Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 adds a lot, but never forgets the fundamentals

When Activision first released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, there was much rejoicing from long-time fans of the franchise. Part of that was because it was such a high-quality remake of a pair of classic titles. Another part of that was because it raised hopes that the publisher would also revisit the next two games of the series. Some people will argue that skateboarding video games peaked with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Everything that those games brought to the table is on display with the upcoming Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, developed by the folks at Iron Galaxy, along with some new features. Shacknews kicked and pushed over to Los Angeles to take an early look at what to expect.

If there's one thing that the best (and even some of the mediocre) Tony Hawk games have in common, it's a solid grasp of the fundamentals. The root gameplay mechanics of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has remained largely the same with each iteration of the series adding incremental improvements. The Tony Hawk formula is solidly in place for 3+4. Players launch themselves off ramps, grind on nearly every surface, and extend combos with manuals on the ground. That aspect of the series hasn't changed and it feels as polished as ever.

Those who grew up with THPS4 will remember that its biggest contribution to the series was skitching, which involves latching onto a moving vehicle. Skitching returns in 3+4 and retroactively introduces the mechanic to all of the classic THPS3 parks. Skitching can help extend combos and can be used on many moving objects, including some that have been added to some of the THPS3 stages.

Careers in both THPS3 and THPS4 feature numerous goals for every park. Some will involve racking up high scores, grabbing collectible items, and picking up the classic "S-K-A-T-E" letters. New NPC models are also factored into various Career goals. THPS3's Canada, for example, brings players to a frosty landscape. One goal asks players to impress spectators who are hanging around different locations while another asks to free Chuck, an NPC who licked a pole and got stuck. The College park has some troublemaking frat boys running around, so one goal involves giving them some comeuppance by skating into them. One park (Rio) introduced a competitive element, where players are tasked with outscoring the rest of the skater field across three heats.

Parks in both games have been polished for a new generation. There's the aforementioned Canada and College parks, as well as locations like Los Angeles, which refines the stage layout and tosses in ideas like a typical L.A. high speed chase. There are also some new parks, one of which was playable. The all-new Waterpark takes players into a broken-down amusement locale where dusty halfpipes and rails can feed high-scoring tricks and combos. There are also several doors that warp skaters to the top of closed-down waterslides, which can feed long grinds and manuals while also providing launching pads to get some big air.

There's a lot to do across all of the THPS3 and THPS4 parks. By default, players will have two minutes to ideally put together a perfect run. Of course, given the many objectives out there, that may not be doable. Fortunately, there are customization options available that will allow users to extend that timer all the way up to a full hour.

Completing goals across Career will feed into a fairly robust progression system. Completing Challenges can unlock new outfits and other cosmetics. Finding stat points shaped like the THPS logo will allow players to upgrade their skater's attribute points. Finally, as skaters progress, players can open up free slots to assign them unique tricks that can be performed upon maxing out the Special meter.

While there's a lot of old-school fun to be had in 3+4, there's also plenty of new stuff to get excited about. In addition to the classic THPS soundtracks, new songs are being added to the playlist to give these games a more contemporary feel. The game's classic lineup of skaters is on its way back, as are the modern pros introduced in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. However, a handful of new faces will also be joining the action. With a roster of 29 skaters, it's worth noting that the THPS games were mostly male-dominated in their heyday, but this 2025 update will add in some of the top women in the sport like Chloe Covell and Rayssa Leal.

Of course, it's worth pointing out that two other skaters are being made exclusively via the game's Deluxe Edition. Doom Slayer and Revenant will be made available through the Deluxe Edition, as will their exclusive decks. Most interestingly, they will also bring along songs from the Doom series, including some of its classic tracks from composer Mick Gordon.

When Iron Galaxy says it's inviting everybody to join the skateboarding fun, that includes more than the 29-person roster. Crossplay will be available across every one of the game's platforms. That means that the PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions will be able to connect to each other for online multiplayer sessions of up to eight users. Creative-minded builders who want to create a skateboarder's paradise will be pleased to hear that the Create-A-Park feature will also be cross-platform. For those who don't want to connect online, they can enjoy the fun locally at home with one other friend.

There's more that is yet to be revealed for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. New information is expected during Thursday's THPS Fest, which will air tonight at 6 p.m PT/9 p.m. ET. Look for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 to come to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo (including the new Switch 2) on July 11.

This preview is based on an early PC build played on-site at a press/influencer event held by Activision. Parking expenses were provided. The final product is subject to change.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?