What’s the worst sin imaginable? Well, skateboarding of course — “a sin beyond sin”. This is pretty much everything you need to know going in to Skate Story.
Created by solo developer Sam Eng, it drops you into a surreal Underworld as The Skater — a fragile demon made of glass who’s been given a simple deal by the Devil: skate to the Moon, eat it, and you’re free. Sounds simple enough…
From there, things only get stranger (this is a Devolver Digital title, mind you). You’ll skate through nine layers of the Underworld, riding across sinful soul-filled streets and warped environments that run on dream logic rather than anything that would make sense.
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One minute you’re cleaning the Devil’s dirty laundry, the next you’re delivering a latte to a pigeon. None of it is overly explained, and Skate Story is better for it.
Dreaming of the Past
There’s a real sense of nostalgia here. It feels like one of those weird PS2 era games that I’d spent hours on as a kid that none of my friends played and couldn’t relate to. It’s fantastic.
In terms of how it all works, Skate Story is much closer to Tony Hawk’s Underground than EA’s Skate, and while the word “story” may be central to its title, other than your main quest there’s no rules as to where the narrative goes.
One moment you’re a hungry skater, the next you’re chasing a giant skull through a dreamscape trying to acquire a pair of shears.
I wish there were a few more things to tick off a list as you play — I’m a sucker for a list of quests to complete. It lacks in that department. There’s also no map, but the game is linear enough for you not to rely on one.
Learning to Skate in Hell
Skating does take a bit of time to get used to, largely thanks to the camera angle. At first it feels awkward, but once it clicks, it actually becomes one of the game’s biggest strengths, letting you really feel the movement of the board and time tricks to perfection.
Just don’t stack or you’ll shatter into a billion pieces.
As you ride through the story, you unlock more tricks until you’re juggling a pretty gnarly move set.
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Holding down the PS5’s touchpad sets your spawn point, meaning you can retry a combo run again and again until you perfect it.
Combat (yes, combat) works the same way, built around timing and chaining moves.
Fights are resolved by pulling off quick trick combos and slamming down to deal damage, including boss battles and scraps with the Fuss, the Underworld’s version of the police — you can get some serious wanted level! Some encounters are easy to cheese, but they’re still fun; the game favours flow and spectacle over anything super difficult.
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You’re also able to walk around, stepping off your board and walking to the next drop in location or shop. While it wasn’t always necessary to walk, it made sense for some of those indoor moments where skating room was minimal.
Riding in Style
Other than some sweet kicks and your board, The Skater is only an image of abstract light refractions — but there’s a couple of ways to improve your street flair.
You earn souls by riding and completing tasks, then can spend them in the various gift shops on new decks, wheels, trucks, and sticker options.
Your skateboard also gets damaged over time, meaning you’ll need to clean it or replace it entirely — a small but nice touch. Hell is not clean.
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Each chapter features some kind of open area where you can find short side quests and collectibles. These areas were always enjoyable to stuff around in, even if that did mean falling through the map a couple of times.
I had a couple of moments where the camera would completely lose control and times where the world would disappear under the Skater’s wheels. Usually I’d be mad, but there’s not much of a consequences to dying or restarting. Overall, Skate Story is a pretty smooth ride.
Hellish Beats
When Skate Story is at its best, it’s pure flow. Then when the music kicks in and everything lines up — it’s electric. I regularly found myself ignoring the task at hand to just to set up lines and chase better combos.
It helps that the soundtrack is fire (as the kids would say). It’s made by New York artist Blood Cultures with additional tracks by John Fio. There’s just something about skating video games and good music.
It’s a surprisingly diverse mix, matching the game’s shifting moods well — from laid-back exploration to all out demon battles.
Fio’s Redvoid stands out in particular, the kind of track you’ll have on repeat long after you’ve put the controller down.
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Should I play Skate Story?
Skate Story is weird, confident, and completely committed to its vibe. It doesn’t care if everything makes sense, as long as it feels right — and more often than not, it absolutely does.
For its $30 AUD price tag, and especially with its inclusion on PlayStation Plus Extra, it’s an easy recommendation for anyone who loves skating games, surreal worlds, or just something a little different.
Strange, stylish, and sinfully spectacular.
Quest Daily scores Skate Story:
8.5/10
Skate Story out now on PlayStation 5, PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch 2. There’s also a demo available on PC.
A copy of the game was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
