When a game from my childhood is remastered, like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, there are a few things I want:
- Obviously, I want everything to be exactly how I remembered it with absolutely no differences whatsoever.
- While being exactly the same, it must have new things that make it better, but also fit in seamlessly.
- It has to be a love letter to the original game, but not get high off its own supply and go too far up its own arse.
Here’s the thing, though, about remastered games from your childhood: to look and play exactly how you remember them, they have to be much, much better than they were originally, because everything is remastered in your memories. But they can’t just be “better” than they were originally, they have to be the specific kind of better that you’ve built them up to be with decades of nostalgia goggles.
It’s basically an impossible task for developers to get right, because we all have our own individual reasons for loving a game, and our memories and associations with the game are built upon those different foundations. And yet, somehow, someone at Activision has sold their soul to the devil in order to make the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Remasters perfect, and I thank them for that sacrifice.
We all know how good THPS 1+2 was, and I am so pleased to report that based on the couple of hours I have now spent with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, they seem to have somehow done it again, but more this time.
Read: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 officially launches in July 2025
Hands-on with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4
The levels of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 that I got to play were Foundry, Canada, Rio, Suburbia and Los Angeles from THPS 3 and College, San Francisco, Alcatraz and Waterpark from THPS 4.
Waterpark is brand new, but what I found amazing about it was that it felt like something I’d played before, like putting on a comfortable old hoodie, and played like it had always been a part of THPS 4. The abandoned waterpark fit in so well, it was clear these new developers understood the assignment.
Starting at the top of of this big waterslide with plenty of grind rails is such a satisfying way to start a level, and all the empty pools just seem so obvious for a skating game. It all comes alive in the small details, like being able to tell which rides had been the most popular because of how the paths are worn, or the NPC dialogue making it feel more alive (and oddly crowded for a supposedly abandoned waterpark).
When it comes to the other levels, all of which were rebuilt from the ground up, they play exactly as I remember them. Though, according to developer Mike Rossi, while the scale is the same, some things were tweaked to feel more satisfying (whether that meant easier or harder depended on what needed to be changed, such as moving ramps further apart), and make more things grindable. That makes sense, sometimes you don’t realise two structures are slightly too far apart or too close until you have the benefit of it being out in the real world and players being like “dude, what the hell”.
One thing I found interesting about the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 remaster was how some details were changed to make things nicer. For example, you’re no longer pushing tourists over the edge of Alcatraz to a (presumably) watery death, but instead photobombing them. It gets you the same achievement, and doesn’t change any gameplay, but it does change the attitude and actions of the character to be less of a psychopath.
It’s not as fun, but it makes sense, and it makes me think that the Airport level probably won’t be changed back to what it had originally been pre-9/11, despite me kinda hoping it would go back to the original intention. For those not aware, in the game released in October 2001, the airport is full of pickpockets, but originally it had been full of terrorists. It was changed for obvious reasons. I also wonder how other levels have been modernised in ways I didn’t notice, and whether the changes are only to shave off rough edges, or whether new ones have been added.
The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 soundtrack is pretty much entirely brought back from the original games, with some new tracks added. A highlight is the iconic Lupe Fiasco song Kick, Push, but also songs from 100 Gecs and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Mostly during my session I had to use Streamer Mode, and listen to all the amazing original tracks by Logan Byers, which are also excellent. People watching this game on Twitch are going to have a good time (though, not as good as those getting to really soak in the full soundtrack).
What makes these games work at the heart of it is how fluid the skating feels. It feels the way a person who doesn’t skateboard imagines skateboarding would feel in real life – like flying, but with the need for precision to not completely stack it. Skating in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater feels like playing guitar in Guitar Hero does. It sells the fantasy of having a skill so well that you start to believe that maybe you can skate too.
For the millions of teens it inspired, that’s wonderful. For those of us in our mid-30s wondering if this is a good time to take up a dangerous new hobby, it’s also wonderful – but make sure you have a good physio and ambulance cover first.
Pretty much all the original skaters are back too, along with some new ones. There are now more female skaters, which is nice and refreshing and an important bit of balance. That includes 14-year old Australian skateboarding Olympian Chloe Covell, who is partially there to make original players feel old (her dad was a teenager when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 originally came out), and mostly there because she is a skating force of nature with more achievements under her belt than many adults. There are also a few other skaters who I can’t talk about yet, but who millennials of a certain age will be thrilled about.
My only real complaint is that I got a bit motion sick while playing, I think because of how the camera moved, and the demo build didn’t have any accessibility features to counter that. I don’t remember getting motion sick with the original games, so that was surprising. Whether it was because I’m old now, or I’m just jet lagged out of my gourd, or it’s the game remains to be seen, but it felt like something I should mention.
My other complaint is that I no longer have the skill of a 13 year old with the luxury of playing the same game for months at a time with no other real commitments. Though, I admit that that’s more of a me problem.
In short, Tony Hawk Pro Skater fans are going to be thrilled, this is exactly the game I hoped it would be. It feels and plays the exact way I wanted it to (motion sickness aside). The levels are how I remember them, even if some of the harsher NPC elements have been softened. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 remasters belonged in the dictionary next to the phrase “perfect remaster”, and after this preview, I feel confident that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 will belong right next to its siblings. Bring on July.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 releases on the 8th of July, with pre-orders open now.
Alice Clarke flew to Los Angeles as a guest of Activision.
