We have performed many nice skateboarding video games, however none have ever regarded or felt like Skate Story.
This is not about chasing large scores or discovering loopy traces; it is a single-player journey by means of the underworld, enjoying as a crystalline demon on a mission to avoid wasting himself.
The Satan says he’ll return the demon’s soul if he can swallow the moons of Hell’s many realms, armed with a skateboard and aided by a mysterious rabbit.
It is a foolish setup, particularly paired with a skateboarding recreation, but it surely’s so artfully completed that it is simple to be swept alongside.
Whereas it tells a linear narrative, most of the recreation’s levels are open-ended areas in which you’ll be able to skate freely.
The skating right here is hard; virtually completely based mostly on avenue/flatland methods, that is in some methods a reasonably real looking interpretation.
Controls really feel fiddly at first, with shoulder buttons mixed with Circle to drag off methods. Feeling comparatively competent on the recreation takes time, however that appears intentional; with endurance and observe, you may get higher, identical to the actual sport.
Doing a kickflip right into a grind, then doing a pop shuvit out — that is the extent of skating we’re speaking about, and pulling off your supposed strikes feels very satisfying. Finishing the sport’s many duties — serving to out a personality, progressing the primary quest, tackling an optionally available problem — is nice enjoyable, and new methods are properly metered out.
The sport’s ending feels extra like 5 endings, so it loses a few of its steam, however broadly, Skate Story is properly paced. Whether or not it is speedy hall sequences that check your reflexes, these open areas, or the numerous imaginative boss encounters, the sport is at all times introducing new concepts and reminding you ways rattling cool it’s.
The presentation is a big a part of that; the mix of the trippy visuals, the nice music, and the writing — typically poetic, typically ridiculous — contributes massively to an entirely singular expertise. The vibe is downtrodden, moody, and rebellious, and it conveys its distinctive power with easy confidence.
One factor that dragged the entire thing down for us is that, after you roll credit, there is no method to return to the hub and discover these open ranges; it’s a must to begin a brand new recreation, which restarts your progress. This looks like an oversight, and we hope the sport is up to date to alter that.
There is a pretty apparent level of no return, although, so proper now it appears the optimum method to play is to by no means contact the finale, and simply exist on this trendy, difficult skateboarding title, unlocking new decks and exploring each nook of its oppressive underworld.
Whereas it lasts, that is fairly simply essentially the most strikingly distinctive and visually fascinating skating recreation you possibly can play, and we won’t assist however respect its relentless effort to go in opposition to the grain.
