Helskate already has mountains working in its favor, between its ultra-cool name and irresistible pitch that sees Hades and Tony Hawk have a baby. Not literally. I mean that Helskate is a skateboarding roguelike about slaying monsters and the best part is that it's coming real soon.
Developer Phantom Coast has announced that Helskate is entering the bloody gates of early access on February 15 in order to improve the game using community feedback. It's the Hades formula! For those who are still on the fence - balancing like a wobbly rail grind - there's a free demo available on Steam right now.
Phantom Coast is planning to keep its hellish action game in early access for "around a year" before its eventual 1.0 release. Helskate's initial early access version features the entirety of Vertheim, the first of three eventual worlds, alongside a collection of unique weapons, items, bosses, and other such stuff. Phantom Coast says that the full release will have more of everything mentioned, plus a complete narrative to contextualize our gnarly monster-stabbing hijinx.
On the traversal side, Helskate channels the arcade skaters of yesteryear with tricks, grinds, and wall runs all contributing to a chained combo. That movement obviously makes getting across the underworld a fun trip, but bigger combos also lead to more powerful abilities, smartly connecting the game's two very different sides.
Helskate also features your standard roguelike options, allowing you to experiment with different builds while still keeping incremental upgrades between runs in the form of tattoos. "Slash your sword with a chance to electrocute? Release a burst of fire that ignites enemies when you jump? Throw deadly shurikens with a chance to poison while you dash through enemies to plant explosive charges on them?" are some of the cool abilities teased on the game's storefront page.
For more unexpected gems, see our upcoming indies of 2024 and beyond guide.
Caves of Qud co-creator's tip to tackle this sci-roguelike epic is also my tip for learning RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3: beef up and get a big ol' sword
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