Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Review Roundup: The Return Of The King

In remastering the first two Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games for the modern era, Activision and Vicarious Visions certainly had their work cut out for them. After all, these aren't just games that are fondly remembered – many people consider Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 to be one of the best games ever made. To remaster these games and get it wrong could potentially tarnish the game's legacy.

So, how did Vicarious Visions do? Very well it seems. At least some of the reviews are in, and so far, they seem to be very good. At the time of this writing, the PlayStation 4 version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, as this collection is officially called, is holding down an 88 on Metacritic, while the Xbox One and PC versions each have an 86.

While that score is bound to fluctuate a little bit as more reviews come in, it's safe to say that these remasters are indeed successful ones. Some of the most positive reviews say that the remasters stay true the originals while only updating some key aspects for 2020, including the physics engine and, of course, the graphics. If you were worried that these games were going to be cynical cash grabs made with minimal effort, it seems that you can rest easy.

The stellar reviews are made even impressive by the fact that not too long ago, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series was essentially in the dumps in terms of quality. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, which hit shelves back in 2015, was largely panned by critics and players alike on release, so it's good to see that the series has rebounded with these remasters.

Still, not everything about the remasters is perfect, as there always seem to be some blemishes no matter how minor. A common complaint you'll find in many of the reviews out there have to do with loading times, which apparently are not great. Some also seem to complain that the gameplay can feel a little dated at times, but that's ultimately to be expected considering that these games are both 20 years old at this point.

Regardless, the criticisms that reviewers had all seem to be pretty minor, so at the end of it all, these remasters certainly succeed with flying colors. Of course, with Metacritic implementing new restrictions on when users can submit their own reviews, there isn't a user rating for the game yet, and won't be until 12 PM PDT on September 5th. It'll be interesting to see if the user score lines up with the critic score when that restriction on user reviews lifts.