Tanuki Sunset

The first thing you should know about Tanuki Sunset is this: I was not prepared for how cool a raccoon on a skateboard could be. Not metaphorically cool, literally too cool for this dimension. Tanuki, our furball protagonist, doesn’t just cruise, he drifts, jumps, and dances through the sandy beaches of Sunset Island, backlit by a cyberpunk sun that never quite sets.

What starts as a laid-back downhill skate soon becomes a high-stakes game of grace and grit, a third-person arcade adventure where every sharp corner is a question: do you coast through safely, or do you drift so close to a car that you hear your own heartbeat?

Drift, Trick, Repeat

Skating downhill in Tanuki Sunset feels like floating, until it doesn’t. At first, I just tried to stay upright. Then I learned the sacred art of the drift. Soon I was jumping, doing 180s, skimming past trash piles and honking traffic for near-miss points like a furry Evel Knievel. The game barely rewards you for playing it safe. No, it wants you skating backwards through obstacles, racking up score multipliers, and pushing your luck until the very edge of the neon trail.

And the trail? Let’s just say no one’s ever made it to the end. Yet.

The Vibe Is the Point

There’s a moment, music pulsing, sunset melting, Tanuki weaving through a tunnel, that feels less like gameplay and more like catching a wave of pure mood. I found myself collecting tapes that shift the entire aesthetic, picking up ringing phones that handed me new objectives mid-run, and even saving baby raccoons floating off into the synthy sky.

Yes, there’s action. Yes, there’s challenge. But Tanuki Sunset is also about being. About mastering the longboard not for victory, but for the sheer joy of the ride.

The Road to FISH Magazine

The stakes? Make it to the end of the trail and get featured in FISH Magazine. Is that absurd? Absolutely. But when you’re a raccoon in a windbreaker, skating through a pastel-hued cyber-ocean at dusk, chasing high scores and tiny miracles, what else could matter?

Ride on.