Skate Story
Preview
Crystal Clear
EA SCOUT the last line of defense for buying on Steam's Early Access
by Jordan Helsley
previewed on PC
Surreal
A skater made of glass and pain, an impossible mission, and a lovingly-crafted fish-eye lens. Skate Story has plenty of surreal elements to make it an enticing experience to simply lay your eyes on. It hits my sensibilities specifically, but the odds of this style and vibe fitting nicely with a skateboarding game seemed low. I mean, look at it. Any individual screenshot or video would feel like another souls-like or a contemplative action adventure without the inclusion of a board beneath your character's feet. As I got further into the story available for the preview (the first chapter of the game) it felt even more like this morphed from indie action to stylish skateboarding somewhere along the line.
It seems skateboarding games have existed for so long in one of three forms: side scrolling and minimalist, third-person arcade with a bangin' soundtrack, and third-person hyper-simulation. Skate Story manages to fall in between the latter two options by providing a more arcade-like experience with the presentation of a simulation. You're viewing your skater, most often, from the conventional "cameraman on a board behind you" low angle, but you do have full camera control. This is not only critical for analyzing your environment on the go, but also keeping track of obstacles in your path. There's plenty of opportunity for setting up lines to kickflip and grind through, but there's elements of downhill skating here too, where speed really matters. It is a mix I didn't expect, and is quite tricky to accomplish at first, but finding a flow felt just as satisfying as any of its contemporaries, though I have to say it was always short-lived.
There are hints at simulation aspects in the trick system. The momentum of the skater, danger of rolling into even small ledges, and, of course, camera angle all lend themselves to a feeling of realism inside this ethereal world, but we're not flicking a stick on the controller to push our feet around, and an ollie is a simple button press away. Your move set expands with the shoulder buttons: L2 places your back foot on the backside of the board, and L1 places it on the frontside, for example. It took some getting used to. Holding a trigger before hopping off the ground is usually reserved for rotating, not a shuvit. There's also a simple timing mechanic to your pops, represented by a circular meter that appears as you hold the ollie button. Time it right, and you get more air. I wouldn't say it's particularly punishing, but trying to maintain these mechanics, while also flowing with the all important speed, caused me more than a few wipe outs.
It's important to get these mechanics down, because tricks, variety, and, you guessed it, speed, are the elements you use to defeat enemies. Of course there are enemies, and it's a great feeling slamming down on four wheels after hitting a trick over a gap, feeling the impact of the hit, and watching the life meter drain a bit. But, should you break your flow, lose your speed, it can be a little bummer. Thankfully, consequences are light, so it never becomes frustrating. Most of the non-combat sections featured either speeding down a path and weaving between obstacles or ollieing over spikes. Fail at any of these, and you'll not only go crashing to the ground, but you'll shatter into a million pieces and your camera will go tumbling. Bailing never felt so fun and so harsh.
The short story snippet of the preview is even more ludicrous than I expected. You're given your skateboard by The Devil, and if you can use it to get to and then swallow the Moon, you'll be set free. A tale as old as time, right? It definitely serves the grungy world you're viewing through this light-refracting camera lens, as a crystal demon, but it goes even further. There's an opportunity, and a small indication, that Skate Story wants to have a story with a bit more depth. Early on you'll meet some philosophers in a veritable purgatory. Not real philosophers, but characters with names like "Philosopher." They speak in musings, but they've yet to say anything of substance as of the conclusion of Act 1, so it remains a prospect at this stage. You'll also run into these oppressive, foreboding Eyes who will yell a mix of demonic intentions and things like "you can't skate here." These portions of the formula could either add to the disparate elements of the world (like your Purgatory gift shop), or fail completely to maintain any sort of cohesion as the game progresses.
Skate Story exists, much like its crystalline skater, in a bit of a middle ground. The style and vibe, punctuated by the soundtrack from chillwave outfit Blood Cultures, are great, unexpected touches in the skateboarding space. However, it seems to have a limited trick space, and even after spending significant time training your brain to handle the board I never got that "flow state" feeling to last long, as the small levels of the opening felt constricting. There's plenty more space for the game to expand, but I walked away from the opening with the impression that the success of Skate Story's package is a coin flip.
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The game has potential, but we're not ready to jump in with both feet. If the game interests you, look, but don't touch - yet.
