Tony Hawk Remastered Demo Thoughts

While Remakes of older games have become the new norm in the modern era, franchises like Resident Evil have set the standard for what truly great remakes should be about. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 Remake follows in those footsteps, with the game feeling more like a complete rebuild rather than just a fresh coat of paint. Granted the Demo is a bit limited, with the entirety of its run time taking place in an abandoned warehouse. But this one location is definitely more than enough to
showcase Activision’s and Vicarious Visions brilliant love letter to the skater genre. 

The Visuals
Rather than following the trends of using cel- cartoon-like animations inherent in other titles on the current generation, Tony Hawk utilizes a realistic graphical overhaul that pushes the PS4 to its limits with 60 FPS and little to no lag time in character movements. This truly comes to fruition during high-speed trick combos that generate the player bonus points that will affect your character’s overall ranking when the servers go up for the game when released in September. Textures and settings are presented beautifully and far surpass their past generation’s predecessors. 

The Controls
Fast and fluid are the best ways to describe the controls in this remake.  The analog sticks feel like they’ve been built just for this style of gameplay, with Vicarious Visions doing away with the D-Pad control design of the past and tailoring it to the fluidity of the sleek PS4 button layout.  The twin-stick movement design comes in handy during the various fast turns and spin movements that litter the industrial design of the Demo’s warehouse setting. The analog button layouts are the best way to play this style of gameplay design, making the original titles feel archaic and clumsy. 
The Era Defining Soundtrack One of the charms of the original Pro Skater games are its soundtrack. But with licensing muddying up the waters, it can be difficult for publishers to transport original scores to current-gen consoles. Unfortunately, the demo did not showcase much in terms of the original soundtrack but Activision plans on fixing these issues with the game’s final product. Very little is offered in the demo and understandably so, considering that the original game’s soundtrack has so many titles to choose from. Hopefully, the final version of the game will utilize the awesome punk rock-infused score that captured the spirit of the first two Pro Skater titles. 

Final Thoughts

Both visually stunning and joyous in its simplicity, Tony Hawk 1 & 2 Remake is the definitive way to play these two titles from over a decade ago. While the initial impressions of this demo make the game seem limited, lack of online play and a limited musical score, the core of a great reimagining Is present in every frame of gameplay. All the original game modes including local two-player competitive options are back. Furthermore, a robust creation system that allows players to customize their own skaters and parks will be present in the final product. Such touches are a notch in the belt of this remake, and as a whole, this title far exceeds one’s expectations of what a skater game could be in the modern gaming culture That is dominated by fast-paced shooters and annual sports franchises. Nonetheless, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2 is a stunning remake that boldly takes the charms of its predecessors and refines them for modern audiences.