I have been a fan of Tony Hawk since 1999, when I first watched him perform ‘The 900’ on ESPN when I was only ten years old. A few months after his incredible feat, he released the first ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’ video game for the PSOne, and it became an instant hit.
While I do love playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, my favourite entries in the entire franchise were the third and fourth games. This is because the newer games introduced the ‘revert’ trick that allowed players to extend their combos even longer than ever before.
In 2020, Vicarious Visions released a remake of the first two Tony Hawk games, and it was a moderate success. I remember playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdowns and earning a platinum trophy on PS4, logging in over 500 hours of gameplay.
Fast forward to 2025, and the third and fourth games have been remade with a new developer, called Iron Galaxy, releasing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. The game is available now on all modern gaming platforms. However, people who game on Xbox and PC can play the full game by just using an active Game Pass subscription.
Gamers who loved playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 don’t have to worry too much about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 because the gameplay and visuals are the same. New developer Iron Galaxy has managed to retain the series’ iconic gameplay as the physics engine is on point, and I was still able to perform over 1 million point combos with ease.
Not to mention, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 looks good using Unreal Engine 4 as its game engine. On Xbox Series X, the game can run at 4K while still chugging at a blistering 60fps. I don’t know the resolution on Switch 2, but the game still runs at 60fps, and still looks great both in handheld and docked modes.
Most of the original levels have been recreated really well, with the ‘Airport’ level being a standout with its new nighttime setting. The ‘Canada’ and ‘Cruise Ship’ levels also look gorgeous as the water and snow textures shine really bright.
In terms of skaters, the game has 31 playable characters, both real and fictional. All of the original skaters from the old games are back, with lots of younger skaters also making the cut. Fictional skaters in the game include Michelangelo from TMNT, and Doom Slayer also makes an appearance for those who purchased the ‘Deluxe Edition’ of the game.
Gameplay-wise, the Tony Hawk games have always prioritised fun over realism. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 perfectly recreates Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, featuring most of the original goals from the Career mode and all of the levels from 2001 return in this remake.
Sadly, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 has made some controversial changes when it comes to recreating Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 was unique because the Career Mode ditched the two-minute time limit, and it also featured voice acting back in 2002.
Iron Galaxy made the gut-wrenching decision to streamline the game as the remake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 now features two-minute time limits, no mini-games, and goals that have been cut. You can no longer play tennis with the rude Frenchman, avoid poop being thrown by monkeys, or chase a dirty rat in the ‘Shipyard’ level. There are also no animals in the ‘Zoo’ level either!
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 doesn’t have all the original levels return either. The ‘Carnival’ and ‘Chicago’ levels have been replaced with new levels called ‘Water Park’ and ‘Pinball’. Admittedly, the new levels do look really cool, but I’m hoping future DLC (if it happens) sees the return of the OG levels too.
Iron Galaxy also censored the remake to make it more family-friendly too. The infamous man from Canada who could be seen urinating has been cut from the remake completely. The attractive blonde ‘Neversoft’ models in the Cruise Ship have been replaced with generic skaters, which I think is a disappointment too.
Speaking of cuts, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 sadly has a disappointing soundtrack too. Due to licensing issues, only a small fraction of the original songs have been included in this remake. The remake no longer has songs from the likes of AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alien Ant Farm, The Offspring, and more. I ended up just booting up Spotify on Xbox and playing the original soundtracks that way.
I have to admit, I’m upset with the cuts and changes, but the addictive gameplay is too hard to ignore. The reason I love the Tony Hawk games so much is that they’re one of the few video games I can play competitively well online.
The first time I played the ‘San Francisco’ level, I had the fifth highest score in the world! By the time more players played the game, my ranking dropped to 12th in the world, and so forth. However, I’m still a top 100 player when it comes to getting high scores in most of the other levels in the game.
The game is also great because it features both offline and online multiplayer modes. I remember hating Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 back in 2015, because it failed to feature splitscreen gameplay! In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, I can happily beat both my brother and strangers online with ease!
The multiplayer mode also has a new mode called ‘Hawk’, where players have to hide letters around the level. It’s not as fun as the other multiplayer modes, but it’s still neat to hide letters in obscure locations that are hard to reach.
While Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 features some controversial and disappointing cut content, the addictive gameplay loop stops me from hating the game completely. It’s a game I will still play for hours on end, and I’m currently trying to get all of the achievements in the game like I did in 2020 with the previous game.
Verdict: 8.0/10
