Years after Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 came out on Switch, it seemed like all hope was lost for any further skateboarding games from Activision, especially when longtime Tony Hawk-friendly developer Vicarious Visions was consumed by Blizzard shortly after those remakes were released. Thankfully another developer was there to pick up the torch in Iron Galaxy Studios. And even more thanks is needed because Iron Galaxy Studios did a fantastic job in bringing remakes of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 to life in a new package for Nintendo Switch 2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is not without its warts, primarily in some rough technical issues on Switch 2 and some of the changes made to the fourth game, but when all is said and done, this is another great collection of skateboarding video game nostalgia paired with wonderful modern flourishes.

In general, Tony Hawk 3+4 follows a similar structure and presentation as the prior remake. The menu layout is more or less the same. It has a daunting amount of real-life skaters to play as. It’s got tons of branded shirts and decks to earn and equip your custom skater with. The two original games are split into distinct tours with almost every level returning. While it’s familiar at a glance, under the hood some streamlining was done that is largely for the best. In lieu of the level-up and challenge system of Tony Hawk 1+2, this one boils down progress into a more focused variety of challenges that directly unlock some gear. You can also earn money from these challenges as well as finding some cash in levels to buy equipment and accessories from an in-game store. I didn’t find anything wrong with the way the prior remake handled everything, but I ultimately prefer the relatively no-nonsense layout here.

Menus aside, the best part of this game is actually skating in levels. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3’s tour contains the nine main levels from the original 2001 release, all feeling just as electric as they have for the past 20+ years. I consider Foundry to be the best opening level in any entry in the series, filled with great combo lines and neat secrets. I initially thought that the Canada level was missing something with the spread of the initial level goals, but the post-game added more goals to every level, helping make levels like Canada feel more complete. Rio, Skater Island, and Tokyo are three great competition levels. Suburbia is a Wisteria Lane-esque cul de sac that somehow feels weirder in 2025, especially when you help the Thin Man open a portal to another dimension and enter the abyss. The Airport is an all-time classic Tony Hawk level, made better this time around by letting you teleport to the beginning when you reach the end of the downhill ride. The final semi-secret level is the Cruise Ship, which I have enjoyed a lot more in the remake than I did in the original game. Also props to sanding down some of the coarse ribald edges of 2000s-era video games by no longer looking to impress bikini-clad girls but instead impressing other skaters for one of the objectives. I consider Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 to be one of the best games ever made and I came away from my time playing these levels in the remake feeling like the magic was recaptured.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4’s tour in this remake is a more complicated story, however, even if it’s still extremely good. Fans of the original game will remember that the fourth entry in the series pivoted from the two-minute timer to a more open level approach where you had to find quest givers on the map and complete goals that way. Back in 2002, that was revolutionary, even if the implementation has shown its age over time. For this 2025 remake, the levels from Tony Hawk 4 have been tweaked and adapted to fit the two-minute format. For the most part, this works well. Some of the more cinematic goals, like chasing down the dudes who stole the professor’s car in the opening College level, still made the transition more or less intact. The parade floats from that College level still show up. It’s a solid adaptation of some of the weirder elements of the original Tony Hawk 4 release. What I learned from playing these levels in the two-minute format is that removing them from the more open-ended exploration and prescripted goals reveals how they’re just not as strong as traditional Tony Hawk levels, especially stacked up against the third game. College and San Francisco both work well still, but I found some of the later levels like Alcatraz and London to be a little more stale. Two levels - Kona and Zoo - were changed into competition levels, which is a little square peg/round hole but they both still work in the format even if they’re a little too big. Two levels from Tony Hawk 4 didn’t even make the transition, as this misses the late-game Carnival stage and the Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX crossover Chicago level. What helps to save the Tony Hawk 4 tour is the fact that the three original Iron Galaxy-made levels included in it are largely awesome. The Waterpark is expansive, but also delightfully weird and creative, filled with a lot of fun gaps and combo lines. Movie Studio is a more condensed competition level, but the two floors give it some novel verticality and it also packs in a handful of good jokes. The Pinball level is very gimmicky, but it also serves as a semi-bonus level and puts you in some unique and vibrant scenarios.

