"Skate Story": See the Trailer for the Psychedelic Skating Simulator15.06.2020

Rather than ride the city, the crystalline skater traverses ghastly, abstract landscapes, heading inexorably for the sun. 

Skate Story is a surprising video game poised to be a breath of fresh air in the skating simulation genre. Even the concept art for the protagonist, riding across imaginary, surreal landscapes with a skin resembling a gleaming crystal, is a genuine visual feast. While he may bear some likeness to the Silver Surfer character from Marvel’s Fantastic Four, Sam Eng, the developer behind the title, says that the game shuns blockbuster storytelling in favor of experimenting with form and realistic character movement and controls.

As Eng himself wrote on Twitter, the controls in the game are “a crazy mix between many different skate games.” The mechanics are well illustrated by the recently released gameplay trailer. Using the controller, players can switch rider stance, adjust foot placement, and perform a variety of tricks. The board also leans to the sides as you ride it, so, as a result of the game staying true to certain skateboarding mechanics, performing a proper kickflip will definitely require some training.

Given that EA’s Skate 4 will likely never see the light of day, while the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise went with releasing remastered versions of old titles rather than new ones, Skate Story has the unique opportunity to blaze new trails in the genre—after all, skateboarding video games don’t necessarily have to be set in urban environments and can easily offer much more diverse sort of entertainment. 

The release date for the title has not yet been announced.