Soon, I will eat more than one moon. But for now, both you and I can eat a single moon as a demo starter for the main course Skate Story’ll ollie into our lives when it releases in December. It’ll have to do, washed down with a glass skater making a stone philosopher feel some type of way by busting out sick combos.
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Developer Sam Eng actually pulled a fast one and released Skate Story’s Steam Next Fest demo a bit early. It debuted at the tail end of last week, jumping the big queue of cool things each Next Fest has become. Despite my British sense of etiquette, I’ll forgive him, because he did at least pair it with some big news. Skate Story will release on December 8th, 2025.
On that day, you’ll be able to take in nine chapters of the answer to the following question: ‘What if Tony Hawk’s soul was sent to a realm of nightmare surrealism, and was also a bit peckish?’ On this day, you can give the first chapter a whirl in the demo, which I’ve just kickflipped through in about 35 minutes.
As far as I can tell, it’s the same demo Brendan, no doubt using his mysterious skateboarding magicks, managed to get his hands on back in 2024. Curse you, Caldwell, one day we’ll see your cupboard of evil tricks flung open, no doubt to reveal a bit of paper which reads ‘I just asked the dev, and they said there you go’.
Anyway, I’ve given it a go and it’s just as cool as ol’ Brendo said. I particularly enjoyed dispelling the smiling block’s manhole guffs, and the section which sees your skater glide through space to kickflip at a celestial body. The soundtrack being more akin to Disco Elsyium’s chill Sea Power symphony than the usual pop punk performances blasting in skating games will take a bit of getting used to. If you’re interested in finding out more about the artist behind it, Blood Cultures, there’s a bit of chat with them in the Steam post I linked earlier.
“Skate Story is based on a true story,” Eng wrote in that same post. “Yes, that’s right folks. Sure, it’s slightly dramatized for effect, but it’s all totally 100% true. Of course, names and places have been altered as well, for the privacy of those involved. For example, it was not originally a Frog who ran the bagel shop, and the Skater actually had to get a lawyer before signing the Devil’s Contract.”
Cool. Skate Story’s demo’s on its Steam page, where you can also wishlist it ahead of that December release.
