Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 review – high score grindset

Against all odds, in 2025, it really feels like Tony Hawk games are back. Pro Skater 1 + 2 reintroduced the Birdman and his skilled set of skaters to the world, and Pro Skater 3 + 4 is now here to solidify a place in the gaming zeitgeist. EA is bringing back the Skate series too, which can only mean one thing: skating games are back, they’re here to stay, and Tony Hawk is once again the leading man.

Pro Skater 3 + 4 is exactly what you’d expect if you’ve already played 1 + 2. This a complete remake of the third and fourth mainline games in the Tony Hawk series, with the fourth game receiving a significant overhaul to make the challenges work within a two-minute timer, which was replaced by a mission structure in the original game. That may divide a few fans that have a soft spot for Pro Skater 4, but old heads know that the timer is what carries Pro Skater’s arcade-like experience.

It does divide the two remade games somewhat, though. Careers can be progressed through separately, and while the 3 half of 3 + 4 is basically as you remember, 4’s levels are very obviously designed for a game with no time limit. They’re much larger, and the lines to navigate them aren’t quite as tight. It’s a little awkward, but it’s still a great way to return to classic stages.

If you just want to unlock each stage as you fly through the game, then that’s easy enough and doesn’t require too much of a commitment, but finding each optional area and unlocking each secret gives you an appreciation and mastery of those levels. On a Games Done Quick stream, one of the hosts referred to the Tony Hawk games as “Super Mario 64 on a skateboard,” and it’s surprisingly poignant. While Mario 64 allows you to explore stages at your leisure, it also offers enough movement tech to let skilled players perform unbelievable jumps and tricks. The Tony Hawk games are the same way, and that’s why the various pieces of movement tech are so valuable.

If you could only play with the tricks and combos that were available in the original games, you might be surprised at just how limiting it can feel. Each title in the series added, removed, and refined various tricks and techniques, and now the remake duology has cemented the ideal Tony Hawk experience. It’s so good that I fear a future Tony Hawk game – and I do hope that there will be more – might ruin things by trying to add too much. In terms of gamefeel and physics, 3 + 4 is close to perfect.

There is fluff, though. It’s great to see a roster of classic skaters and younger talents that have hit the scene since, but there is a massive library of unlockable skate decks and outfits that are very, very easy to ignore. When there isn’t a real story attached to the career experience, I can’t find myself caring too much for apparel and how my skater looks, especially not when there are so many pro skaters to choose from. 

Create-A-Park is still here, which is definitely appreciated, though no matter what I tried my Nintendo Switch 2 refused to log me into my Activision account, which meant I was unable to enjoy multiplayer and show those parks to online friends. It’s early days though, and I’m willing to ignore this issue, along with the time that levels loaded to a black screen which forced me to restart.

Overall, the experience of playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 is surprisingly good. Sure, things can look a bit too soft while playing in handheld mode, but when docked to a 4K TV it looks surprisingly good. I’ve become used to playing blurry, 30 fps versions of PS4 and PS5 games on Nintendo Switch, so much so that there was a moment where I forgot I was playing this game on a Switch 2. It genuinely looks like a fully-fledged console version of the game, and not a handheld tablet device being blown up on a big screen.

Ultimately, you already know if you’re going to like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. If you played and enjoyed the last remake, it’s basically an essential game on any platform. While I don’t care for the litany of customization options, the core gameplay is fantastic and the classic levels have been recreated beautifully. 3 + 4 has almost everything you’d want from a remake of Pro Skater 3 and 4.