Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Review (PS5) – A Tricky Sequel

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 was an extremely formative game for me. Like most people obsessed with the series, it informed my taste in music, my passion to skate in my teens and to keep tabs at arm’s length in my adult years, but above all else, remaining at that fringe of DIY skate culture. 2020’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 couldn’t have been a more perfect remake of what made the originals special, and it left me hoping for more sequels to get the remake treatment. Dropping in is: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.

Despite being developed by Iron Galaxy this time around, they’ve kept the gameplay groundwork that Vicarious Visions brought into the modern age. However, there are a couple of changes to the original 3 + 4, namely 4, that take creative liberties to keep this new game succinct. If you’ve never had to sweat the technique before, the Pro Skater series is comprised of 2-minute gauntlets that present a host of challenges in levels that take you across the world.

Collecting letters that spell out ‘SKATE’, performing tricks and combining them to accrue a hi-score, some contextual objectives based on the area,e.g. the Foundry level asks you to grind on a metal bucket pouring molten lava, that kind of stuff. It’s a game series that has blended the core skill of skateboarding and over-the-top arcade-y goofiness that results in something difficult yet addictive, crude but reverent and overall an immense amount of fun.

Still Pretending I’m A Superman

Every OG entry introduced a new facet of the skateboarding gameplay, culminating in 4 having the most holistic experience out of them. Though 4 also introduced the new free roam aspect, which then later expanded into the beloved Tony Hawk’s Underground series. Suffice it to say that it has not made a return, but I’m not mad at it.

Bringing 4 more in line with the previous entries makes for a more holistic experience. And while the levels have been lovingly redesigned to fit this framework by Iron Galaxy, it feels like they’ve always been like this, which is probably the best outcome. Minor aspects are missing, like some of the easter eggs and challenges, but the majority is still there, whilst still feeling like it belongs in this new but old style.

And that is exactly that. There are 19 maps in total across both 3 + 4, taking you to Canada, London, different parts of the US, Brazil, Tokyo and more – spruced up and looking better than ever. I do think, however, the jump in fidelity is negligible from my time with Pro Skater 1 + 2 on PS4 compared to Pro Skater 3 + 4 on PS5. There are even some graphical downgrades in-game from in the menu screen. Like the facial hair on my created skater looks like someone’s taken a Sharpie to their chin, but when creating them, they looked like a handsome but dishevelled millennial clinging on to the trucks of a board.

I digress, though, as compared to the originals, they’re clearly looking great here. There’s dynamic lighting, reactive effects pop from the screen when you’re tricking on/off things, environmental textures sell the realism, but the NPCs and general character models stick out like a sore thumb.

Getting A Grip(tape)

Like my last endeavour into the remade series, I started off in career mode as my created skater. Meaning their stats are quite low, but you can pick a style that suits your preference. Vert means you’ll have better airtime, lip balance, etc. Street will see you having better manual balancing, grinding and flip trick speed and Park, which is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, I found this to be a rougher onboarding process than its predecessor. Not every goal was achievable at the base stats, purely because your created skater can’t get to places in the level or trick as proficiently, and it was bothering me. You find stat points on each level, so I didn’t feel like my skater was competent enough ’til I played all the way through 3 and started 4, which is a bummer because it didn’t have that precise gameplay I remembered from a few years ago.

I think it’s a symptom of losing a deeper understanding that Vicarious Visions had mixed in with a bit of the adjustments Iron Galaxy had to make to bring 3 + 4 into remake territory. The workaround would be to play as a pro like some of the OGs: Geoff Rowley, Kareem Campbell and the Birdman himself, but I’ve always played as my own creation, so it is jarring to have this dissonance of knowing I should be able to achieve a challenge but not being capable.

Kick, Push, Coast

Over that initial hurdle, Career mode is a lot of fun. The basic gameplay of zipping about on the board, grinding, flipping and grabbing whilst pulling off challenges is a brilliant gameplay loop. Which is good, because the game wants you to do it a lot. Once you’ve played through the career, you’ll get Pro Challenges to complete in the same levels you’ve just beaten.

These are harder challenges that force you to learn the game’s mechanics better. Whether that’s learning special moves, how to implement them into your combos, having a better understanding of the game’s physics and your capability of getting to the hard-to-reach places, which all come together to make a satisfying arcade experience.

Then, once you’ve done that, the game implores you to do the same with every other skater. I’ve not done that at the point of this review, but it unlocks more boards that relate to the pro’s sponsor. Something I’m sure I’ll chip away at, but I’m not in an immediate rush to play through the levels back-to-back. Not to harp on about what 1 + 2 has that 3 + 4 doesn’t, like comparing myself to someone with more Platinum trophies than me, but there’s just a lot less “stuff” to unlock here.

Axe To Grind

This speaks to the overall create-a-skater, customisability of it all. Previous brands are completely absent, despite being worn by other pro skaters. The brands that are here come across as more cynical than celebratory. Depop? Yeti? Outside of a paycheck for the studio, what are they doing here? The character customisation is the exact same as the first game, too, making it a very hollow aspect of the game, something I’m maybe in the minority with.

An aspect I’m most definitely in the minority with is the game’s soundtrack. Players don’t like how lacking of the original songs the playlist has, despite being the most robust in the series. Instead, there are a countless number of bands I can be snooty about and say I know them, but for casual fans, it may be different. Leading to that old skool ethos of putting on bands and influencing players’ music taste like mine so many years ago.

If you want the old soundtrack, put on your music streaming app; they’re usually embedded in the console. Otherwise, enjoy the music of artists like Drain, End It, Kennyhoopla, 100 Gecs, and loads more because they all fit perfectly in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.

Viva La Damn

Other additions to the game are the returning multiplayer and Create-A-Park mode. Both of which have largely been unchanged, as they never really needed to be. Create-A-Park has a couple of extra features, like the ability to add challenges to your park, but it’s mostly a pretty in-depth way of flexing your skatepark building muscles.

Online multiplayer, on the other hand, is the exact same. You jump into a lobby, play game modes like Graffiti, Best Combo, Hi-Score and repeat. It’s a fine addition, one that doesn’t completely add value for me, but I can see the appeal. Largely, 3 + 4 is just that, untouched in every aspect that doesn’t pertain to content exclusive to the original titles it’s remaking.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken is the adage, but there’s a notion of disappointment that it didn’t make a bigger effort than its predecessor. The reimagining of 4 is a triumph, and to me, my favourite aspect of the game, but there’s just an underlying level of “good enough”. Or if it isn’t that, I’m noticing how some of the skateboarding’s DIY, underdog culture is lost in service of brand deals and Olympic medalists.

Free of those complaints, I did enjoy my time with the game. The gameplay loop is rip-roaring and addictive, the soundtrack and sound design are spot-on, and the look and feel of the old and new levels are excellent. I just think it’s lost sight of what skateboarding is about a little bit.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is out now for PlayStation 5 (review platform), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 1&2 and PC via Steam.

Developers: Iron Galaxy Studios

Publisher: Activision

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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