Image: Push Square
If you grew up with a PlayStation in the late 90s and early 00s, then chances are you had a Tony Hawk game. For this author, it was the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, but many of you may have jumped in with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 on the PS2.
Wherever you did your first virtual kickflip, there’s a good chance this franchise harbours fond memories for you. And thus you’re probably going to want to know whether remake Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is any good.
Well, the first ratings are in, so let’s break it all down:
The THPS series shaped my music taste, fashion sense, and more while also delivering an incredibly fun timesink on my PlayStation 2. A perfect remake of these games would do the same all these years later, or at least remind me why they were so impressionable when I was growing up. While Iron Galaxy has excellently modernized the gameplay and graphics of these classics to feel right in 2025, I wish it had done a better job of highlighting the influence these games once had in their heyday.
IGN – 8/10
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is a largely successful rejuvenation of the acclaimed 2001 and 2002 originals, and another very welcome time capsule of everything great about the golden age of early 2000s gaming – before microtransactions and battle passes botched everything right up. Like 2020’s 1 + 2 before it, THPS 3 + 4 proves again the series’ over-the-top skateboarding formula is totally timeless and remains suitable for all skill levels; simple at first blush, but extraordinarily sophisticated beneath the surface for those with the minerals (or the muscle memory) to push their combos to colossal levels. However, syncing THPS4 with the classic two-minute timer of the initial trilogy is probably going to be a sore point with fans who strongly regard the series’ fourth installment as their favourite, and discarding a whopping 80% of the original THPS3 and THPS4 soundtracks is a startlingly naive choice to make about such a famously crucial component of those games. No T.N.T.? Watch me explode.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is a phenomenal game of skate, one that fans would flock to without hesitation if it weren’t for some of the strange decisions regarding the game’s Career mode and THPS 4 levels. Some of the changes feel needless, and overall, THPS 4 just doesn’t fit as well into the same structure as the original three games. It’s also disappointing that newcomers won’t be able to experience the fourth game the way it was originally intended. Once the initial disappointment fades, however, you’re left with a remake that still handles as well as these games ever have, and that’s something that’s worth playing no matter who you are.
If you’re waiting for our opinion, then unfortunately pre-release review code was not made available to us. But our in-office skating superstar Stephen Tailby has been assigned the task, and will be bringing you his verdict quicker than Tony Hawk’s world-record 900 at the X Games.
In the meantime, let us know whether you’re planning to pick up this game later in the week below.