Since I was young I remember playing the Tony Hawk games always wishing I was good at them and wasn’t, so I hoped this time would be different, gave Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 a shot and was surprised how much I kept coming back to it!
I picked it up on Steam and played with an Xbox controller. The controls are tight, smooth, and intuitive. Chaining tricks feels good once you get the hang of it. If you mess up, it feels fair. It still has that old-school difficulty, but the updated mechanics make everything feel cleaner and more responsive than the originals.
I’ve spent sometime in career mode and it’s how I remember it, two-minute runs on fan-favorite stages like Foundry, where stringing together manuals, grinds, and the all-important Revert unlocks those marathon combos that feel absolutely thrilling. You’ll tap into objectives—gap clears, collect-’em-all challenges, high-score targets—and each completed goal hands you XP and gear tokens to unlock new locales (think Toronto’s frosty rails) and slick board cosmetics. Things can get tough but to not overwhelming, early failures only teach you tighter timing and smarter lines which I’m better at now then back in the day. That grind-to-glory arc pays off though, making what was too hard into something that’s more fun.
Visually, the game looks great, especially when comparing to its counterpart from way back. It’s a full refresh with updated environments and sharp animations, but it still keeps that classic Tony Hawk look and feel. Crashes and landings both look solid, and the level design stays true to the legacy. The remaster dresses each map in crisp 4K fidelity, with dynamic lighting, sharper textures, and buttery animations yet it never loses that signature Tony Hawk vibe.
The soundtrack is strong. It blends classic tracks with some surprising new additions. Doom music, Run DMC, and Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick Push” stood out. It’s a nice expansion beyond the usual punk and rock sound. Tony Hawk himself curated the playlist, weaving old school anthems with modern beats to keep combos feeling epic.
Customization is a highlight. I created a skater and threw a Doom Eternal graphic on my board. There’s plenty to unlock, and it’s all done with in-game currency. No pressure to spend real money, which is refreshing. Create-a-Park is simple to use and surprisingly fun. The voting system helps surface the best builds from the community. New Game+ mode, and full crossplay for up to eight players, ensuring your custom look travels from PC to console which is always something I’m looking for.
I also tried Multiplayer. Free Skate had a laid-back vibe with other players doing their thing. Competitive mode stepped it up and I remember the Tony Hawk games progressively getting more interesting when multiplayer was introduced and felt like a bit of that all over again. It was fun to see how creative other players got with their combos. Cross-play is supported, which is a big win for playing with friends across platforms.
Final Score: 8 out of 10.
It’s a well-executed return for the franchise for old and new players. If you’re new to skating games, there’s a learning curve, but the payoff is worth it, especially if we start to get a wave resurgence of skating games since I thought that well had all but dried up! For longtime fans, this is exactly the kind of remaster that brings the right balance of nostalgia and fresh content which kept me wanting more.
