Skate Story

Skate Story is my GOTY 2025. It is the best 7/10 Game but to me its a 11/10 and I dont mean that as a bad thing but also keep in the mind the bias. I have been following this game for years since it first was showed off back on twitter around 2020 ish. It introduced me to my now favorite band Blood Cultures and have been listening to them ever since Set It On Fire played in the trailer. I listened to basically every song that they made. Then I was mistaken as Sam during a event and it was really cool to meet one of his friends which perpetuated my excitement for this game. Now onto the review The look, feel, experience of just grinding and tricking thru the game is superb. The music takes the experience so far and the unique aesthetic transports you to a different dimension its radical. Its more like a game that is trying to make you feel what its like being a skater rather than you are a person who skates like in other skating games. Skate Story excels when it is going down a linear path and you have to go down it really fast doing tricks with the music blasting. As the game progresses, I do see the level design getting better and better allowing you to get faster and faster. …

Even tho this game has style beyond believe, i kinda don't really feel any drive to play it. Maybe because it's always these timed runs that put pressure on you? Idk but that's not the structure i'm looking for in these types of games.

Quite decent mechanics, and the story was good overall if a bit slow in places towards the end. The main highlight is the absolutely fantastic soundtrack. Highly recommended on that as the basis.

This game is art and everyone should play it. It makes me feel like I could eat the moon if I tried hard enough. FROM INFERNAL FLAMES A DEMON OF GLASS AND PAIN

I really love games that are (pretty much) created by small teams - or even just one person. They feel really personal and interesting in a way that games made by larger teams just can't. Skate Story is really dreamlike and abstract, but also [i]incredibly[/i] specific at times. With that central contrast, I think everyone who plays it will get something different out of it. In terms of gameplay, it's somewhere [i]between[/i] THPS & Skate mechanically. More forgiving and freeform than Skate, but not nearly as arcadey as THPS games. There's a mix of "open zone" sections that have you completing challenges, more direct levels that have you ripping through the Underworld - kickflipping at tremendous speeds, and boss fights which take place in closed arenas. Movement in this game is such a joy. To me, the levels where you're skating through the Underworld are the highlights of the game (and something sorely missing from other big skateboarding games). The OST absolutely slaps. This whole game is so [i]cohesive[/i]. I love it.

One of the best games I've ever played this year, the soundtrack and visuals are amazing, Thank you for making this beautiful game.