A Skateboarding Game Quite Unlike Anything Else
Skate Story is one of those rare games that feels familiar and completely unhinged at the same time. It mixes tight, ground-level skateboarding with a surreal descent through the underworld, turning hell into a neon dreamscape where a demon on a board tries to eat the moon. It is stylish, strange, and surprisingly true to the essence of skateboarding.
Developed by Sam Eng and published by Devolver Digital, Skate Story has launched on PS5, PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2 on December 8, and it very quickly proves why it stands out in a crowded wave of skateboarding games.
A Demon, A Deal, and A Very Strange Journey
The story begins with a demon made entirely of glass who is somehow hungry, tired, and ready to take an enormous bite out of the moon. This understandably angers the devil, who then demands a deal. If you can flip, grind, and manual your way through the underworld and eat the moon, you earn your freedom.
Along the way, you meet a cast of wonderfully odd characters, including a talking rabbit guide, a pigeon blogger, a frog barista, a cute bag of trash, and plenty of skeletons. The world constantly shifts between cryptic, quirky, and philosophical moments, creating a journey that feels like Dante’s Inferno crossed with a Thrasher photoshoot.
A Blend of Skateboarding and Adventure
Skate Story breaks its world into three types of levels. There are hub zones where you can skate freely while taking on tasks, like doing the devil’s laundry or hunting down a permit so you can take a nap. Most tasks ask you to land combos, chase characters, or collect items.
Other levels take you speeding down chaotic tracks as you race through portals and try not to crash. Then there are boss battles, where you take on eldritch creatures by chaining combos and stomping them down in marked zones. It mixes skateboarding and light adventure elements in a way that feels fresh and easy to pick up.
Skating That Feels Weighty and Reactive
While the trick system is different from modern sims like the Skate series, it keeps things intuitive. Tricks combine shoulder buttons or triggers with face buttons, and new moves unlock gradually throughout the story. This makes combos satisfying to pull off, even if the learning curve takes a moment for Tony Hawk veterans to adjust to.
Every mistake sends your glass body shattering across the pavement, but you restart instantly, which keeps the pace lively and encourages experimentation. Speed challenges, in particular, are highlights. Charging toward an ethereal exit door while the soundtrack surges in the background captures the pure rush of skating at full tilt.
Hell Has Never Looked This Good
Skate Story is easily one of the most visually arresting games of the decade. Its grainy, low-fi aesthetic blends neon lights with jagged spikes, surreal hellscapes, and warped slices of New York City. You might roll through areas that resemble bagel shops or subway tunnels, only reimagined through a haunted, neon-drenched lens.
Through this dreamy world skates your glass demon, refracting the environment as it moves. The tight, low-slung camera brings you close to the action and tumbles to the ground whenever you bail, making every run feel tense and alive.
The soundtrack, crafted by New Jersey band Blood Cultures, ties the experience together with experimental electro-pop tunes that shift in vibe depending on where you are in the underworld. It is atmospheric, catchy, and perfect for getting into a flow state.
A New Standout In a Strong Era for Skate Games
We’re living through an incredible period for skateboarding games, from the Tony Hawk remakes to indie favourites like OlliOlli World and Skate City. Even in such a strong field, Skate Story stands out because of how confidently it embraces its oddities. It understands skate culture, captures the feeling of skating with surprising clarity, and mixes it with a surreal adventure that is unlike anything else.
Not every mission hits the mark, and its replay value may be limited, but as a complete package, Skate Story is one of the most distinctive skateboarding games in recent memory. Hell might be full of pain, jagged edges, and glowing red skeletons, but somehow, it also makes for the perfect place to ride.