If you’re looking for the same experience as the original Tony Hawk 4 here, you’re not going to get it. Iron Galaxy does a great job adapting the memorable objectives from that game into the two-minute format, but it’s not the same (and I say that as someone who thinks the original format for Tony Hawk 4 is a little overrated). By no means is it bad, as this is still Tony Hawk gameplay that feels tight and excellent.

While this isn’t the same experience found in the original Tony Hawk 4, what this remake does add overall is expansive and incredible. After you complete the initial level goals, you unlock more difficult goals and competitions. Some of these additional goals are either inspired by ones from the originals or off-the-wall weird and challenging. The post-game also lets you take on individual tours for the entire roster, which will lead to unlocking specific gear for each skater. At a certain point, the post-game starts to run into some repetition, but as someone who has regularly returned to Tony Hawk 1+2 to roll through some levels as a new skater, it’s a very welcome carrot on a stick to have.

Speaking of the skaters, while you can only get the two Doom characters as part of the Digital Deluxe Edition, the other secret skaters are neat, including cartoon characters like Michelangelo from TMNT and Bam Margera from Tony Hawk games and CKY. Most of the secret skaters are just available for purchase in the shop, but Jack Black’s British accented Constable Richard is accessed through arcane hidden objects.

Beyond the regular runs through the levels, the typical assortment of options are here, including single session and free skate. You can fine-tune your experience to your liking, including turning off bails or turning on perfect balance. I appreciate how there’s an element of letting the player play however they want. Making it so you can essentially never fail doesn’t prevent you from clearing goals or challenges. Having trouble with skitching? Go into the menu and make it so you have perfect balance while skitching.

You can also take on Speed Runs through the levels, where you have to complete all the normal goals as quickly as you can, complete with crossplay online leaderboards. Create-A-Park is back and all objects are unlocked by default, so you can just dive in and build right away. You can even create goals within your created levels and place NPCs throughout. I didn’t get too deep into building a park, but I enjoyed seeing the default showcases Iron Galaxy already made. The online multiplayer, all able to be played with other platforms via crossplay, is largely similar to the previous remake’s style. You essentially hang out in levels, with high score or territory capture challenges popping up every minute or so. The new mode is HAWK, where a handful of players hide the letters from HAWK around a map, and then everybody tries to find each other’s letters in a limited amount of time. It’s a very clever mode, encouraging a lot of exploration throughout the nooks and crannies of each level.

While online on Switch 2 ran great in my experience, the same can’t be said for overall stability. Visually everything looks fine docked and on handheld, but the game crashed back to the console’s home screen close to 10 times over my 20+ hours of gameplay. I haven’t played other versions to know if this is just a Switch 2 problem, but even if there’s a decent chance these issues get resolved, as it stands as I write this, it’s shaky right now.

The soundtrack, as per series legacy, is an excellent collection of punk, rock, hip-hop, and all the intersections therein. My nostalgia soared when “96 Quite Bitter Beings” by CKY hit the streets of Suburbia. I jumped for joy as I heard Jeff Rosenstock’s “HEAD” blast through the speakers while skating around the Foundry. I learned of a new ska band called Common Perry via their song “Better Off” showing up in the game. It doesn’t have every single song from the original releases of each game but it’s still a great assortment, even if I miss the Alien Ant Farm and Zebrahead songs.

I had some trepidation when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 was announced. While the 1+2 remake was excellent, Activision’s track record with the series since the mid-2000s has been spotty at best. I’m thrilled that the skateboarding in this game feels just as good as it did 20+ years ago and that this goes beyond just a simple remake, with so many fun and enjoyable post-game challenges that builds off of the foundation. Something is lost in Tony Hawk 4’s transition to the 2-minute timer, but I still had a great time saving Painter Neal from the shark in San Francisco. And the quality of the original levels Iron Galaxy made makes me hopeful for the future of the series, whether it leads to a brand new game or an attempt at remaking Tony Hawk’s Underground. Regardless of whether or not you bring nostalgic baggage for the format from the fourth game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is an excellent video game that will keep you kickflipping and reverting to increasingly higher scores for a long time.