Activision has been on a bit of a roll with its retro remakes. After successfully bringing back Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, the publisher was bound to dive into its back catalogue to pull out another sure-fire hit. Fortunately, among its dormant IP was a series named Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. These were more than just good skateboarding games; they defined an era, popularising skating for a new generation and influencing decades of sports titles. Combine the franchise's legendary status with a thirst for skateboarding games to return, and Activision was onto a winner.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is brilliant. It's a perfectly pitched remake, reviving the original two games for the modern age. It plays on our nostalgia for the late 90s classics with all the levels and characters we remember, but the graphical overhaul is such that it all feels fresh again. These stages have aged very well indeed, and look better than ever with Vicarious Visions going the extra mile to make each one feel unique.
What's perhaps most remarkable, though, is that the gameplay is just as good today as it ever has been. Folding in later additions like the revert and other features, the remake plays fantastically. After finding your feet with the controls, it's as if nothing ever changed; you'll slip back into familiar rhythms, earning thousands of points and racking up ridiculously long combos. In terms of pure fun, this game is hard to top in 2020. Trying and retrying for that perfect run remains an addictive pastime.
Then there's all the new stuff the remake brings to the table. Literally hundreds of Challenges will keep players hooked for dozens of hours — the game really rewards you for exploring absolutely everything. Create-a-Skater and Create-a-Park aren't original features, but they're seriously overhauled here, especially the latter. You can make a serviceable skate park fairly intuitively, and then share it with the online community. And speaking of online, you can play some rounds of score attack and plenty more in relaxed multiplayer lobbies.
It's just an amazing package when you add it all up. Two absolute classics, revamped and bundled together with all the mod-cons you'd expect, and best of all, it still plays like a dream. It's no wonder Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is among our top games of the year — a joyous ride for veterans and newcomers alike.
For more information, you can read our Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 review through the link.
Is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 among your favourite games of 2020? Grind into the comments section below.
How we decide our Game of the Year: This December, our editorial team created a list of nominees for Game of the Year based on our own review scores and a variety of other factors. After much discussion, we trimmed the list of nominees down and asked all Push Square staff and the Push Square community to vote on their five favourites using a points-based system. The ten games with the most points by the designated deadline were then determined as our favourites of 2020.
Comments 15
My personal PS game of the year. Just superb. I really hope more people check it out as it’s not even full price!
Really great game. My big brother got this for my little brother for Christmas and we spent most of Christmas day taking it in turns, reliving our youth and at the same time teaching our children this absolute gem of a game.
The Dads and kids all gamed upstairs while the mums and grandparents played board games.
Me and my son are gonna get it in the New Year and I can’t wait!
Been playing a lot of this since release, awesome remake.
Bring on some THPS 3 DLC I say!
Just got this got Christmas can't wait to get into it. Absolutely loved the originals a proper part of my childhood.
@JapaneseSonic I know nothing about skateboarding, never watched any skaters, tried it once myself - got hurt
But I do remember one of the original games (THPS 2 or 3, not sure) being tons of arcade style fun. It's not a skating sim by any means.
@Mpquikster Sounds like 3.
Really enjoyed this remake.
After the torture of performing Nollie 360 inward heelflip to grind to back flip and whatnot in SKATE back in the day, all the while stressing the right stick on my 360 controller(which never even stick-drifted shamefully like the DS4), I never returned to any skating game ever.
@TheArt This game uses buttons to do tricks. So up+square does an impossible and it uses the X button to Ollie. It’s a whole lot easier as it’s an arcade experience and more focused on scoring points. I love the Skate games to bits but for totally different reasons, they’re more simulations and accurately capture the fun of IRL skating.
I just recently got this on PS4 for 20 bucks. I’m about to put some time into this game.
@nessisonett I see. I'd appreciate more games using buttons instead if stick-drift is still a problem. I recently switched that stressful right stick reeling in fish to a button in RDRII. And yeah Skate was more simulation, I liked it, was kinda like the Souls of Skating, difficult but satisfying.
Never owned a skateboard... I have been a samurai, a god of war and shot loads of guns though. Not sure if I'll like it. Derp.
Didnt play it but will pick it up later when theres a good sale. For a remake I think the price is a bit high.
@Mpquikster
If it had ace of spades on the soundtrack that would've been the absolute best of them all imo. THPS 3
I’ve been interested in getting this so maybe it’s finally time to cave in. I really want them to remake THUG 1&2 though as they were my favorite. I would buy those at the $70 price tag of new PS5 games in a heartbeat.
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