LK8 SK8R is a fast-paced throwback to early 3D games, and with all the charming jank that the visual style delivers, this game is about its core gameplay, not its visuals. To me, it was chasing the feeling of flying down a hill in the PS1-era Tony Hawk games, all without the need to do tricks.

I played through a couple of levels of LK8 SK8R, and although I got a brief idea that in the whole game you’d be needing to beat levels fast to get more time, to progress through further in the game — or something similar, other than that, my big takeaway was simply that its speed-based gameplay is going to have a high score. Speed-runners chasing the best times for a while.

You play a roller skater in the game, and there’s a handful of moves to master, flying through the levels at top speed. Jumping and double-jumping at the right time, of course, are classics, but also wall-riding, dashing, and sliding and combining all of these into a frenetic sort of race across intriguing courses that aren’t bound by any realism or time, as the character seems to be moving through different time periods in the game.

You can completely stuff up a run at the last second, which is great, and after feeling chuffed I’d beat the current Personal Best score on one level, I dropped the ball on the next right at the end of a level when I mis-timed a wall-jump, ruining my time.

The game’s overall controls are somewhat floaty, but they fit the visual style. If it controlled too smoothly, it’d feel weirder. There would be a fine line between where and how it currently feels and how it could feel, making it too floaty, but I found it to sit in the sweet spot.

A demo for the game is available on Steam, which you can check out for yourself. The game is currently targeting a 2026 release date.

[Explosion Network attended PAX Australia 2025 with a provided Media Pass.]