I remember the first time I booted up the remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, expecting the familiar Solo Tour mode that had defined my childhood gaming sessions. To my surprise, I discovered that what was once the default way to play had become an endgame reward locked behind 199 gates of progression. This design choice struck me as particularly puzzling, especially considering how the original trilogy handled this exact same feature. As someone who's spent over 200 hours across various Tony Hawk titles, I can confidently say this new approach creates some fundamental issues with game pacing and player satisfaction.

When I first encountered the requirement to unlock Solo Tour through extensive progression, it felt like being told I needed to complete a marathon before being allowed to take a casual stroll through my neighborhood. The original games, particularly Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 which I consider the pinnacle of the series, immediately gave players access to this mode. You could jump right into building your own skate sessions, experimenting with different skaters and locations without any barriers. The remake's decision to hide this feature behind what feels like endless progression gates fundamentally changes how players experience the game. I've tracked my playtime meticulously, and it took me approximately 45 hours to finally unlock Solo Tour – that's longer than it took me to complete some full-price AAA titles.

What makes this particularly baffling is how the developers handled this exact same feature in their previous work. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 actually added Solo Tours post-launch, but they were always accessible from the moment they were implemented. There was no unlocking process, no progression wall – just immediate access to what many consider the purest form of skateboarding gameplay. I've spoken with numerous players in online communities, and we all share the same confusion about why the developers would take a feature that worked perfectly fine as a standard option and turn it into what essentially becomes a completionist's reward.

The statistical progression system compounds this problem in ways that undermine the core Tony Hawk experience. By the time you've grinded through those 199 gates – and yes, I counted every single one – your skaters are practically maxed out. I calculated that you'll have accumulated around 95% of available stat points by this stage, which means every character feels nearly identical in terms of performance. The distinctive feel that made each skater unique in the original games – Bucky Lasek's smooth transitions versus Chad Muska's pop-heavy style – gets lost in this homogenized endgame. I found myself missing those early hours where each skater genuinely played differently, where you had to adapt your style to their strengths and weaknesses.

From a game design perspective, I understand the desire to create long-term engagement, but this implementation feels counterproductive. The magic of Tony Hawk games has always been their pick-up-and-play accessibility combined with deep mastery potential. By locking what was essentially the default game mode behind such extensive progression, the developers have created an experience that's fundamentally different from what made the originals so special. I've noticed that many casual players in my gaming circle never even reach Solo Tour because the barrier to entry is simply too high. Statistics from gaming forums suggest that only about 35% of players actually unlock this mode, which means the majority are missing out on what was originally the core gameplay experience.

What's particularly disappointing is how this design choice affects replay value. Once you finally unlock Solo Tour and realize all your skaters handle nearly identically, much of the incentive to experiment with different characters disappears. I remember spending countless hours in the original games trying to set high scores with every skater because each one offered a genuinely different experience. In the remake, that diversity gets lost in the pursuit of progression systems. The satisfaction of gradually improving your stats gets undermined when you realize that maximum stats essentially erase character differentiation.

Having played through multiple skateboarding games across different eras, I can say with confidence that this approach represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what made the Tony Hawk series so revolutionary. The originals were celebrated for their immediate accessibility and endless freedom. The remake, while beautifully crafted in many aspects, sometimes feels like it's working against this philosophy. The 199 gates to Solo Tour represent more than just a progression system – they symbolize a shift in design philosophy that prioritizes grinding over pure skateboarding enjoyment.

If I were advising the developers on future iterations, I'd strongly recommend returning to the original approach to game modes. Make Solo Tour available from the start while creating other meaningful progression systems that don't compromise the core gameplay experience. The beauty of skateboarding, both virtual and real, lies in immediate expression and freedom – qualities that get diminished when basic gameplay modes are treated as endgame rewards. As someone who loves this series deeply, I hope future installments remember that sometimes the best features are those that are immediately available rather than hidden behind layers of progression.