The last week has been a pretty incredible one for video game fans. Though PlayStation's showcase was a bit of a letdown for some, Geoff Keighley's E3-replacement Summer Game Fest really knocked it out of the park in a pretty surprising way. Then straight after, Double Fine's Day of the Devs showcase took center stage, giving a spotlight to a bunch of new and exciting Indie games, including the impressive Helskate.
The very first game from indie studio Phantom Coast, Helskate appeared about 20 minutes into the Day of the Devs showcase, after huge hits like Hyper Light Breaker and Viewfinder, and somehow managed to stand out from the crowd. Equal parts Hades and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Helskate is a game that no one even knew they wanted, and it isn't too far away.
Helskate Looks Like the Perfect Blend of Tony Hawk and Hades
Skateboarding games are having a bit of a resurgence right now. In the absence of a new Tony Hawk or Skate, the indie game scene has taken it upon itself to fill the big gap in the market in recent years, and for the most part, it's been pretty great. The side-scrolling OlliOlliWorld is a beautifully vibrant and fluid arcade skateboarding title, while Session: Skate Sim was a solid attempt at a more realistic skateboarding game. And even though it centered around rollerblades and not a skateboard, last year's Rollerdrome was a surprisingly great sport/shooter hybrid.
But the market still has room for at least a few more innovative skateboarding indie games, and Helskate deserves a place on the line-up. Taking more after Rollerdrome than Session, Helskate is another action/sport hybrid game, this time based around killing magical darkness monsters. The general gameplay loop sees players skateboard through a mission while swinging a sword and oncoming enemies and dodging their energy-based attacks. Mechanics-wise, Helskate looks pretty Tony Hawk Pro Skater-like, with the ability to perform score-based tricks factoring into the game's combo system. But that isn't the only point of inspiration for Helskate.
Over the course of its brief reveal trailer, Helskate's Hades influence only becomes increasingly more apparent. For a start, Helskate's art style is very reminiscent of Hades' cel-shaded look, even if both games do adopt completely different camera perspectives. One of the biggest similarities in Helskate and Hades' art style can be found when the game's main character is engaging in dialogue with an NPC, which brings up a hand-drawn portrait of their character, and a stylized speech bubble at the bottom of the screen. Helskate is also a roguelite, requiring players to complete an entire level again upon just one death.
It seems like players will also be able to unlock new skateboards, which seem to grant the player new melee weapons and potentially some new abilities. Players will also be able to unlock tattoos for Helskate's character, granting them special bonuses such as extra dashes. There's also a moment in Helskate's reveal trailer where the player character runs into a glowing marker on the ground, and gets three potential upgrades to choose from, which seems very similar to Hades' Boon system.
And to top it all off, Helskate's story seems pretty Hades-adjacent, with the main character seemingly being a demon that's been cast aside by his mentor figure, who also seems to be some kind of demon ruler. Of course, this dynamic appears to be very reminiscent of Hades' core relationship between Zagreus and his father, Hades himself.
Helskate is slated for Steam Early Access in 2024.