Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 Once Again Captures The Essence Of Skating, New Secret Characters

One of the first games I had on my PlayStation was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, it was purchased at a garage sale and was in French for some reason, but that never stopped me from having fun two minutes at a time. Ahead of the Xbox Summer Game Fest Showcase, I had a chance to sit down with the game for an hour and it feels like coming home.

During this time, I had free rein to explore each of the levels across Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. Loading up the Foundry, I was amazed at how much had changed and how much was the same.

I was amazed at the amount of detail put into the paint on the floor, the light shining in from high windows, sparks and fumes ejecting from various pipes, and just how much hotter that lava pit looked. There are even workers taking on tasks who will yell at you as you skate by them.

Demo Available
By the time you're reading this article you should be aware that those who pre-order the game will immediately get access to a demo that includes Foundry from THPS3 and College from THPS4, with playable skaters Tony Hawk and Rayssa Leal.

Skating the park was a dream. All of the same combo lines and hidden gaps but with all of the benefits of smooth modern-day controls.

Starting With The Original

Searching around a number of the maps there was a lot that was the same, but also differences. In talking to Kurt Tillmans, the Game Director, it was explained that when they started this project they received the original files for THPS3 for the PlayStation 2 and worked from them.

If your experience with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 is for the original PlayStation, like me, then expect some differences.

Tillmans also explained that when they were creating THPS 3+4 they also looked into what kinds of THPS Mods were most popular to understand what fans of the original wanted in an improved title so that they could make sure to create something that everyone would want to play. This led to the inclusion of baggage claim portals at the end of Airport to take you back to the top of the level.

Another inclusion that I was happy to see where Pro Goals. These are five additional goals for each level that serves as a kind of 'New Game +.' For example the Sick Score of Alcatraz is 175,000, but the Platinum Score is 500,000. There are also additional difficulty goals like "Double Hellflip the Massive Crumbling Stairset."

It adds replayability outside of the different trick challenges to just head back into a level, and complete more objectives, or push yourself to complete an even higher score.

Secret Characters Galore - Cowabunga!

Just as with any Tony Hawk Pro Skater title, this one comes with a number of additional secret characters. In the base game, you can create your own skater or pick from one of thirty professional skateboarders. In addition to that there are five additional secret characters.

For this demo, we were able to see Bam Margera, an empty space on the roster, Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (specifically the TMNT: Mutant Mayhem design), Doom Slayer, and a Revenant (also from Doom).

"A potentially major omission from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 had fans worried. Would Activision really leave one of the series' most beloved skaters behind?... nope" - Bam Margera's character bio

Each of these characters also comes with special moves custom-tailored to them. The Doom Slayer and Revenant weren't playable, citing that a purchase of the Deluxe Edition would be required.

Seeing that only Mikey was added to the title, I did ask whether there had been a specific reason to include one, and not all of the Turtles. Tillmans explained that when reviewing the Turtles while all of them have been shown to enjoy skateboarding, it was Mikey that had the "most Southern California vibe, so he fit the best"

Create A Park Reaches A Whole New Level

A very interesting piece of news to those who enjoy making your own Tony Hawk Pro Skater levels, in the level creator you can not only make and upload levels but there are a variety of added features and functionalities.

Some of the features added include turbo boost pads and musical notes, but there is also the ability to create goals for your custom parks.

You can create a set of score goals, single combo goals, put down SKATE or COMBO letters, and even have collectibles placed around the map to obtain. Tillmans did clarify that there's a "Mario Maker style validation system that you'll need to complete your goal to be able to upload it."

He did proudly add that all uploaded parks are cross platform so no matter where a park and the goals are made anyone from any version of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 will be able to download and play it.

I'm incredibly excited to see what kinds of maps with goals players are able to make when this releases.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 was previewed at Summer Game Fest 2025.