Despite being a niche sport, fans can proudly boast that skateboarding has the best collection of games in the sports genre. This is especially evident on Metacritic as the extreme sport has (spoiler alert) a whopping five games with scores above 90. Two of which are over 95.
The genre was dominated by theTony Hawkseries for many years. However, multiple disappointing releases culminating in the disastrousPro Skater 5has seen EA’sSkateseries take the throne. After years of fan requests, EA finally announcedSkate 4at EA Play 2020.
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News onSkate 4has gone quiet, suggesting the game is still at an early stage of development. So, until further information is provided, here are the best skateboarding games to play in the meantime.
10Skate 2 (84)
TheSkatetrilogies middle child had a lot to live up to after EA hit the ground running with the originalSkate.Skate 2was released just over a year after the original but had numerous changes from the original game.
Skate 2differentiated itself from the first by letting players hop off their board and walk around. While on foot players can reposition objects in the open world, allowing them to create picture-perfect tricks and routines.
9Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land (84)
A skateboarding gameon the Nintendo DSmay not sound like a match made in heaven. But Vicarious Visions smashed it out of the park in 2005 withAmerican Sk8land.
Sk8landwas praised for its smart use of the DS’s dual screens, and for making use of the consoles online functionalities. As the name suggests, the game is a portable incarnation ofTony Hawk’s American Wasteland. American Wastelandis another great skateboarding game, and only narrowly missed out on this list.
8Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (85)
Neversoft didn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel withUnderground 2and simply kept to the winning formula of previous games. The game’s Metacritic score, which is a fair bit below the best games in the series, is likely a reflection of this lack of innovation.
However,Underground 2is still an excellent game in its own right and one of the best to revisit retrospectively as it added remastered versions of some of the series' most iconic stages. Among the game’s limited innovations was the focus ability. This new ability let players slow down time, giving them a chance to perfect tricks and continue combos.
7Skate (86)
EA captured lightning in a bottle with their first entry into theSkateseries. Electronic Arts had made skateboarding games before, most notably developing and publishingSkate or Die!and publishingThe Simpsons Skateboarding.Skatewas a significant improvement on those games though, and offeredone of the best open worldsin skateboarding games at the time.
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Furthermore, the game was praised for its excellent control scheme. The analog gameplay, known as Flickit, gave the series its own unique playstyle. This change in gameplay was enough to convince die-hard fans of theTony Hawkseries to giveSkatea try.
6Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (89)
Unsurprisingly, from this point onwards all games on this list are from the iconicTony Hawkseries.Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2is a fitting way to kick-off the streak as it is a remaster of the first two games.
Developer’s Vicarious Visions did an excellent job of recreating the levelsfor the Xbox One, PC, and PS4, giving them all excellent visual improvements. The game proved yet again that consumers are very interested in remasters of their favorite classic titles.Pro Skater 1+2is the fastest-selling entry in theTony Hawkfranchise, with a million copies sold in just two weeks.
5Tony Hawk’s Underground (90)
Despite a change in name from thePro Skaterseries,Undergroundstuck with the series' main mechanics. There were a few notable new additions though. For example, the player could dismount from their board for the first time. Offering levels of exploration not yet seen in the series.
Furthermore, the game offered levels of customization that were unparalleled at the time. Characters, levels, tricks, and much more were all customizable, offering each player a unique and tailor-made experience.
4Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (92)
The game that started it all. Neversoftfound a winning formula from the word go in 1999 with the originalPro Skater. The game was praised upon release for its physics, that were highly realistic for the time. As well as an intelligent control scheme, smooth frame rate, and addictive gameplay.
It would be disingenuous to say that the game hasn’t aged considerably since its initial release, and playing the game retrospectively doesn’t live up to nostalgia. However, it still deserves its spot on this list as none of the other games featured would have existed if it wasn’t for the revolutionaryPro Skater.
3Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (94)
With the initial trilogy ofPro Skatergames releasing to universal praise and success, Neversoft had a tricky task on their hands withPro Skater 4.Not only did the game have immensely high standards to live up to, but it also needed to innovate to ensure the series didn’t become stale. As the 94 score will tell you,Pro Skater 4lived up to the hype.
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Pro Skater 4differentiated itself from the original trilogy by offering players more freedom. The career mode removed time limits from its objectives. Giving players all the time in the world to explore levels and find the best spors to pull off the best possible tricks.
2Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (97)
The final game of the original trilogy only narrowly misses out on the top spot. As the score suggests though, it is certainly no slouch. A 97Metacritic scoreputs it on par with some of gaming’s all-time greats. Such asGTA 5, Breath of the Wild,andHalo: Combat Evolved.
The final entry into the classic original trilogy is notable for introducing online play and revert. The revert feature allowed players to pull off far longer and more impressive combos than its predecessors.
1Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (98)
Pro Skater 2is not just the best skateboarding game ever, not just the best sports games ever, but one of the best games ever, period. Its 98 score means thatPro Skater 2,along withSoulCaliburandGTA 4is the joint second-highest scored game on the site. The only superior game isThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timewith an incredible 99/100.
Pro Skater 2is a rare case in any form of media. Where consumers believe that a piece of media is perfect until it is surpassed by its sequel.Pro Skater 2sacrificed a level of realism for some of the most addictive gameplay in video game history. The game also introduced create-a-skater, a feature that is now synonymous with the series.
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