Sam Eng talks Skate Story and New York City

Born and raised in the city, Eng has been skating through the boroughs for a decade. “The main reason I picked it up is for transportation. I was living with my parents, I was going to college, I was doing a lot of freelance jobs around the city…You don’t take a bike on the subway. That fucking sucks. [A scooter is] also kinda bulky—you gotta fold it and stuff. What is the most minimal, primitive mode of transit that I can carry with me? Oh, people have been riding these planks of wood with wheels on them. It’s the most basic thing.”

Indeed, Skate Story gets to the primal, beating heart of skating. The game is defined by constant forward momentum, sending you through a series of glowing portals without ever stripping you of the speed you’ve accumulated, spitting you out into large arenas ripe for the shredding. It’s an adrenaline-pumping experience that’s equal parts thrill and destruction—the game is quick to remind you just how fragile you are. 

Skate Story is also a deeply intimate experience; playing it is like peering into its creator’s soul. “Whenever someone makes [art] and I experience it…it’s like when I’m talking to you,” says Eng, gesturing toward me. “I’m not like, ‘The way you said that—you should change that.’ I don’t think that because [what you say is] who you are. Skate Story is what I’m saying.”

The game is gorgeously scored with psychedelic synth beats from the NYC-based experimental group Blood Cultures, and, like every aspect of Skate Story, the collaboration emerged from Eng’s fascination. “I was a fan,” he explains. “I would skate at night, listening to Blood Cultures, and thought, ‘This would be a cool game.’ On their Bandcamp they have a contact page, so I just emailed them. This was before I even started [working on Skate Story]—I just had the idea of making a skateboarding game. They met me at a coffee shop and said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

Skate Story has been in development since 2018, and Eng—who’s also a founding member of the NYC-based game developer non-profit Gumbo—signed with publisher Devolver Digital in 2021. In the weeks leading up to its release, advertisements for Skate Story started to appear throughout the city on LinkNYC displays, the game’s gripping visuals in stark contrast with the mundane local notices they were interspersed with. Skate Story ads are also decorating bus stops across the city (it’s an exciting change of pace from the uninspired sludge of injury lawyer graphics). When asked what’s up with the promotions, Eng grins: “Oh, did you see them? Nice!” He explains the Mayor’s Office of Media Entertainment (MOME) sponsored the advertisements across the city. MOME primarily works in film promotion, but are now dipping their toes into the world of games. Eng calls the marketing—which exists in the company of million-dollar titles like Diablo IV and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7—an “obvious” and incredible opportunity for Skate Story.

Sam Eng has woven a beautiful tapestry of his personal passions into Skate Story. The game’s authenticity, coupled with its exhilarating gameplay and clever writing, earned it a place on A.V. Club’s list of the best games of 2025. Much like skateboarding, the City of New York is as inextricably intertwined with Skate Story as it is with the game’s creator himself.