Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is nostalgia with new wheels, but not without bumps

Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 3+4 remake rides high on nostalgia and flair, even if a few landings feel off balance.

The Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ series holds a special place in the hearts of many, leaving its mark on skateboarding games with a distinct mix of flair, challenge, and tight mechanics.

After the widely praised 1+2 remake by Vicarious Visions in 2020, hopes were high for a similarly faithful treatment of the Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 3 + 4. Now handled by the newly restructured Activision studio and Elsewhere Entertainment, the 2025 release brings these two classics back into the spotlight, promising updated visuals, refined controls, and a nostalgic soundtrack, all wrapped in modern packaging.

This modern packaging, however, doesn’t always stick the landing. The remake finds its rhythm in spots, but wobbles just enough to throw off the flow.

Still grinding to the beat

One of the best kept aspects of the game is the music.  While not every track from the original returns, the new soundtrack is a strong highlight. It blends old favourites with newer artists like IDLES, Fontaines D.C., and 100 Gecs, maintaining the high-energy vibe that defines the franchise. Tony Hawk had a hand in curating the playlist, and that balance of nostalgia and modern flair comes through. The mix of punk, metal, rock, and hip-hop delivers the right momentum for each run, even if a few iconic tracks like AC/DC’s "TNT" are noticeably absent.

Pretty places and missed spaces

Visually, there’s a clear upgrade. The graphics are sharp, and details of each map are more visible. Characters are a bit varied and the addition of Doomslayer, The Revenant, and MIchaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is quite welcome, but the apparel choices are mostly branded, so we're missing a bit of silliness here,

There’s a solid mix of maps here, and a few stand out thanks to their vibrant design and small storytelling touches. On top of that, some of the map designs really shine. 

Maps like The Foundry feel cohesive with their blend of stone and metal, offering engaging visual details that make them more than just skateable spaces. 

Canada, for example, is a snow-covered playground filled with life: from playful kids and annoying bullies to broken rides and scenic snow covered backdrops…with lots of drops. It’s a map that’s both fun and a little dizzying, especially for those with a fear of heights.

Tokyo is another highlight. It might seem small at first glance, but its neon-soaked arena hide secret corners and discoverable areas that reward exploration. 

Rio pops with colour too, and its secret area doesn’t fall short of the spectacle on the main stage.

One of my favourites has to be the Airport. It’s full of twists and turns, with a clever playfulness to its layout that transforms a typically stressful space into a skateable playground. The updated visuals make it feel surprisingly close to a real terminal, which only adds to the fun. Instead of flight delays and long queues, you get grinds, wall rides, and wide-open spaces for trick combos.

The Waterpark is probably the next best one, with towering slides that twist and turn, slick surfaces that make for fun momentum shifts, and all sorts of unexpected spots to grind, flip, or wall ride across. It strikes that perfect balance between spectacle and flow, like the map was purpose-built for skateboarding chaos. From pipe drops to pool gaps, it feels less like a family getaway and more like a skater’s dream playground.

However, not all maps hit the mark. A few feel noticeably plain or washed out in tone: greys and browns dominate in places where the originals seemed more vibrant. 

One such map is London. The night-time setting, combined with the post-rain gloom, strips away the vibrancy that might have elevated the space. The original version took place during the day, and the shift to a darker palette makes the map feel flatter and less inviting.

The Zoo also falls short. Despite its potential, the area feels oddly lifeless: empty cages, sparse detail, and a lack of animated wildlife create a setting that lacks the spark and character seen in other maps. 

Kick, push, kick push, kick push, coast

For the old-timers, the gameplay will feel comfortably familiar. Chaining tricks, exploring the environment, and hitting objectives creates a rhythm that players will quickly fall into.

For newer players, though, there’s definitely a learning curve. The tutorial helps to an extent, but it never quite teaches you the fundamentals, like how to land properly or when to bail. Nailing combos is an even steeper challenge, often left unexplained. Much like real skateboarding, the game seems to expect you to keep trying, falling, and learning until it finally clicks.

One point of contention is the two-minute timer in career mode. For returning fans, it's a staple of the series, specifically in Pro Skater™ 3, but not for Pro Skater™ 4. 

For newer players, it might feel like an unnecessary pressure point. Balancing exploration and trick completion within a short window can become frustrating, especially early on. Free Skate mode is a welcome inclusion, letting players explore at their own pace. Unfortunately, some collectibles and easter eggs are locked behind the timed career mode, which feels unnecessarily restrictive.

Where the game shines is in the variety of moves. There’s a broad enough trick catalogue to allow endless combinations, and pulling off a clean combo offers a real sense of achievement. When it all clicks, the skating is fluid, stylish, and just plain fun.

Skating tight, but missing its heart

The most noticeable shift comes with how Pro Skater™ 4 is represented in the remake. In contrast to the structured yet flexible career mode of the original, the remake bundles Pro Skater™ 3 and Pro Skater™ 4 into a single campaign format, reverting to the timed runs and checklist-style goals more in line with Pro Skater™ 3.

In the original Pro Skater™ 4, players could freely explore large maps, accept missions from NPCs, and progress through increasingly challenging objectives. That open-ended structure is gone. In the remake, missions are selected via the pause menu, all 15 per level available from the start. There's no sense of narrative progression, and the lack of NPCs removes an important layer of personality from each level.

While the skating feels tight, Pro Skater™ 4’s quirks are somewhat lost. Pro Goals are missing, as are trick callouts and unique challenges like sketching vehicles or timed trick races. Combo letter goals have been simplified, and the absence of a retry button makes some precision-based objectives more tedious than they need to be. Stat upgrades and progression systems are also absent, which takes away the feeling of growing mastery over time.

Interestingly, the game’s tutorial mode actually captures the spirit of THPS4 best. It includes free-roaming objectives, clear waypoint markers, and instructional popups with button prompts. So while it was a possibility, it wasn’t the direction the devs went for.

Perhaps the most noticeable absence is the game’s personality. Dialogue and NPCs that once added colour and humour to the world are no longer present. The tone feels noticeably toned down; quirky gags and cult-like characters are stripped away. Pro Skater™ 4 shifts the focus to a long checklist of objectives under time pressure, making it feel more like a test of skill than a playground. 

As someone coming to the series fresh, I was hoping to experience more of what gave Pro Skater™ 4 its distinct identity: the freedom, the personality, the weirdness. Without those things, it feels like I’ve missed out on something that meant a lot to long-time fans.

Verdict

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater™ 3 + 4 is a polished, fun, and at times frustrating game. It retains the tight gameplay the series is known for, and newcomers will find plenty to enjoy, if they’re willing to put in the time to learn. For returning players, particularly those who loved the personality and structure of Pro Skater™ 4, the changes may feel like a step backwards.

What’s here isn’t all bad. In fact, much of it is quite good. But the remake doesn’t always honour what made the originals great. It feels more like a reinterpretation than a faithful rebuild. And in doing so, it misses the mark on what gave Pro Skater™ 4 its lasting impact.

That said, it’s still worth a ride, especially if you’re just a new skater. Just don’t expect every trick to land perfectly!

Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 3 & 4 remake is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.