be. But I’m glad, as what I got was so much more unique and surreal. With an abstract art style, a wonderfully weird story, and one of the finest soundtracks I’ve ever treated my ears to, Skate Story is truly an experience I would recommend to anyone. I struggle to recommend it as a gaming experience as the pacing, quest design, and skate mechanics all leave a lot to be desired. But all in all, Skate Story is well worth checking out, and a hell of a time.»
Плюсы
- Невероятный саундтрек
- Surreal story and visuals
- Fast-paced action feels incredible
Минусы
- Technical issues are abundant
- Pacing and quest design is poor
- Skate mechanics could benefit from more depth
- 7.5
Скейт История
