As with the first compilation, Activision has once again turned to a studio more renowned for supporting its peers' games than for its original creations. Because there's no question of entrusting Antoine Faucon and his crew of skaters to just anyone. While they may have fallen foul of The Last of Us PC, the guys at Iron Galaxy have some great tricks to their credit. With Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, they could well pull off their best combo yet, like a fall. Were the concerns well-founded? With Vans on my feet, rap/punk-rock in my ears, and my teenage soul awakened, I went to test this new compilation for a few hours.
Change of developer, gameplay intact
" It's exciting, like intimidating. It's an iconic and beloved license, so we have to do it well and deliver," Mike Rossi, design manager at Iron Galaxy, told us during an interview. Putting on Vicarious' sneakers is like that frozen moment in time after flying off the ramp: exhilarating and perilous. For Iron Galaxy, there's no question of attempting a SPECIAL; we're doing the right tricks and the ones the public likes. Neither Activision nor they wanted to change the gameplay and feel established by the previous compilation, and the landing is perfect. In just a few seconds, the sensations, the ease of entering the craziest combos, the handling, the memories... everything is there in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. The feeling is intact, perhaps even improved on certain points? It's difficult to say definitively for the moment, but like its predecessor, it's unassailable in its gameplay, which we've known like the back of our hand for a long time. You'll, however, be able to learn some stylish new tricks, since today's talents arrive with their best movestyles.
As with the 2020 remake, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 brings new blood to its cast of old skaters who are far from rusty. The Falcon himself will still be riding alongside his old pals like Steve Caballero and Chad Muska. The new generation he loves so much will also be at their side. Young prodigy Chloe Covell, an Olympic medalist at the age of 15, Frenchman Aurélien Girot, Nora Vasconcellos, and Zion Wright are all joining the massive THPS 3+4 roster, which will expand to around thirty skaters.
All were chosen from a very selective list and approved by Tony Hawk himself, aiming to select those who today best represent what skate culture is and push it to new heights, as Rossi revealed to us. Father Falcon is always perched on the developers' shoulder to advise them and ensure that his discipline and culture are respected and faithfully represented. "He is very passionate and he is very careful to ensure that the game is representative of today's culture." The face of skateboarding then sent them numerous notes throughout development, particularly concerning the names of the figures or even the icons illustrating them, for example.
Roster XXL and new features
More than just a bunch of cool tricks to show off in front of your friends, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 will also add a new gameplay feature: skitchin, the practice of hanging onto vehicles while maintaining balance and then propelling yourself and gaining speed. A classic from the fourth episode, now incorporated into both games in the compilation, it brings a real dose of nostalgia. Like everything else in THPS 3+4, it's a real leap into the past. Your favorite maps, the ones you've grinded for hours on end, are more beautiful than ever. From a snowy and wooded Canada, to Suburbia, more alive than ever, to an Alcatraz now under heavy surveillance, the maps shine thanks to their new modeling, which is as good as ever, but above all, they now have life. Iron Galaxy has incorporated NPCs into each of them. So many characters to bully by doing a few Ollies in their faces, their reactions sometimes being funny, sometimes more violent.
They won't just be there to look pretty (a little anyway), they will also bring some additional missions. No changes on that side either, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 uses the same objective system as its predecessor. In addition to the letters SKATE, combo scores or other objects to find or destroy within the allotted time, the kings of the board will also have to photobomb slightly annoying tourists, take revenge on a fraternity of rednecks or impress the crowds. The objectives are more varied and it is ultimately their alternative to the career mode of THPS 4. Like it or not, but it is clearly in the essence of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Pure arcade, a concentrate of fun, the sacrosanct Start, down, X sequence that re-infiltrates our memories to restart the run, an atmosphere and an OST that kick ass... we wallow in nostalgia and the desire to always do more, always better.
The race for scoring and challenges will once again be greatly rewarded with a whole bunch of cosmetics to collect by showing off your talents or by succeeding in certain more challenging challenges in the skin of your character or your favorite skaters, all decked out with at least one challenge to overcome. It will, in fact, still be possible to create your own skater, with customization options that we are promised to be more advanced than in the previous compilation. We will have to trust these promises for the moment, because I was only able to embody the stars of the game and the store was not accessible to us. I had to swallow the fashionista in me and spend the time I would have spent doing Cristina Cordula discovering one of the very first new maps in 15 years of the franchise. There are priorities.
New maps for the first time in 15 years
Creating new levels after so many years, it's no easy feat. The pressure is still high on the teams' shoulders, who prioritize experience above all else. Skaters and seasoned players alike came to test the fruit of their imagination in advance, even if it meant revising some of their plans. "The final version is already big, but Water Park was much bigger at the start. We finally tightened it up, following various feedback, both internal and external." However, one of the biggest challenges with this new map for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 was also to make it, and its objectives, as intuitive as possible. You know all the old ones by heart, so the missions make sense straight away, but for Rossi and his teams, it was a balancing act between "keeping this dark side to the objectives and the challenge they represent, and making sure that players understand how to complete them on their own," he explains.
Iron Galaxy wanted to create unique environments that capture the soul and culture of the game, that have that inseparable touch to the license, and the challenge is met hands down. If I hadn't been told that Water Park was a new map, I wouldn't have noticed. The abandoned water park is full of teleporters taking you directly to the top of the most dizzying points of interest. A castle and a pirate ship, both giving great combo opportunities, slides that offer long rails for grinding as well as spiral descents, perfect for chaining the craziest tricks... This new map of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 will make even the most hardcore players dizzy. Put the controller in skilled hands and you'll see some of the craziest combos you've seen in a long time. Iron Galaxy has mastered its subject with both the very underground artistic direction and the very vertical level design that allows for all sorts of madness while allowing for very fluid combos. We can't wait to discover the other maps they have prepared for us, because if they are all of this quality, we'll want more. Let's slip this in here before finishing, but Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 will be fully crossplay, from 8-player multiplayer to skatepark creator.
We're waiting for it... like the kids we were back then!
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is just like before, but with everything better. A little more beautiful, a little more fluid, the skaters a little better modeled, a few new features... Iron Galaxy plays it safe, but also efficient. Some unknowns remain regarding the OST, the character and skatepark creator, or the shop, but with gameplay and a feeling that are still as exhilarating, the return of skitchin, and new maps that seem to be up to scratch, THPS 3+4 is already shaping up to be a must-have for fans of the franchise. The game will be available on July 11, 2025, on PS5, Xbox Series, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Game Pass.
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