Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 Switch 2 review – a halfpipe to greatness

This game shouldn’t exist. Iron Galaxy’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 remakes rise through the ashes of sheer will, with the Hawk himself seemingly willing it into existence after years of fan outcries. Restoring Pro Skater 3 should be a slam-dunk task, but Pro Skater 4 is where the long-running series changed things forever, laying the groundwork for genre-defining games like Tony Hawk’s Underground. After beating the game twice, there’s a great, if almost outstanding, collection here, but Pro Skater 4’s treatment has me conflicted.

Despite being part of the cultural lexicon for decades, these Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 remasters could be the first time you or your friends are experiencing these games. If that’s you, welcome to the party, we’re happy to have you. Pro Skater 3 is cut from the same cloth as the previous two entries: complete as many goals in two minutes across various levels. Pro Skater 4, however, shifts the formula into an open-world style approach where NPCs give you missions. Off the deck, Pro Skater 3 is the remake that fares the best in this new Switch game duo.

Foundry is still an excellent debut level, encapsulating everything that makes these games soar. A factory for churning out precious metals shouldn’t make for interesting gameplay, but Tony Hawk games always excel at turning the mundane into the magical. The Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Con haptics rumble with a roar as I grind past smelting pots and machinery, pulsating as the magma threatens to disintegrate me. Like the rest of the game, it looks fantastic, reveling in the handheld’s upgraded hardware with glossy reflections and pleasing particle effects.

Suburbia – one of the greatest locales in THPS history – is genuinely incredible. The original version of the map knocks on the door of goofy horror as you skate around a cozy cul-de-sac with an unnerving haunted house at its center. Now, Iron Galaxy dresses the entire stage up in Halloween decorations. The horrors present within its house return in comedic glory, too. When Iron Galaxy is hitting these beats, the new custodians of the series feel pitch-perfect for Tony Hawk’s gaming future.

To bring these games up to current-day standards, Iron Galaxy reworked, referenced, or removed entire goals. Pro Skater 3 doesn’t feel quite as ingenious in this department. Los Angeles still lets you cause havoc, and loving nods to community legends like ‘AndyTHPS’ make an appearance, too. Skater Island removes some of its encouragement to explore by opening up its secret area from the start, but to Iron Galaxy’s credit, it does supplement it with another in just a splash’s reach.

Pro Skater 3 doesn’t feel like it’s completely stripped of its personality, its zest. In some cases, levels like Tokyo are better than their original iterations. Underneath it, the remnants of Neversoft’s code fuel every move. Vicarious Visions’ work on the THPS 1+2 felt exhilarating, and Iron Galaxy replicates that same energy here. These games are the definition of muscle memory.

I can spend months, even years, away from classic Tony Hawk games, and it all rushes back to me in an instant. The fact that Iron Galaxy can pull this off is extremely commendable. In an age where Skater XL, Session: Skate Sim, and EA’s forthcoming Skate reboot pull on the threads of semi-realism, the arcade antics of Tony Hawk are just different gravy altogether.

As a representation of what the Nintendo Switch 2 is capable of, it’s captivating. I’ve beaten this collection on Switch 2 and PS5, and the differences aren’t too staggering. Sony’s console beats the Nintendo Switch 2 out on sharpness and consistent performance. Single-player barely falters under the game’s 60 fps target, whereas split-screen multiplayer isn’t necessarily bad but is noticeably lower. On the whole, it’s a huge leap up from the presentation of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 on the older Switch models.

So far, so good, right? Well, that’s until I step onto the steps of College in Pro Skater 4. There’s always been a twang of edginess to Tony Hawk titles, but Pro Skater 4 is where the series begins to feel more playful and veers on the sillier side. Gorillas hurl feces at you in the Zoo, ghosts play baseball with you at Alcatraz. There’s even an elephant to free on the streets of London. Of course, that’s when you’re not skating around as Jango Fett, Iron Maiden’s mascot Eddie, or an adult actress.

My initial hours with Pro Skater 4 rubbed me the wrong way. Interacting with janky NPCs as they wave their hands in a separate tempo to their speech is part of the charm, but that’s gone completely. The skittish attitude of THPS4 feels nerfed in many ways, as if Iron Galaxy feels mandated to make it feel more kid-friendly. Tony Hawk games are like Pixar movies, appealing to children on the surface, but hiding mature humor in clever ways. I’m sad that Pro Skater 4 is missing some of that gusto.

The whiplash hits harder with the omission of aforementioned mini-games like Alcatraz’s ghouly baseball. To cram what Iron Galaxy is cherry-picking from Pro Skater 4 into a two-minute timer means that the minutia of the game’s encouragement to mess around and explore the nooks and crannies suffers. You can circumvent this by changing the in-game timer to a ten or 60-minute duration, but if you’re a purist, it feels wrong. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention THPS 3+4’s soundtrack, either.

It’s a complicated matter. Just ten songs from both of the original games are back, and some major bangers like AC/DC’s TNT are left out. Hawk is on the record defending these changes, as it’s in a bid to shine a light on rising artists. I admire that notion, and seeing Spotify staples like Idle and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is certainly welcome. Oddly enough, this is also the only place in existence where you can officially listen to Mick Gordon’s The Only Thing They Fear Is You from Doom: Eternal. There’s plenty to enjoy on the game’s playlist, even if it’s a vibe change that I’m not sure works completely.

Yet, in the face of all these tweaks, I still can’t say Pro Skater 4 is exactly bad. Divisive? Definitely. However, there’s still an enjoyable experience here. Carnival and Chicago, the latter borrowed from Maf Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2, are dead and buried. The real-life Kona is a competition level, which is a surprisingly better fit. Alongside it, Iron Galaxy has the honor of bringing us the first new levels to the Pro Skater series in years. And you know what? They’re wicked.

Waterpark feels like a long-lost level, with more of a Tony Hawk’s Underground influence felt across the sun-kissed rides. Fans of the latter entry are in for a small but ace surprise in the game’s post-career mode Pro goals. I hope it pays off in bigger ways down the line, is what I’ll say. Pinball, which literally takes place in a Pinball machine, is the exact kind of zany aura maps like Pro Skater 1’s Roswell bathe in. It’s a thrill to zoom around as Tony Hawk looms over the machine’s glass enclosure.

If this is a taste of what Tony Hawk games can be beyond remakes, then I’m happy for Iron Galaxy to receive the keys and erase 2015’s awful Pro Skater 5 out of existence. If that is the case, I’d love to see the studio expand on its park creator additions. The return of custom parks is wonderful here, and the ability to add longevity with goals enhances it.

It isn’t quite as granular as previous games, but it’s a step in the right direction. The same can be said for character creation, which is desperately crying out for the deeper customization that older titles had in spades. Let me create a weird little guy straight from my Elden Ring playthrough, and you’re golden.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 almost reaches the soaring heights of Vicarious Vision’s remakes, with Pro Skater 3 especially bringing it close to that standard. These games look and feel better than ever, and it’s special to have these games back in the cultural zeitgeist again. If Iron Galaxy committed to Pro Skater 4’s experimental vision, I’d be holding this game up to the gods, Lion King style. But that much is true, though. Tony Hawk is the king of the skating game genre. The king is back and hopefully here to stay.

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