Released at the tail end of the 90s, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater captured a crowd-pleasing look at skateboarding culture of the era, with developer Neversoft assembling accessible board-flipping gameplay, an excellent roster of skaters, as well as a now-iconic collection of music. Spawning a long-running franchise and drawing a generation of eyes to the urban sport, developer Vicarious Visions has been underway on the series’ long-awaited return to the spotlight, recreating the first two Tony Hawk entries and offering an array of visual and gameplay upgrades to better suit a modern generation.

As Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 represents both a remake of the well-known originals as well as the series’ return to prominence, there’s an undoubted amount of expectation surrounding the new release. Does it live up to the hype? Well, according to the many emerging reviews, Vicarious Visions has effectively stuck the landing with the two-game remaster, honoring and modernizing the series’ high-flying gameplay while also providing a level of polish that would almost surely appeal to both veteran and new players alike.

GamesRadar+ – 80/100

“Vicarious Visions has built an engine that could actually push the series in a new direction, with the focus on skating rather than gimmicks that came from the annual release cycle that the series was stuck in. Here’s hoping this is more of a warm up than a victory lap.”

IGN – 90/100

“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is such a tremendous turnaround from 2015’s disastrously dismal Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 that it’s difficult to believe they share even a shred of DNA. The accessible yet tricky skating is earnest and old-school fun, the wonderful looking levels are lovingly designed odes to the past, and the music is like the hearty embrace of an old childhood buddy. It’s pretty easy to be cynical about how rapidly selling us our favourite games again became a central pillar of Activision’s business strategy, but when it’s this much fun I’m finding it impossible to be sour about it. It turns out going backwards has been the best step forward Activision has taken with the Tony Hawk series in nearly 15 years.”

Kotaku – “Just What I Need”

“Even with all its changes, THPS1+2 perfectly captures a moment in time. It’s a damaged Polaroid photo scanned, digitized, and lovingly retouched. It’s gravel picked out of a scraped knee. It’s a night of sleep untouched by nightmares and insomnia. It is, as it always was, just what I need in this moment.”

The Verge – “Special”

“THPS1+2 both honors the legacy of the original games and updates it in smart ways. What made those first games so special is the care and attention they put into representing skate culture, whether it was the music, the clothing, or the gameplay itself. That’s all intact here, with all of the modern upgrades you’d expect, from realistic visuals to new music to online support.”

VG247 – 100/100

“Vicarious Visions has proved that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was more than just a product of its time, and that – like skating itself – it has every chance of penetrating the mainstream once again. The studio should be lauded for twice proving that it is a steward of 90s nostalgia, and that it can reanimate games to be just as good – if not better! – for their second turn under the sun.”

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with a Nintendo Switch version speculated to happen sometime soon. What do you think? Are you excited to see Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 get such promising reviews, or are you going to judge the remaster for yourself? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!