Last week we had the opportunity to get hands-on with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, playing through the demo of the infamous warehouse. While we were hitting grinds and finding gaps, some pretty crafty data miners were dissecting the same demo, unearthing some very interesting files that appear to confirm some of the game’s secret characters and hidden levels.
** SPOILERS AHEAD**
The first of the secret characters is a series regular, Mr Richard “Officer Dick” Envee, a poser turned enemy of the skate and the embodiment of the often tense relationship between skaters and security guards. The best part of Dick’s latest iteration is that he appears to be modelled on the beloved actor, comedian, musician and recent YouTube Gaming personality, Jack Black. Though it hasn’t been confirmed yet, we assume this means the Officer will also bring some of his classic signature moves with him, including Assume the Position, the Lazy-ass Gring and the Yeeeehaw Front Flip from THPS 1 + 2.
Black Jack is the new Officer Dick! #TonyHawkProSkater #TonyHawk #THPS pic.twitter.com/rz4U2RTTRp
— CheezhOfficial® (@CheezhOfficial) August 15, 2020
While a cameo from Jack Black is pretty awesome, the second secret character is out of this world. Literally. Data miners also managed to find evidence that a Grey alien is available to unlock as well. Though we can’t be sure just yet, this might be a possible nod toward the return of the Roswell level, originally featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. For those of you who need a little refresher on your alien lore, Grey aliens, also referred to as Zeta Reticulans apparently crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and were responsible for a series of abductions later in the 1960s and 70s. An erroneous reporting of a sighting in the 1950s is where we get the phrase “little green men” from, thanks to a heavy-handed journalist who accidentally wrote ‘green’ instead of ‘grey’ in his article. Though it’s still too early to tell, since we’ve only had the opportunity to play one level so far, we suspect that by collecting (or crushing?) little grey alien dolls in each level will result in unlocking the playable alien skater at the end of the game.
The alien is one of the secret skaters in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater! #TonyHawkProSkater #TonyHawk #THPS pic.twitter.com/HkDZx1MXs3
— CheezhOfficial® (@CheezhOfficial) August 18, 2020
UPDATE: The new official launch trailer for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 features a familiar face, adding to the credibility of the data mining finds.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 launches on September 4, 2020, on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and possibly to Nintendo Switch, and you can check out more of our Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 gameplay here.
Full credit for the discoveries goes to Gildor, BGoatBiz, GHFear, Morten1337, IronHawk, Vexilion, Fog, bAstimo and %TNT% from the THPS discord.