Skate Story is one of the most distinctive and original skateboarding games of the decade
The world of skateboarding video games is expansive, dotted with classics and infamous missteps. You've got the arcade majesty of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, the technical realism of Skate and Session, and the absolute pits—the torturous pain of Tony Hawk Ride or the pure, unadulterated failure of The Simpsons Skateboarding. And then there's Skate Story. While this genre's latest entry echoes the pain of those latter examples, it embraces the suffering as its core philosophy, delivering a surreal, beautiful, and utterly distinctive journey.
Skate Story, developed by Sam Eng and published by Devolver Digital, is a study in marrying bizarre, David Lynch-esque vision with robust, grounded skating mechanics. While the sheer, unapologetic weirdness of the underworld setting might not be for everyone, the commitment to its aesthetic and the exquisitely fluid feel of the board make it a memorable experience unlike any other skateboarding game you've ever played.
What is Skate Story About?
The plot is where the game takes its sharp left turn into the surreal. The Skate Story is about a demon made entirely of glass and pain, marooned in the Underworld (a setting the developer calls "The Emptylands"). The Devil (who wears stylish pants) offers the Glass Skater a deal: be set free, but only on the condition that they find a way to flip, grind, and manual their way to the Moon and eat it. The quest requires traversing the nine layers of hell, completing skate trials, and defeating bosses (which are often the very moons you must consume). Along the way, you meet a cast of bizarre characters, from a forgetful frog barista to a subway train with legs, all set against a psychedelic neon backdrop.
Gameplay and Aesthetics
Don't let the grainy, low-fi look fool you—this is one of the most imaginative and eye-catching games in recent memory. The neon underworld blends jagged, impossible architecture, shattered pieces of New York City, and vast, abstract cosmic landscapes. Watching this wild world refract through a glass-clad demon is a visual feast.
The controls are intentionally unconventional, departing from the "Flick-it" systems of the Skate series and the dual-stick complexity of Session. Instead, Skate Story feels more like a reimagined Tony Hawk game where basic tricks are activated by a combination of shoulder buttons/triggers and face buttons.
While this requires shelving decades of pro skater muscle memory, the learning curve is moderate and rewarding. The mechanics are grounded and weighty, and the feeling of a perfect powerslide or landing a slow-motion ender feels sublime. The low-slung camera beautifully complements the action, tumbling to the ground each time your fragile glass demon bails and shatters into a million pieces.
The only mechanical drawback is the boss battles and some sandbox objectives. To win encounters against the Moons, you build up combos and stomp them down within a marked zone. While you can spam your way through some frantic-looking segments, which may disappoint veterans looking for a stiff challenge, there is ample room to be deliberate about trick selection to accumulate better combos and deal faster damage. Likewise, some sandbox fetch quests feel trivial, such as collecting floating letters that are simply hovering at ground level.
The atmosphere is further cemented by the sound. The soundtrack by New Jersey band Blood Cultures is a generous mix of experimental electro-pop. It's evocative, catchy, and perfectly complements the abstract environments and eternal night setting, providing the necessary gravity in the absence of voice acting.
Burning Questions
Is Skate Story ever coming out?
Yes, Skate Story is officially out! It launched on December 8, 2025, for macOS, PlayStation 5, and Windows (and the Nintendo Switch 2). After a period of delays, the surreal skateboarding adventure is finally here, ready to be devoured.
What is the story of Skate 1?
The original Skate (2007) is set in the fictional city of San Vanelona (a combination of San Francisco, Vancouver, and Barcelona). The story of Skate 1 follows the journey of an ordinary, customizable skater who rises to fame after a devastating accident. The narrative is a classic rags-to-riches, rise-to-stardom tale focused on grinding challenges, getting sponsored, and landing on the cover of magazines, set against an open-world environment that prizes realistic physics and the innovative "Flick-it" control system.
What is the summary of skateboarding?
Skateboarding originated in California in the late 1940s and early 1950s when surfers looked for a way to "sidewalk surf" when the waves were flat. The first boards were wooden boxes or planks with roller skate wheels attached. The sport saw a major evolution in the mid-1970s with the introduction of polyurethane wheels, allowing for better grip and paving the way for vertical skating in drained swimming pools and early skateparks. The biggest revolution came in 1978 with Alan Gelfand's invention of the ollie, which became the fundamental basis for nearly all street-skating tricks that followed. Throughout the 80s and 90s, skateboarding evolved from a fringe activity into a global cultural phenomenon, influencing fashion, art, and music, and eventually making its debut as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Bottom Line
Learning to skate can be hell, and Skate Story proves it by taking us to what is easily the weirdest vision of the underworld you'll ever see. Fusing a solid foundation of satisfyingly grounded skate tricks with a bizarre abstract world bathed in neon and starlight, it is a wild, poetic trip. While its six-hour duration and limited objectives might raise questions about replayability, and the text-based conversations occasionally require some focus, there is no doubt that Skate Story is one of the most distinctive and original skateboarding games of the decade.About the Writer
Jenny, the tech wiz behind Jenny's Online Blog, loves diving deep into the latest technology trends, uncovering hidden gems in the gaming world, and analyzing the newest movies. When she's not glued to her screen, you might find her tinkering with gadgets or obsessing over the latest sci-fi release.What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
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