Skate history
Available on PC, PS5, Switch 2.
To paraphrase Fatboy Slim, the best time to play skateboarding is… right here, right now. Between the Tony Hawk Pro 3+4 remasters, Skate being brought back to life, and a few older games like Session: Skate Sim, I felt spoiled for choice with everything on offer. But among them Skate Story turned out to be a pearl of originality, style and authenticity.
While performance on the console has been mixed (I'm currently putting together a new patch for it on my PS5 at the time of writing), Skate Story has an underdog charm that makes it an instant classic. After all, you're a demon made of glass and pain trying to destroy the moons of hell with a well-timed pop joke, but Skate Story is more than just a pretty game with incredibly creative art direction.
Skating has a palpable feel to the game: the feeling of urethane wheels slowly wearing out as you bounce over demons and lean forward to gain extra speed, your contractual fragility be damned. The sense of constant danger, the fisheye camera close-ups that make the game look like it was shot on the Sony DCR-VX1000, and the irreverent sense of humor only add to Skate Story's charm. — Darrin Bonthuis
