Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Preview – THPS 4 LIFE!

If you recall, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (THPS 1+2) was developed by Vicarious Visions and Beenox for the console versions, while Iron Galaxy Studios developed the Windows version.

I read a lot of chatter with concerns about Iron Galaxy Studios being the sole development team for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 from those who don’t know that they developed the Windows version and are very familiar with the game.

With that said, I’ve spent a few hours playing the THPS 3+4 demo on Xbox Series X, and it looks and plays beautifully. Compared to THPS 1+2, which I called the G.O.A.T. of skateboarding video games, this is what I expected.

Now I’m 47 years young and grew up playing the THPS franchise. It has been a dream come true to see these classic skateboarding games rise from the pile of ignored but never forgotten video games, which desperately needed a modern revival.

The gameplay runs smoothly and feels a bit faster compared to THPS 1+2. The foundry level, which is one of the two playable areas, is a fast map to play because it’s smaller and full of ramps that pump you around the dangerous factory. If you played the original game, then you will instantly notice the upgrades ranging from the furnace lighting to the alarms going off or the echo from your skateboard as you skate on all the metal grids.

The second playable area is called College. This is the total opposite of foundry as it’s wide-open and offers more variety on playstyles with a heavy focus on street skating. So you can skate around and play out some nice run lines, such as pulling off a backside 50/50 on a handrail, then heelflip out to nose manual, you know, like you used to do in real life, right?

Replaying these areas in all their remastered glory instantly brings a tear to my eye as I reminisce about my youth, the good times hanging with friends after school, playing THPS, then hitting the streets to skate and fail horribly to recreate the insane lines we just did in THPS. All good times and all great memories that flood back in when playing THPS 3+4.

I have NO DOUBT the official release will offer up more of the same by 100% with all the OG playable areas along with a new area called Waterpark. I look forward to playing the total package when it releases July 11th, 2025, for all current Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Switch, including the newly released Nintendo Switch 2.