"The original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater titles were anarchic, arcade fun while the recent return of EA's beloved Skate franchise offered competent yet jarringly corporate realism. Skate Story, which is mostly the work of solo developer Sam Eng, offers a more impressionistic interpretation while capturing something of the sport's essential spirit. It transposes the boarding action to a demonic underworld where the aesthetic is less fire and brimstone than glittering, 2010s-era vaporwave. It is also the most emotionally real a skateboarding game has ever felt."
"The premise is ingenious: you are a demon made out of pain and glass. Skate to the moon and swallow it, says the devil, and you shall be freed. So that is exactly what you do. You learn to ollie first, a delicate, precise trick according to the artfully written in-game text. Then come the pop shuvit, kickflip, heelflip and more."
"Beyond the ravishing visuals, what's most striking is the exquisite fluidity, the delicious gamefeel, of the actual skateboarding: the way the knees of this glittering demon bend just the right amount after landing a trick; the way you can see their foot stretching out across the top end of the board in order to apply just the right force that will cause it to flip."
Skate Story places skateboarding in a demonic, vaporwave-infused underworld where a pain-and-glass demon skates toward freedom by swallowing the moon. The game teaches tricks progressively, starting with a delicate ollie and moving to pop shuvits, kickflips, heelflips and more. Controls remain simple, with one-button ollies and shoulder-button modifiers for advanced moves. Visuals emphasize glittering, 2010s-era vaporwave while animation and physics deliver exceptional gamefeel, from precise knee bends on landing to detailed foot motion during flips. Falls cut to first-person tumbles, and encounters with surreal characters add emotional depth and bizarre charm.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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