Our first taste of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 Remaster is the Warehouse Demo, a small level that can be experienced in short two minute bursts. If you look up impressions for the demo, which went live over the weekend, you’ll see one word thrown around a lot: nostalgia.
As someone who just never got around to playing the originals jumping into the demo was a mixed experience as it’s obviously made for returning fans. There’s no tutorial, button prompts or anything else to guide you. It seems that the developers intended for those returning from the original games to simply pick up where they left off and start pulling off massive combos.
To the credit of the developers, that seems to be exactly what happened as the internet is now loaded with videos of people going ham in the warehouse.
What did I do, mostly? Just generally punish Tony Hawk (the only playable skater in the demo) as I bounced around the warehouse attempting tricks and failing.
After looking at the controls in the menu, and with a bit of Googling, I was finally able to pull some things off and build a combo, but it was always short lived for two reasons: I would inevitably mess up and end the combo, or the two minute timer would run out.
What is going to be your new high score ???? in the #THPS 1+2 Warehouse Demo!? ???? Pre-Order digitally and get access to the Warehouse Demo, available August 14, 2020 at 8am PT. ???? pic.twitter.com/W4lpTiQ24H
— Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 (@TonyHawkTheGame) August 12, 2020
But then it happened: I must have channelled Mr. Hawk himself because for a good 30 seconds or so I chained together tricks, grinds and specials I didn’t even know and got a high score I chased for a long time after. It was magical.
But that was a brilliant 30 seconds in two hours of gameplay. Unfortunately for me, a new player with little button rhythm (which really seems important here) the Warehouse Demo doesn’t do enough to sell me on the final game. This is evidenced by the fact that this demo is locked behind pre-orders for the game. Because of this it’s not a demo in the traditional sense – a way to sell potential customers a full game – but rather a playable teaser for those already decided on a purchase.
For others like me, those who never played the original and don’t want to pre-order just for the demo, the best course is to wait for reviews for the full game, and to seek out reviewers who are also new to the franchise.
For now the Warehouse Demo did hook me when things finally came together, but I hope the full game can nurse a dunce like me into someone better at digital skating.
Oh, and the music is really good, but everyone knows that.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 launches on 4th September for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
