The new Tony Hawk remaster is a good sign for Switch 2 ports

The Verge

3 days ago

One of the pleasant surprises of the Switch 2 launch was how well the hardware managed big games not made by Nintendo. It's something the company's underpowered consoles have often struggled with, but the Switch 2 is a good place to play technical showpieces like Cyberpunk 2077 — though that originally debuted in 2020. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, which is launching simultaneously on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and both versions of the Switch, makes for an interesting test case of what's possible on the Switch 2 with a new game. I've been playing it on both the PS5 and Switch 2, and from what I've seen, the remake bodes well for the future of Nintendo's newest console.
For the uninitiated, the latest Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is a sequel of sorts. In 2020, Activision released a remaster of the original two games in the iconic series, maintaining the tone and structure but also modernizing the experience with updated graphics and controls, online features, and an expanded cast featuring the current generation of skateboarding stars. It did a remarkable job of keeping the best parts of the games while also making them feel current. THPS3+4 does the same thing, but for the third and fourth entries in the series. There aren't too many surprises if you've played the original, though THPS4 has a more rigid structure compared to the open-ended nature of the original version.
Performance is an important aspect of any skateboarding game. These titles are all about linking tricks together in creative ways, which can be hard to do when the game chugs or the frame rate stutters. So the thing that struck me the most with the Switch 2 version is just how smooth it is. It may sound boring, but the best part about it is that it just works. I haven't experienced any technical issues in handheld mode, and that's true whether playing in a simple indoor stage or something more elaborate, like the light-up show that is the Tokyo course from THPS3.
It seems that the developers at Iron Galaxy — who have taken over the series after the original studio, Vicarious Visions, unceremoniously became a Blizzard studio — prioritized substance over style, and it was the right choice. THPS3+4 looks fine on the Switch 2, but the main difference you'll notice on a platform like the PS5 is how much more detailed everything is. The backdrops feel more lively, though you might not notice it so much as you're speeding through levels. The biggest difference is the characters. On the PS5, skaters like Tony Hawk and Aori Nishimura look like themselves; on the Switch 2, they're slightly blurry approximations of their real-world counterparts.
The differences between platforms are largely cosmetic, though, which makes them much easier to tolerate, even in a genre where style is an incredibly important part of the experience. I'll note that the various decks and clothes you can unlock still look pretty good on the Switch 2, so it's not like you're totally sacrificing the cool skater vibes. More importantly, THPS has always been an excellent series to play on the go — the Game Boy Advance iterations of the franchise have no right being as good as they are — and that remains true here, where the short runs are perfectly suited for portable play.
That being said, while THPS3+4 is a good showcase for the Switch 2, it's not exactly a 'next-gen' game. It's a rare experience that was built to span multiple generations of hardware from all the major platform holders. So it's not exactly a sign that Grand Theft Auto VI or other tentpole blockbusters will make their way to the Switch 2. But the latest Tony Hawk game at least shows that the console won't always be left behind when it comes to the newest releases.