Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 +4: PS5 Review

Developed by Iron Galaxy
Published by Activision
Platform: PS5

Tony Hawk is of course a visionary icon of the skateboarding scene.

But he's also famous for putting his name, his tricks and his board to some iconic games from the early 2000s which defined Activision as a gaming publisher and have become firmly implanted in players' minds.

Now nearly a quarter of a century on, the revamped and polished versions of these are back for the PlayStation audience and aimed squarely at those who have an eye for nostalgia-based gaming.

If you played those original games then most of what transpires in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 won't be different to you.

But there are vicarious joys to be had for the game that sees you busting the moves you need to and flipping the way you remember you used to. Developer Iron Galaxy has pretty much not reinvented the wheel in many ways and stuck with the tried and true polish it up for a little bit more.

While some levels are missing in Pro Skater 4 (Carnival and Chicago are gone for Water Park and Pinball), the developer's approach to streamlining some of the gameplay means that completists may feel a little cheated, their memories tainted by the need to freshen it up for 2025.

From fictional characters including Michaelangelo from the mutant turtles returning, there's a lot to be remembered from the originals as you try to achieve the required level goals from the game's skatepark sensibilities.

There is something fun about the initial tutorials too as you try to re-learn the basics - and while muscle memory kicks in sooner than later, it's worth noticing that the game itself has been done up graphically and looks a little more polished than it did in PS2 days.

While timers push up the action and the pace to make you feel like you have to achieve something before it's too late, Tony Hawk's latest outing never loses its eye on having fun - it's about going back to the skate park, kicking back and while the game never really is about the physics of the skateboarding, the ragdolling and the fails are perhaps the most sustained fun that it can offer.

Yes there's a lot of online complaining about a lack of some of the original tunes not coming back, but for an overall feel of nostalgia complete with gameplay that comes back to you when you least it expect it to,Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 is the wheel deal.