Helskate is a roguelike skating game for the Tony Hawk series fans that involves fighting demons.
Helskate is a skating game developed by Phantom Coast, an indie studio that has only developed Helskate. While there is not much information on the developers, they surely were confident enough to publish Helskate on PC and MacOS.
Helskate takes inspiration from Tony Hawk Pro Skater, which is called Hell Skater. In the past, the only game that comes to mind that I can recall that was able to take the entire world by storm in this manner was Rollerdrome. The game Rollerdrome was essentially a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game with guns, whereas Helskate mixes that famous look with aspects of roguelike gameplay and violent fighting.
The skateboarding video game Hellskate is of very high quality. I’ve played a number of other independent skate games, but this one stands out to me. Skater XL and Skate City are more technical than this game, Skatebird is more humorous than this game, and OlliOlli World is more centered on the platform than this game.
To summarize the main points of Helskate‘s narrative, you are Anton Falcon, a demon with only one wing who is unable to find luck. An individual named Anton, whose name is strangely similar to that of another Birdman who skates, is making an effort to flee Vertheim, which is a sort of underworld, and arrive at a beach that he has been longing for.
As you progress through the game, you will perform tricks, acquire upgrades for your abilities, and engage in battles against the most obscenely evil inhabitants of Vertheim. Additionally, you will compete in skating competitions that are supervised by King Garland, who is not, to say the least, Anton’s biggest fan.
After your death and subsequent return to the mall jail, the narrative is presented in a series of brief and awkward dialogue snippets. To tell you the truth, there is absolutely more to the story. Additionally, it does not contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment of the game. The words “I just want to skate!” are uttered by Anton.
When it comes to gameplay, Hellskate is exceptional. The first thing you need to do is find a skateboard that can also be used as a weapon to defend yourself against waves of monsters. You will be rewarded with new abilities, stickers, apparel that increases your skills, additional health, or gold for the hub planet if you are successful in beating enemies. The type of prize that will be given out in the subsequent round can also be specified.
The fundamental gameplay loop in Helskate consists of two main components: skating and combat. Using the framework of Hegelian dialectics, I feel it is essential to investigate the gaming cycle of this game. This cycle consists of three parts: the thesis, the antithesis, and the synthesis of both points.
It is not possible to state it more simply: the fight is not enjoyable. Helskate does not have the same weight and fervor as Hades’ fight. When you set the mouse’s right-click to light attack, you will be able to survive the vast majority of encounters. The wind-up on major assaults feels like it lasts for an excessively long time, which disrupts the flow and brings everything to a complete and utter standstill.
On top of that, there is the dodge, which, despite its effectiveness, throws you a little bit too far, disrupts your lines, and causes your skating to veer off course. The utility of the dodge is diminished due to the fact that, despite the fact that you are able to see the projectiles of the enemy and the direction in which they are shooting, some of them will shift their aim as they attack, making it harder to avoid their attacks.
Considering that this is largely a skating game, it is disappointing that the skating is also on the lower end of the spectrum. Although it is now the most impressive aspect of the game, I am unable to fall in love with it because it has many technical and design faults.
There are some unpleasant framerate stutters on my PC, which causes the trick timings to be off. The game does not have reversion or spine transfers, which makes it exceedingly challenging to rack up mega combos. The battle controls are positioned on your bumpers and triggers; hence, the game does not have these features.
As a consequence of this, when landing tricks off of a ramp, you are required to quickly do a manual, and the timing window is incredibly limited, substantially more constrained than the window that serves the same purpose in Professional Skater gameplay.
In spite of the fact that the game may periodically provide you with a combo shield that will enable you to take longer breaks in between tricks, this shield is not sufficient. Due to the fact that Helskate is a game in which it is a regular task to accumulate combinations, culminating with an enemy kill, what ought to be a pleasurable example of locking into a flow state becomes an unpleasant challenge.
That being said, how does it feel to combine these two primary aspects of the gameplay? Both of the systems are hampered as a result of this tragedy. The slightly jerky movement of the skater sometimes makes it difficult to reach and strike enemies, and the fact that you have to battle means that you can’t simply get into a comfortable flow state and rack up big scores like you do in THPS.
Those of you who, like me, believed that going off your board during the fight sequences would provide you the opportunity to make it a little bit more traditional and fun, you are mistaken. Because hitting an attack input will bring you back to your board, there is no way to mitigate the aggravation that you might have.
One further problem with the game is that the level design is not very good, and it is frequently your most difficult enemy in combat. Spikes and other hazards are dispersed throughout the stages, and if you happen to catch yourself in any of them, it will be detrimental to your health.
Certainly, that should be anticipated, but during my time with Helskate, I had a persistent issue with jumping and dodging just a little bit too far and then landing into water that appeared to be lethal.
I have seen that framerate stutters are a problem; nevertheless, this is not the only glitch that occurs with excruciating frequency. During my time playing Helskate, I fell through the environment, through the floor, and out of the world a number of times.
In a particular instance that made me never want to play the game again, I accidentally glitched through some scenery above a spike trap, which injured me for no reason.
Another troublesome aspect of the game is its level design, which is frequently your most formidable adversary in the fights. You will experience a decline in your health if you fall into any of the spikes or other hazards that are scattered around several levels.
This indeed is to be expected, but over the entirety of my time with Helskate, I encountered a persistent problem of jumping and dodging ever-so-slightly too far, as well as falling into the water that appeared to be lethal.
Minor issues, such as weird camera angles and Anton freezing at strange positions while selecting perks, can be fixed during Early Access. These issues can be remedied.
Despite the fact that everything else about Helskate screams potential, I immediately appreciate the acid candy-like appearance of it. I just want the mechanics to transport me back to the original movement of the flow without requiring me to go through the demon clean-up detail first.
Last but not least, although the game’s visual style is intriguing, it has the potential to become too cluttered (and glitchy) during combat. This implies that you will be flopping around like a fish plucked from the water, sometimes on a skateboard, with varying degrees of success and irritation.
The soundtrack is reminiscent of Tony Hawk, with punk-inspired music that is full of energy and a positive attitude. Even if you are not familiar with the performers, there is a good connection between the music and the game.
Helskate is unquestionably a good game for fans of the classic Tony Hawk series, but it has many problems. Even though it is in early access, the gameplay has ruined my expectations. The gameplay is kind of okay, but they need to focus more on the skating because the mechanics are bad.
The sound mechanics were fun and kept things engaging, and the graphics lived up to my expectations. However, they just lost me at the skating part. Overall, the story is very unique, and skaters around the world like me will definitely enjoy it.
