Skate Story has a deeper meaning for sure – I just can’t prove it yet. On the surface, it makes plenty of sense. Made of pain, sleep and hunger, you want to eat the moon. The moon, sadly, isn’t made of cheese, but that won’t stop you from trying. The best way to do that? Why, signing away your soul, becoming a glass being that’s still pain, sleep and hunger, and riding a skateboard through the cosmos to beat that bad boy into lunar submission.
Naturally, this incurs the wrath of the chief philosopher and the wandering eyes who, despite being just eyes, can’t tolerate your racket. Don’t worry, though – after an ephemeral rabbit guides you to two Thinkpieces and you pass evaluation, the moon is rightfully yours for the snacking, except that’s the beginning rather than the end.
I swear I’m not crazy.
In fact, this is a blow-by-blow account of the first 20 minutes or so of Skate Story by Sam Eng. Long in development, delayed multiple times, and finally available for PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2, it’s a game about skateboarding. The bee at the florist? The fluffy creature in the Bagelworld who gives you warm milk (and oddly appears later in a completely different role)? The skeleton fleeing with shears in its mouth? They’re all distractions – the real friends really are the skateboarding we performed along the way.
“As delirious as it feels at times, however, the art direction is sublime, an appropriately uneasy balance between aesthetically pleasing and aesthetically appropriate. Contrast this to its first trailer all those years ago, and it’s mind-boggling to see the leaps that Skate Story has taken.”
It certainly isn’t the skeleton that remembers Summer, the real Summer, before it disintegrates into dust. Or the other that sinks its teeth into a heart (not really – it’s just happily hanging off a street lamp) to make up for the lack of one in its chest before also disintegrating. Or the train propelled by millipede-like legs that we need – what else – a MilliCard to ride to face the blood-red moon (which went down easier thanks to the milk). At least the twin moons came to me, projecting scuttling blue scorpions that were seemingly content to vibe on this impromptu dance floor.
If this is all sounding a little too surreal, I absolutely promise you that the visuals and music will not cure that. Skate Story has this color bleed effect (which can be turned off in the settings), which combines with the per-object motion blur and screen space reflections to make environments feel that much more dream-like. If the random stop signs, hurdles, pavements, and glass needles weren’t already doing that for you. As delirious as it feels at times, however, the art direction is sublime, an appropriately uneasy balance between aesthetically pleasing and aesthetically appropriate. Contrast this to its first trailer all those years ago, and it’s mind-boggling to see the leaps that Skate Story has taken. Be warned, though – the amount of flashing lights can be a bit much, and it can occasionally be difficult to make out some paths due to background clutter.
The incredible soundtrack by Blood Cultures (with John Flo also contributing some tracks) is also a notable anchor – it’s easy to get wrapped up in its flow, as the skateboarding becomes more meditative. When it’s not leaning back on chill instrumentals, there’s an eclectic mix of psychedelic pop and chillwave. I know it’s probably going to be impossible given the release timing, but this absolutely deserves a nomination for soundtrack of the year.
Even the sound effects are on point. Your skateboard slamming against the pavement is so satisfying and realistic, further enhanced by the sound of breaking glass. Different surfaces produce unique sounds, as you’ll quickly learn when skateboarding on brick floors. There are some places where effects are missing – the laundromat, for instance – but if anything, they enhance the overall weirdness of the situation.
“You have to build up a combo and slam within proximity of your foes to deal damage. A risk vs. reward mechanic where building up that combo in a single stretch to insta-wipe a boss would have been nice, especially given the time limit in these sections.”
As an experience, Skate Story is something unlike anything else out there, but what about the gameplay? Despite how much of a fever dream this all is, the skateboarding is quite robust. You start with the most basic of tricks – an Ollie and a Kickflip before quickly progressing towards the Heelflip. Of course, you can pull off this and much more pretty much immediately, whether it’s Manuals and Reverts or Frontside 180s and grinds. A small timing meter appears whenever performing a trick – perfectly time an Ollie, for instance, and you’ll pop up higher.
However, this isn’t quite like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, where you complete objectives within a single sandbox-like level, discovering secrets, spelling SKATE and whatnot. Several segments play out more like a linear platformer, as you barrel down paths, warping from one to the next through portals while avoiding obstacles like fire or turning on a dime to avoid slamming into glass needle bushes. To be clear, it’s a dream to control – the responsiveness while performing tricks is great, and it all feels natural, though successfully nailing grinds can take some getting used to. There’s also some iffy collisions, where it felt like I should have hit a lamp post, but phased right through.
Running through these sections, there is a distinct feeling of discovering the best paths for racking up the highest scores. Since continuously repeating the same tricks will cause the combo to deplete faster, you’re encouraged to experiment. If anything, consider them practice when navigating the actual hub-like intermissions between these linear sections with Moonspots that require performing tricks or additional objectives that require mastering different tricks.
The combos only really matter during boss battles, for the most part. You have to build up a combo and slam within proximity of your foes to deal damage. A risk vs. reward mechanic where building up that combo in a single stretch to insta-wipe a boss would have been nice, especially given the time limit in these sections. However, I didn’t see any difference between slamming after a 2000-score combo versus a 15,000 combo, which is kind of disappointing.
“You wouldn’t think a trash bag could serve as a complex labyrinth of perpetual blazes or that the path to Bagelworld could be so treacherous, but if you take the leap, these and many other wondrous sights await.”
So while there is a satisfying gameplay system to master, it’s not really one that’s in the pursuit of big scores, unless you count accruing Souls and spending them on skate decks, stickers, wheels, and whatnot. The journey is what matters more than anything else, and even if the narrative is all over the place in that respect, there is an undercurrent of celebration for skateboarding as a whole. Philosophical musings – does a trick make a sound if no one is around to hear it? – can sound corny. Oddly and appropriately, however, it fits with the overall atmosphere that Skate Story is going for. Somehow.
As far as side quests and activities go, they’re a little too simple in some respects, simply defaulting to “Get and deliver an item.” The main “quest” steps, as they were, involve mastering aspects like grinding and come across as more entertaining. However, the streamlining can feel a little excessive when trying to really explore and take in the various levels.
All that said, Skate Story is worth checking out if you want a skateboarding experience with an excellent trick system and responsive controls, but also incredibly out there with its narrative and atmosphere. You wouldn’t think a trash bag could serve as a complex labyrinth of perpetual blazes or that the path to Bagelworld could be so treacherous, but if you take the leap, these and many other wondrous sights await.
This game was reviewed on PC.
This review offers an intriguing glimpse into Skate Story. It’s always fascinating when a game has layers of meaning beneath the surface. Looking forward to seeing more discussions about its themes!