Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Foundry demo is just darn fun and addictive

It's been a long time coming but I've finally managed to sink some actual time into the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Foundry Demo - and I have huge regrets about not being able to do so sooner.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is exactly that - remasters of two iconic skateboarding games developed by Iron Galaxy Studios and published by Activision.

I'll be completely honest here - I've never played either of the original two Tony Hawk games, so I came into this demo as a complete newbie.

But from my time with it so far, it has all the promises of being an incredibly addictive and a brilliant bundle.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Foundry Demo is incredibly addictive / Iron Galaxy Studios, Activision

Let's get stuck straight into gameplay. Tony Hawk and Rayssa Leal are both available in the demo with Doom Slayer available for those who have already purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition (our PS5 code for the demo was provided by the publisher). The demo can be played by anyone who has preordered the game.

Players can play Single Sessions that last two minutes across two different locations - Foundry and College. That's it for now.

While this all doesn't sound like much, it gives a great insight into how the game actually looks and plays in motion - and it's just so incredibly addictive. Digging into my bag of cliches, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is easy to pick up but hard to master.

The board moves forward automatically and the X button can be held to gather momentum and jump. While in the air, players hold a direction or flick in several different directions while pressing square or circle to perform different tricks. One button (square) has more simple options that are easier to land whereas the other (circle) has much more extravagant tricks that are more difficult to land. Players have to land these tricks to secure the score. The objective in the two minutes in this mode is to rack up as many points as possible.

And I came away from every single 120 second session eager to go again and improve my overall score and highest scoring trick. I was completely ensnared in the 'just one more' loop. I'm absolutely no good when compared to some of the combos that can undoubtedly be pulled off but I just had fun with it.

Foundry in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 / Iron Galaxy Studios, Activision

In terms of performance, it's not the best looking game ever by any means, but it seems to be the best the series has looked. The demo ran at 60fps in fidelity mode with performance mode locked but that's because I don't have a 120hz TV. However the game did not miss a beat or stutter in the slightest; it was smooth throughout.

There was the odd bit of tearing with skaters' limbs going through the level when I inevitably got too ambitious with a combo but that's about it. The soundtrack offered a tease of what's to come including Run The Jewels and Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades'.

The game looks as though it will be very customisable too with the ability to create a skater and different grab, flip and lip tricks can all be mapped with progress too. It was fun experimenting with what was on offer in the demo.

College in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 / Iron Galaxy Studios, Activision

As someone that never played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 or 4, I'm absolutely hooked after my time with the demo so far.

I'm really looking forward to this coming out, especially as it's easy to grasp, hard to master gameplay loop feels so refreshing in a time where game controls and details are growing increasingly complex.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is out on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch and PC on July 11. It's also available day one to Game Pass subscribers.

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