Here's all you need to know about skateboarding game The Ramp in 90 seconds
A deck for the Deck?
I’ve been mentally categorising some games as “for my Steam Deck” recently, and I think skateboarding game The Ramp will be one of them. It’s been developed as more of a toybox than a game, with the developer Paul Schnepf focusing on the flow of the sport rather than earning points and upgrading your character. He’s very keen you should know that, so for today’s launch he's put together a trailer that explains it all in 90 seconds. It looks pretty Deck worthy to me.
It’s a very simple pitch, but it’s a very simple game. Four levels (a classic half-pipe, an empty pool, two connected bowls, and one humongous mega jump), no unlocks, all the moves just sliding from one to another without a cheatsheet of complex button presses printed down the screen.
Schnepf says it's about trying to “capture the incredible flow of half-pipe skateboarding”. Having never managed even a single ollie in all my life, this is probably the only way I’d be able to do that. My skateboarding career ended the moment I fell face first while going down a hill.
I could see The Ramp being the perfect thing to pick up and play should I have a slot in my day and the game on Deck. Post Office queues and bus rides could be filled with fun little hops across the “mega ramp”. Indeed, Schnepf adds: "What it offers you are the 15 minutes of flow that make a boring day great, at the price of a medium sized cinnamon pistachio latte to go." Perfect.
It was only announced a few weeks ago, but The Ramp will be available today on Steam for £5 / $6 / €5. If it all goes to plan, in the future I’ll be sitting out on my deck, skidding around on a deck on my Deck.