Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 Seems Amazing on Steam Deck

Update 10/4/23 - After further testing, it appears you can't use any online features, which include downloading new parks from Create-a-Park, and there is an always-online requirement. This will be reflected in our full review, so this article is more about the general performance if playing alone.

Today, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 was released on Steam, bringing the remake of the classic PlayStation 1 games easily into the hands of Steam Deck users. The game is fantastic, almost immediately bringing back fond memories of the games and reminding me how much I loved the Tony Hawk's Underground games. I was excited to see how it would run after a Twitter (X) comment I saw mentioned how well the game is running. This person is correct; Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 runs fantastic on the Steam Deck so far.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 on the Steam Deck So Far

For the most part, I am extremely impressed with the performance. At the maximum settings, with Shadows set to Medium, the game can run some levels at 60 FPS. It does heavily drain the battery, but maps that are more closed-off, like the Warehouse in Skater 1 or The Hanger in Skater 2, can handle it, but the more open maps, like School and School II, do drop the framerate. The Medium quality preset was a great middle, giving better battery life on smaller maps and a solid 60 on larger ones.

Create-a-Park seems to work well, too, but I expect that the more you place, the harder it will be to run. But, for basic use, it is running at 60 with little battery drain.

I did notice a couple of camera angles in some of the bigger maps that will still drop frames, and the main menu of the game is extremely draining, but overall, it runs very well. I also felt that playing anywhere under 60 FPS felt off. This game is meant to have a fluid feel to it, which shouldn't be compromised. Turning down the preset to low did help with this a lot, but it does change how the game looks, especially regarding anti-aliasing.

There were also one or two instances where the framerate dropped massively, but I believe this happened when I pressed the "Steam" button to look at my screenshots. Coming back in started to lower the framerate significantly for a short period, but this went back up not long after.

Should You Buy It for the Steam Deck?

There are still many maps for me to try. I only played through 5 as of now, but with a bunch being smaller areas, I would say this is a safe buy. The game is fantastic, and it runs so well on the Deck. If you feel nostalgic or just want a great arcade skating experience on the go, get this game!

To celebrate its launch, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is on a 50% discount for a week (until October 10th), bringing it to $19.99 for the base version. There is a Deluxe Edition, which includes some extra goodies for only $5 more, which I think is definitely worth it during the sale.

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