Arcade game with steez
The Ramp is a minimalist arcade skateboarding game developed and published by Paul Schnepf, also known as Hyperparadise. It released in August of 2021.
In this relaxing sandbox, there are no objectives, time trials, or other imposed challenges. You’re given a skateboard and 4 stages: a half-pipe, a swimming pool, two connected bowls, and a megaramp. A quick tutorial teaches you everything you need to know, which isn’t much. You can do basic aerial tricks, and grinding on rails. That’s all. You’re not going to be finding classic tricks like kickflips or ollies.
The Ramp is, as its title suggests, very ramp-oriented. This focus is not to its demise, though: It’s not trying to be more than it is. The movement is smooth and responsive. You feel in control. It delivers fun gameplay characterized by its flow, the perfect word for describing what’s on offer: An almost zen-like state of flowing up and down the ramps, subconsciously performing tricks and avoiding ladders or tunnels, staying on the pipe, enjoying just shutting off your mind for a while.
This flow is aided by the fittingly laid-back music. The boom-bap title track is the obvious hit, transporting you into the world of 90s skateboarding culture. While it inspires a certain sense of serene stillness, and quite frankly, coolness, it can however become repetitive after a longer gaming session. Two music tracks overall is not much by any means. An extra one or two could have gone a long way in diversifying the sound. That’s not to say the audio design as a whole is repetitive. Not by a long shot. The constant sound of the moving wheels is pleasing to the ear. The sound of grinding your board against railings really brings you into the motion of sliding. Completing a challenging trick rewards you with a nice audio cue. Falling over and smashing against the ground sounds just as gruesome as it looks.
If you’re into skateboarding, this shouldn’t be the only skateboarding game you own. In longer periods of play, it makes you want for more depth and variety. That kind of itch will be satisfied by the Skate series, by Session, by the Tony Hawk series – not by The Ramp. If you’re in the market for a more casual game on the side, or skateboarding isn’t really a big hobby of yours, you’re in the right place.
Aesthetically, it’s a nice looking game. The low-poly character design and vibrant colors are appealing and easy to look at for extended periods of time, not causing any eye strain. The ragdolls are a classic bittersweet joy: Messing up your trick and falling over is frustrating, but they’re really fun to look at. A visual choice that must be evaluated bythe invidual player is the mash-up of low-poly characters and highly detailed terrain textures. This could be somewhat of a messy clash of styles for some, and endearing for others. You be the judge. It didn’t bother me much, as you’re entirely focusing on other things, anyway.
The Ramp is not difficult, in fact, on its Normal mode, it’s rather easy to stack up good tricks in a row. The difficulty lies in gauging how much you can rotate your character until you hit the ground, when to release your grasp on the board, and also not hitting any obstacles. For anyone seeking a slight challenge, I recommend the Hardcore mode, where it can get a little tough landing your board safely.
It is highly suggested, by the developer himself, to play with a controller. A keyboard theoretically works, too, but it’s really tuned towards controllers.
For a base price of 5 dollars, “The Ramp” is a good value, if you’re into pick-up-and-play type of games. Games that can very well hold your attention for some time, but don’t overstay their welcome. If you find yourself looking for something to do while listening to a podcast, or waiting for your oven pizza to finally be ready, this game could be right up your alley.