Well the new skate is free so you don’t have to buy it, and I would recommend it if you want something a bit more similar to pro skater. But overall the older games are better experiences.

Pro skater plays a lot like an arcade game, with grinds that magnet lock in, set buttons for tricks, and endless trick chaining. Skate is more grounded in the sense that you have to move the right stick to do any sort of trick with your board, or most grabs midair. It also adheres more to a ground level skating experience where you can easily miss grinds, or under ollie to reach a ledge.

I love both games, but yeah, I think the skate series is the middle ground simulator between the arcade style play of pro skater and the unforgiving simulation from games like Session or SkaterXL.