Sword and board
Developer/ publisher Phantom Coast Format Origin Release PC The Netherlands TBA 2024
Muscle memory is a powerful thing. There hasn’t been a new Tony Hawk’s game for the best part of a decade – nor a worthwhile one for considerably longer still. And yet, within minutes of sitting down with Steve Swink – who “a million years ago” worked on Tony Hawk’s Underground – and his game, our fingers are dancing their old patterns, chaining grinds into grabs into manuals and tapping out the input for a varial heelflip.
Thwack. A thick chain, crackling with green magic, darts towards our skater and sends him flying. It’s a rude awakening from old habits, as Helskate reminds us that this is not only a game about skating, but combat, too. While face buttons stick to the layout established by Neversoft all those years ago, on the controller’s shoulders it transmutes into something more akin to modern FromSoftware, right bumper and trigger unleashing light and heavy attacks respectively, partnered with a lock-on and a dodge that blesses your skater with a few precious frames of invincibility.
That, though, is where the comparison ends. There’s none of the complexity nor deliberation of those games’ combat here – at this speed, that would be impossible. Instead, the challenge comes from juggling action and skating, which are united by a combo system in which certain tricks can boost your attack power. Depending on your skater’s build, pulling off a kickflip might launch a homing missile, while a particular grind could infuse your weapon with poison.
Since breaking the combo will remove whatever buff you’ve earned, good play means never neglecting either half of the equation. Roll7 tried something similar in last year’s Rollerdrome, except there it was done with guns and rollerskates. In that game, though, combat got in the way too often, which Swink is keen to avoid in Helskate. “The goal is that, when you’re in the regular levels, it’s sort of a flowstate zone-out, where the enemies pressure you just enough that you have to pay attention,” he says. The game will throw in the occasional boss or high-score competition to really tes
