I WISH the soundtrack was better…
We live in an era where what is old is new again. Five years ago, Tony Hawk returned with a remaster of the first two games, and people were once again excited for the series. After failing to capture what made these games great with numerous spin-offs and sequels, going back to the originals was the correct answer. People immediately wanted the next two games in the series to make a return, but most thought it would never happen as the developer was moved onto support projects. Fast forward to 2025, and we finally got our wish. Tony Hawk 3+4 is finally here, and it comes with a ton of nostalgia and new bells and whistles, once again rekindling the love for the series.
This new collection has a new developer in Iron Galaxy, but you wouldn’t know if it weren’t for the splash screen. Everything about this remaster mimics the first one down to the menus and career structure. This is great because the original was so well done. Both games are separated as far as progression goes, but everything else is perfectly streamlined. The characters, the tricks, and the challenges are all woven into one cohesive package. It is extremely well done and makes playing through it all seamless.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
When it comes to content, most of what you remember is here. The game features a bunch of returning characters, as well as some new faces and hidden fun ones. Doom Slayer is here, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and of course Bam Margera makes a return. Though the latter two are locked behind unlocking them in the secrets menu. Stat points carry over like before, so leveling up your skater works across both games as do the created skaters. A lot of what is here is familiar, which is fine because it works.
The biggest attraction to the Tony Hawk games though are the levels, and for the most part they are all here. There are a few missing levels including Chicago and Carnival from the fourth game, but to rectify that Iron Galaxy has added three new ones, with the abandoned Waterpark being the standout. It is also worth noting that the levels in THPS 4 have been modified to work within the 2-minute time limit. At first, I was wary of this change, but it works. I enjoyed the normal structure of these instead of having to ride around and get objectives from other skaters. That never really meshed with my play style, I like the 2-minute goal, and Iron Galaxy has done a great job of adapting the levels for this style.
Some of the missing goals do make a return with the Pro Goals though, which is a nice addition. THPS 4 feels like a different game because of these changes and I am sure some people will not be happy with the changes, but I found them fitting to the package. I do wish the options were there to add it back in, perhaps via DLC, but as it stands the package is still superb.
The track editor also gets an upgrade with goal creation. This is super cool as the stuff that will be online should be super creative. I wouldn’t be shocked if some people try to recreate some of THPS 4’s original levels, at least as far as they can. These modes are not for me, but I enjoy seeing what the community makes over time. Especially with this being on PC and more importantly Game Pass, we should see community support for quite some time.
Now, for the biggest disappointment, the soundtrack. The original THPS 1+2 did a fantastic job of bringing back a lot of the classic tunes that made those games iconic. Nearly all the tracks made a return with a host of new tracks to fill it out. THPS 3+4 is not the same story. In fact, most of the songs are missing from those games. Only six songs from THPS 3 made the cut, while a paltry four made it from THPS 4.
This is embarrassing, especially when I found out some bands were not even asked to be included. I get licensing, we are not going to get all the songs in this day and age but having less than 10 out of the original 55 tracks is just sad. There are still a bunch of tracks here, but a lot of Doom tunes (which rock) and original music alongside some new artists, but players know that those soundtracks were part of the identity of THPS, and them being gone is a travesty.
Visually the game looks great. The tracks redesigned for the new generation are great. The performance is also fantastic with nary a drop in frame rate. The controls feel spot on, and the goofiness of the original game’s visual language remains intact. Loading times are swift and the menus are easy to navigate, much like the original remakes.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is another outstanding package of classic games that reignites my love for the series. I wonder if THUG will even be in consideration, and honestly, I don’t have nearly as much nostalgia for those games, I kind of fell off at that point. I still played them all, but my memories are from those first four games. I would love it if this sparked the return of the series for a new game, as I feel like the remakes have run their course.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
