'Cozy Tony Hawk' RollerGirl is the perfect 2000s throwback

In case you ever wanted to throw your busy life behind you and embrace small-town living, RollerGirl might be the game for you.

Announced way back in 2022, RollerGirl is aiming for a release next year, in which players will finally be able to play through the game’s cosy narrative.

While out at Gamescom, GAMINGbible got hands-on with RollerGirl, and for fans of simpler, more relaxing experiences, the game should be a decent alternative to sports games like Skate and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Talking to me about the game, creative director Indigo Doyle likened the game’s vibe to somewhat of a throwback to the mid-2000s, not just in depicting the time period it’s set in, but also with the deliberate choices in music and technology which appears.

Playing as Naomi, a 16-year-old girl living in this small town, the demo begins with her car breaking down and needing to go in for repairs. As these repairs are expensive, Naomi tasks herself with performing odd jobs for her neighbours to earn a little bit of extra cash.

Equipped with her rollerblades and MP3 player, you control Naomi as she ventures around this neighbourhood, talking to as many people as possible. Many of them have tasks for her to complete in exchange for money or other rewards.

She does this by skating around on her rollerblades, with various moves and tricks available to help her get around. It’s far easier to skate around town than it is to run, after all.

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Pushing Vertices

RollerGirl places a big emphasis on exploring the relationship between music and skating

In the demo, only a few of these jobs were available. There was one where I had to deliver some food to Mick the mechanic, and another where I was tasked with recovering a handful of books for one of Naomi’s neighbours.

What I found particularly cool about the game was the different playlists you could listen to. There are three different moods to listen to on your MP3 player, which were represented by a smile, a frown, and some kind of neutral expression.

All of the music is licensed, and Doyle told me that the choices behind the music were to emulate the kind of secret discoveries you'd make from playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in the early 2000s.

Not only do these mood playlists change the kind of songs that are played, but it also effects the colour grading of the world as well as the weather. Choosing a happier mood will make it sunny, and the colours will be bright and optimistic. Whereas selecting a mood that’s negative results in a darker colour palette, as well as a rainy weather system.

Although the game received a few alpha-stage demos a few years ago, a new demo for this updated version of the game has not been confirmed yet. However, Popagenda PR, which represented RollerGirl at Gamescom, has assured me that one is “likely” to come before launch.

Altogether, I’m not normally a massive cosy game fan, but RollerGirl has got me intrigued, and I’m quite curious to play the full thing. The fact that one of Lake’s designers, Dylan Nagel, also worked on the game’s narrative design has also turned my ears.