Time to show some age here. I mean, really, come on, Tony Hawk. I remember playing it on the old PlayStation, knowing every track, every trick, every weird little corner of the skate parks. It was muscle memory. I could land a 900 without thinking. Well… maybe not quite like that this time.
Still, when the email dropped letting me know the game was available, I was genuinely excited. Like, feet-up-on-my-still-boxed Birdhouse Collector’s Edition deck kind of excited. That deck’s never touched pavement, by the way. It just sits there, pristine, while I skate my way into this new version of the game.
Graphics That Actually Keep Up
Let’s ollie into the visuals. They’ve come a long way. It doesn’t feel like you’re tricking your way through a pixelated XP-era PC anymore. The game’s clean, detailed, and sharp enough that when you miss a trick, you know it’s on you, not the graphics engine, though I still blamed the game. But this is a good thing. It makes you want to go back and try again. Kind of like real skating, where you fall, swear a bit, then get back up and try the same move again….. and again.
Customisation is solid. You can build your own character, tweak the look, the gear, the vibe. But I’m old school, and why tweak anything when you can play as the Birdman himself! The man, the myth, the legend, Tony Hawk. It just didn’t feel right not playing as him.
One small thing, though, when you crash, the impact feels a bit… soft? I kind of wanted a longer wipeout animation, maybe even a wince-worthy sound effect. But then again, if that happened every time, I’d probably be here complaining about how annoying it was. So maybe it’s fine.
Story Mode That Keeps You Hooked
The progression mode is surprisingly addictive. You unlock parks by landing increasingly difficult tricks, and it actually feels like you’ve earned something. Not just ticking off a box or grinding through a checklist. There’s a sense of accomplishment when you finally land that one combo you’ve been failing for the past hour. And yes, I’ve spent hours doing exactly that, restarting, retrying, swearing, then trying again. It’s frustrating in the best way. You get hooked on the challenge without even realising it.
What I like is that it doesn’t hand things to you too easily. You have to work for it. And when you do unlock a new park, it’s not just a new backdrop or a reskin, it’s a whole new playground. Different layout, different flow, new lines to discover. It keeps you moving forward, even when you’re stuck on a trick that feels impossible (Stupid 360 flip into a varial Kickflip). And somehow, it never feels like a grind. Just one more try. Then another. And another.
I work odd hours, so coming home, crashing on the couch, and diving into this game has become a bit of a ritual. It’s comforting. Familiar. A little throwback to my skater girl days, except now I’m Tony Hawk, my knees don’t hurt after a session, and I haven’t credit carded myself while playing. That part’s nice. There’s no bruises, no rolled ankles, just the satisfaction of nailing a move I couldn’t pull off ten minutes ago.
Sometimes I’ll play for twenty minutes. Other times, I lose track and it’s suddenly 2 am. It’s that kind of game. You don’t always plan to stay in it for long, but it pulls you in. And when you finally unlock that next park, it feels like a little victory. One you earned.
Controls That Just Feel Right
I played on PS5 for most of this review, but I did a quick test run on Xbox Series X too, just to see how it felt. Both versions are solid. The game runs smoothly on each, with no real complaints there. But for me, PlayStation wins this one. Not by a huge margin, but enough that I noticed.
There’s something about the PS5 controller that just fits better with the rhythm of the game. The layout, the way the buttons respond, even the feel of the triggers, it all clicks when you’re stringing together tricks. Especially when you’re deep into a combo and your fingers are moving on instinct. The Xbox controller is great for a lot of things, and I usually love it for sports games. But here? I don’t know. It felt a little less precise. A bit more floaty, maybe.
That could just be muscle memory talking. I’ve played a lot of Tony Hawk on PlayStation over the years, so maybe my hands just know what to do on that controller. But even setting nostalgia aside, the PS5 setup felt more responsive. More immediate. Like the board was reacting to me, not the other way around.
It’s a small thing, but in a game where timing and flow matter so much, it made a difference. Enough that I switched back to PS5 after just a few runs on Xbox. Not because the Xbox version was bad, it wasn’t, but because the PlayStation version felt right.
Final Thoughts: Worth the Ride
As a gamer who grew up with Tony Hawk, I went into this expecting a nostalgia trip. Something light. Maybe just a polished version of the 1 & 2 remaster. But this? It’s more than that. It’s a full experience. If you’re new to the series, the tutorials will get you skating in no time. If you’re returning after years away, you’ll feel right at home and probably a little impressed by how much it’s improved.
If you’ve played the remaster and weren’t sure whether this new release was worth it… I’m here to say it is. Don’t wait. Go skate.
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