I sit down and pick up my controller, cradle my headphones around my ears, and I am instantly met by the blast beat percussion of The Adolescents’ hit song ‘Amoeba’ – this is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, but in many ways it’s the exact same game I remember playing back in 2001. The team at Iron Galaxy have recreated this cultural touchstone for games and skate culture, but also bring plenty of new ideas to the table.
During a recent demo session, I had the chance to play an extensive portion of this updated version and left feeling increasingly enthusiastic about the fresh levels and concepts introduced by the development team. Naturally, fans will feel right at ease with beloved skateboarders such as Bob Burnquist, Rodney Mullen, and Kareem Campbell still partaking in the action. Additionally, classic stages from both Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 have been meticulously reconstructed with enhanced details and innovative elements. While engaging with the playable prototype, I observed numerous additional non-playable characters along with their witty remarks scattered throughout; for instance, hearing phrases like “The vibes are off” coming from individuals stuck behind a window within Suburbia or people near El Rey theater reminiscing over previous installments of Tony Hawk’s game series. This remake offers ample novelty that can captivate seasoned players too.
Old skaters, new tricks
The team at Iron Galaxy also crafted entirely new levels for this game, like Waterpark which combines wacky new concepts from the studio with the form and function of the original package. The team doesn’t want these newer levels to feel out of place.
“The instructions I gave the level designers for Waterpark was this needs to feel like we found this on a hard drive for 4 and we revitalized it,” design manager Mike Rossi tells me. “Like, for some reason, they couldn’t put it in the game. But we found it, we redid it, and we made it modern so it feels like it was left on the cutting room floor.” Waterpark is just one of a few new levels Iron Galaxy is adding, and the blueprint has left me excited to see what other levels the team have cooking.
The spiraling water slides and dilapidated, forsaken atmosphere of Waterpark align perfectly with the tone this series has consistently set. It showcases how skateboarders tend to gather at locations where they can pull off an impressive stunt or simply create chaos as they hang around.
Regardless of whether you’re hunting down that elusive hidden tape or skillfully navigating around water valves to empty a pool, the gameplay rhythm in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 & 4 remains steady across these fresh stages. Executing tricks, performing reverts, and prolonging combo chains via manuals and other available moves continues to be satisfying. Iron Galaxy has refined elements such as hitching rides on vehicles within THPS3 to ensure smoother integration between both titles.
The classic friction of completing goals with a two minute timer is just as challenging as I remember, but this time around you’re able to customize the timer to be up to an hour if you want more time in each of these levels. It’s a nice touch, and ultimately one that gives everyone more options. Even having Foundry memorized like the back of my hand, I still feel the pressure of the timer all these years later. Every second in a level counts, and learning to extend your time with a nasty combo string still feels as game-breaking as it did before.
What music are skateboarders into these days?
It wouldn’t be a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game without a killer soundtrack. THPS 3 + 4 brings the hits, melding classics from the original games with newer hip-hop artists and hardcore bands like Turnstile and Danny Brown to create something entirely new.
I ask Rossi about the process of picking new bands for the soundtrack: “My audio design lead put together a big list of stuff. Activision put together a list and Tony’s obviously got his list so, it was a collaborative effort to kind of figure out,” he shares. “What do we feel is like a good representative of current skate culture as well. You know, what are skaters listening to, right?” The eclectic mix of genres still embodies the spirit of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater – the soundtrack is still a foundational pillar. It’s nice to see it honored, while still evolving to embrace the modern day skate culture as much as how it was 20 years ago.
Those who buy the deluxe version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 will get the Doom Slayer as a hidden skater along with several exclusive new tricks and music tracks, though certain elements remain undisclosed.
I ask Rossi about the Spongebob tease at the end of the Nintendo Switch 2 trailer for the game and he mentions that secret areas in levels are an “expectation” the team has tried to balance. Getting to add fun and exciting areas to the game is something Iron Galaxy is stoked about. “There’s still plenty more secrets to come, I wish I could spill them all to you now,” Rossi says when I ask him about what else to expect, which leaves me hopeful there are new discoveries worth seeking out.
Walking away from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 & 4 makes me feel like a kid once more. Prepared to spend endless hours mastering the ideal trick sequence at Foundry or hunting down hidden treasures within the fraternity-packed College level. Though many consider me a functional grown-up nowadays, it feels great to rediscover my youth—despite occasional knee protests.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 & 4 will be available on July 11, 2025, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Development of a Nintendo Switch 2 edition is also underway; however, its launch date remains undisclosed as of now. Stay tuned with us for updates.
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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 might introduce significant changes to Pro Skater 4 by seemingly eliminating open-world gameplay in exchange for more focused objectives.
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