“You’re a demon made of glass and pain” has to be one of the hardest taglines there’s ever been for a videogame. Now that Skate Story has a December 8 release date and approximately hour-long demo, we’ve found out there’s an addendum to that sick as hell pitch: “And you’re on a quest to eat the Moon.”
Skate Story is a game that has periodically poked its head out over the past few years to say, “This is still happening, here’s an absolutely incredible-looking trailer with killer music.” There is nothing else out there that looks like Skate Story: Its marble columns and greek statuary poking out of surreal dreamscapes are very vaporwave, but there’s so much else going on that makes it distinct from other abstract, crunchy works of surrealism like Hyper Demon. This is a rare game that leverages 3D graphics being untethered from reality to show you things that are breathtakingly, impossibly beautiful.
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Every new vista in the demo’s frenetic opening—which sees you following a rabbit through hell portals, skating into new areas every few seconds—had me hooting and guffawing so loud it scared my pets. Comparing the launch day trailer to the 2020 debut that already stole our hearts, it’s easy to see where at least some of that long development effort went.
Skate Story looks much more refined and advanced in its current state, like 2020 Skate Story was an initial outing, and 2025 Skate Story is its much better-funded sequel on a new console generation. But we already knew Skate Story was going to look and sound incredible from those mic drop trailers. Along with the pleasant surprise of an actual release date after all this time, I had a wonderful feeling of relief discovering that Skate Story is also extremely fun to play.
In a real “I don’t know what else I expected” moment, it plays a lot like other skateboarding videogames: You press a button to kick off the ground and pick up speed, auto grind on rails by landing on them, and have an assortment of button combos to kickflip, ollie, pop shuvit, and all that other stuff that’s corroding the moral fibre of the youth. Comboing tricks together in succession, with an emphasis on variety and audacity, will contribute to a soul score you use to buy stuff, and also plays a role in Skate Story’s boss fights.
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That’s one big thing that sets Skate Story apart for me: Having a structured, substantial story campaign with complex boss fights and some linear, obstacle course levels in addition to making your own fun sandbox play. You can still tool around in the open-ended hub worlds, racking up money from combos to get stickers, wheels, and all new boards. But it feels like the sandbox is an addition to the campaign, rather than the sandbox being front and center over those kind of ad hoc story missions you see in a lot of skating, racing, and live service games.
Skate Story also nails its mechanical execution: It feels fantastic in the hand. Its zoomed-in, off-center camera contributes to a real sense of speed, while you’re encouraged to end combos with an authoritative stomp move with some delicious hitstop.
The weight and momentum of the Skater led to all kinds of close calls and rescued combos for me, particularly when I’d just about collided with some grindable terrain or some of the hell glass obstacles strewn around and ollied into a grind or drifted at just the last second to avoid wiping out. If you do beef it, no sweat—Skate Story spawns you just a few feet back and you can get right back into it, a system that reminds me of Hotline Miami with its speed and convenience, but notably does not set back your progress.
So, Skate Story: Believe the hype. This game has gone from vaporware to a personal GOTY contender in the span of a two minute trailer and 50 minutes of demo. You can try Skate Story’s demo for yourself and wishlist it on Steam ahead of its December 8 launch.
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