Skate Story

Games are not always about beating bosses and levels. Skating is not always about landing your tricks. Skate Story teaches you that and much more.

Skate Story isn’t played, it’s felt: every trick is a cry of freedom and every fall a reminder of the pain that runs through it. With its hypnotic aesthetic and atmosphere heavy with symbolism, it turns skateboarding into a dark and fascinating ritual. Beyond a few minor details, what remains is a brutally immersive experience, capable of leaving its mark like few others.

Skate Story is a fantastic game for fans of the street skating genre, mixing things up with an incredibly unique setting, striking visuals, and thought-provoking ideas, while still encapsulating both the culture and the mechanics of the genre we love.

Skate Story isn't particularly difficult or demanding of skill, and that works in its favour. Rather than worrying about completing board rotations in time to get the wheels on the ground, the focus is on the path ahead in a way that feels like our demon skater was something of an expert in their past life. This helps make the animations look tight, the gameplay flows through levels, and the initially-scary timing mechanic becomes second-nature. At a certain point the feel of those trick patterns overtakes the visuals, but even without hitting the sweet spot you're still skating like the best of them. I just wanted more to do with all of it. The existing levels are great, but without the ability to play any one of them on-demand it means sitting through dialogue that goes a tiny bit slower than I would like, pushing and Ollie-ing tutorials, and all the other first-timer experiences again and again. But still I do it. Perhaps as I go through more of the story will continue to break through the obscurity it's baked in, and maybe I'll find those missing collectables, but all of that is supplemental, because Skate Story's unique approach to skateboarding feels, looks, and sounds great.

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.

Skate Story is a strange game. It's bizarre, obscure, and frequently ridiculous, so the tone and atmosphere might be too off-putting for some. If it works for you, I suspect it is really going to work for you. The gameplay is perfectly serviceable, and while it never quite reaches the heights of excellence, it more than shines for its purposes. Skate Story is a game that shines when taken as a whole, particularly the way the graphics and music work together. If you're even remotely curious about the concept, it's worth giving it a shot.

The game feels somewhat tormented by its turgid dialogue and a one-note plot, both given preference over the raw thrills of doing kickflips in hell. [Issue#419, p.108]

Great Vibe and sticks around for the perfect amount of time. Music and gameplay elements blend together perfectly. It didn't have much room to improve on itself in the last few chapters but was glad I could see it through to the end.

Skate Story is a must play for skateboarding fans. Great visuals, soundtrack and just overall vibe with very responsive and enjoyable controls.

Aesthetically pleasing with a great soundtrack, but the core skating mechanic never feels particularly satisfying and it’s all too easy to hit an obstacle you didn’t even see coming.