Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 review for Nintendo Switch 2

System: Switch 2 (also on Switch)
Release date: June 5, 2025
Developer: Iron Galaxy Studio
Publisher: Activision

We’re right at the beginning of the review, but forgive me – I have to take a quick detour. In order to give Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 a fair shake, it’s important to briefly eulogize that which came before. In 2020, developer Vicarious Visions lovingly reimagined the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater titles, punctuating years of community demand and anticipation in the process. Blending the aesthetics and structure of the original games with the flow and feel of the series’ later entries, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 was a glistening oasis for parched Pro Skater zealots (like me), and it effortlessly washed away the rancid aftertaste left by the chaotically inept Pro Skater 5. The studio’s remake heralded a new beginning for the series – one we all felt would kickflip the franchise back into life. A sequel was expected, but it didn’t happen – at least not initially. After years of the same false starts and dashed hopes that preceded its release, we’ve finally been given reprieve courtesy of developer Iron Galaxy. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is part sequel, part remake, and has the mammoth task of building on what came before, by rebuilding what came next.

Right from the off, it’s abundantly clear that Iron Galaxy has made economical choices when it comes to the overall Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 package. The grungy sketchbook stylings and tile-based format of the game’s main menu is a near one-to-one match to 1 + 2’s UI, and its suite of available modes mimics the line set out by its predecessor with little deviation. Front and center are both included careers, flanked by create-a-park and multiplayer modes playable in both split screen and online. So far, so serviceable, however the immediate sense of familiarity is the first sign of many that Iron Galaxy has – whether by choice or circumstance – played it safe, and hasn’t opted to tear up the rule book with the same rebellious snark seen in the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4. This fact alone has made assessing the release a bit difficult, if I’m being honest. Iron Galaxy’s effort skews more toward being a sequel than it does a remake in its own right – and it starts with those dang campaigns.

Iron Galaxy has presented Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 in much the same way as it originally coalesced; you’re let loose in a medium-sized stage, with the aim of completing set goals within a tight two minute window. Achieve an escalating set of high scores, whip out your best combo, collect the letters S-K-A-T-E – all the classics are present and accounted for. Alongside these stalwart errands, the original game also introduced off-kilter additional tasks that were specific to each stage, including one that would notably – and permanently – alter the map you’re skating in. Grinding 5 valves on Foundry for instance – this sends the plant into meltdown, opening up a helter skelter grind opportunity at one end of the map. These token additions were in step with broader skate culture of the time – CKY, Jackass, the whole idea of what we still consider a stereotypical skater – it was all reflected in the changing face of Tony Hawk over the years, the game now, not the guy. Iron Galaxy’s attempt to distill all of that down whilst sticking to the framework set out by Vicarious Visions is largely successful, but not altogether inspiring. Instead of feeling like the seismic leap that the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 was, its presence in this new package feels more akin to a DLC than a separate standalone release.

As for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, that’s a different beast entirely, and the contorted version of it present in this remake is bafflingly subpar. Originally released at the tail end of 2002, the game landed smackbang in the middle of the open-world pandemic set in motion by GTA 3. Abandoning the two minute, goal based format enshrined by past entries, the Birdman’s 4th endeavored to mix up the formula by offering an open-ended approach to its stages. Levels were much larger than the ones seen in 1-3, and you were free to explore at your leisure instead of being bound to a strict two-minute window. Goals were dished out by everyone from Pro Skaters to frustrated locals – and you weren’t simply skating this time either, you were playing tennis, baseball, and helping seals escape certain death at the jaws of a peckish Great White.

Instead of adhering to this format, Iron Galaxy has reworked Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4’s campaign to fit into the traditional two-minute sprint present in the older games – with most of the more madcap goals and all non-skating activities brutally ripped from your itinerary. Purists might posit that focusing on core gameplay is a welcome change – I’d argue that it misses the point entirely. Vicarious Visions took a holistic view of the entire franchise in rebuilding Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, cherry picking the best of the series’ many mechanics and features as they built out their remake. The issue with following something like that up is the in-built expectation that a Tony Hawk sequel carries, along with the precedent set via the many changes introduced within the original versions of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4. With that in mind, the career mode here feels like one frontside bluntslide forward, and three hardflips back.

While you might not be getting a faithful adaptation of the original titles then, you are still being treated to a satisfyingly tactile bit of arcade skating. Running at a near-locked 60 frames per second on Nintendo Switch 2, almost every boneless-to-kickflip-to-manual-to-faceplant is, thankfully, a joy to execute. The Joy-Con 2 feel oddly suited to the frantic, combo-driven gameplay of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 – using the controllers’ analog sticks to quickly clack-clack an up-down manual in the midst of a six figure combo string feels effortlessly reliable. Executing familiar lines is also a breeze, and Iron Galaxy should be commended for that. Ensuring that these hallowed grounds behave as you’d expect within an entirely different engine must have been a huge pain, and I’m grateful that the game strives to blow the cobwebs off of decades old muscle memory. Regarding presentation, each in-game location has been given the ol’ 2025 Unreal Engine spit-shine, and they all look great. Cutbacks have been made on Nintendo Switch 2 in order to achieve 60 FPS, but you’d have to put this version right next to a competing port in order to notice any significant shortfall in visual quality. It’s a relief to finally see Unreal Engine bringing the goods on the Nintendo Switch platform – sure, it took an entirely new console in order to get there, but it’s a welcome development regardless.

What isn’t as welcome is the desperately botched attempt Iron Galaxy and Activision have made to update the included soundtrack. The Pro Skater series has always retained core memory status for fans thanks to a timeless mix of licensed tracks that are as inseparable from the recipe as – I dunno, kickflips. Out of the 34 songs featured on the original games’ soundtracks, only ten have been retained for the remake. 49 additional new tunes have been added to the mix – and although music is a powerfully subjective medium, I couldn’t get along with many of the new additions. Every so often a classic like Motorhead’s Ace of Spades would begin spilling out of my speakers, and only then would the experience feel like it was truly coming together. Many other times I’d find myself clicking in the right stick in order to skip to the next track – especially whenever the repetitive wailing vocals of Xray Spex’ Identity began grating at my skull. I can respect the critical obligation I have as a reviewer to remove a game from superfluous context and assess it on its own terms – but when you remake games as beloved as those within the Pro Skater pantheon, you’re trading almost exclusively on a nostalgia that simply has to be respected in order to succeed on a creative level. Vicarious Visions understood this, and when you consider how closely Iron Galaxy has followed in their footsteps, it’s a wonder they fumbled in this area specifically.

Despite all of the negatives however, the core experience of hitting combos, completing goals and unlocking new gear is just as gratifying in 2025 as it was way back in 2001. It’s worth mentioning that three completely new parks have been added into the mix as penance for the removal of two original levels, and these new additions – Movie Studio, Pinball and Waterpark – are a tantalizing glimpse at where the series could go from here. The video game industry isn’t keen on second chances these days, and Iron Galaxy has made some serious missteps in capturing the true spirit of the games being remade for this package, but that isn’t to say the team couldn’t right the ship with a brand new entry. These new parks are a tacit implication that perhaps Iron Galaxy are better off shredding their own lines instead of following the Birdman’s old groove. Pro Skater 6, anyone? Let’s hope so.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 copy provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.