Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (Nintendo Switch) Review

For those who played Pro Skater 1 + 2 when it came out last year, you'll be familiar with the impressive graphics and performance, alongside the riveting gameplay on the whole. Moving this wholesale to the Switch is a huge task, particularly considering that no content has been cut or altered. Porting it to Nintendo's console makes sense, though; the short and sweet skate tours make it the perfect experience for some on-the-go play.

It's a pleasure to confirm that it translates to the new platform as well as can be expected. The Switch version runs well both docked and in handheld, with no major stutters or distractions that detract from the experience. That's not to say noticeable sacrifices haven't been made to get it to run, as it suffers from occasional frame rate dips in busy areas, as well as blurred textures throughout. This makes it noticeably inferior, at least graphically, to the versions available on other platforms. Nevertheless, it's still smooth sailing aside from that, with some impressive load times to boot.

The downgraded graphics don't make it a worse experience by any means, however. Being able to play Pro Skater 1 + 2 in handheld is a major point in its favour. In fact, being able to take the remade Pro Skater experience mobile is well worth the graphical concessions. After all, it's these sacrifices that allow it to run, and it runs incredibly well considering that this is a full-fat Pro Skater experience on less powerful hardware.

The things that make Pro Skater 1 + 2 excellent are obviously still present: a killer soundtrack, responsive and intuitive controls, the meaningful sense of progression, and, most importantly, the near limitless content. The wealth of parks to conquer, as well as 21 professional skateboarders to individually level up and upgrade, give this title outstanding value for money. It's addictive, it's smooth and responsive, it's a blast.