Gaming

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 feels fresh but familiar

Definitely nailed the landing

Published

August 11, 2025

Some games punish you for every mistake, but Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 makes failure oddly fun. Even after bailing for the hundredth time, I still found myself hitting “retry” again and again.

It’s a perfect blend of nostalgia and high-energy skateboarding adrenaline — the kind of mix that hooks you in whether you’re a seasoned pro or, like me, just really bad at the game.

Beefy tutorial

I missed the franchise’s first big refresh a few years back, so I made sure to run through the full tutorial this time. Totally worth it.

It covers everything — from ollies, kickflips, and grinds to wall rides, transfers, and advanced tricks whose names I’ve already forgotten.

The tutorial shows you every move, but it’s up to you to chain them into combos for big points. You’ll need those skills for the other game modes.

Steady progression

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 has a nice throwback feel to it in that you can totally conquer the game with skill alone. That’s something that feels fresh in today’s era of microstransactions.

Career Mode requires you to complete a set number of objectives per map to unlock the next one. For someone like me (read: not exactly a skateboarding prodigy), that meant plenty of retries — but each run felt different.

For someone not very skilled like yours truly, it took plenty of tries before I was able to unlock different maps. But those different tries all felt unique. Each run, you’re free to do whatever you want.

There were runs where I was gunning for one objective the first minute. But when it felt unachievable in that run, I quickly pivoted to a different objective making the run feel worth the try. That’s why every run feels fresh.

Objectives range from racking up points from combos, completing collectibles, or map-specific objectives that involve NPCs or completing transfers and tricks unique to that stage.

New skaters, create your skater

The game didn’t just bring back the skaters from the original release. They also added a healthy number of new and notable skaters from all around the world.

The new skaters in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 include Chloe Covell, Yuto Horigome, Jamie Foy, Zion Wright, Letícia Bufoni, Margie Didal, Rayssa Leal, Aurélien Giraud, Nora Vasconcellos, Riley Hawk, Nyjah Huston, Tyshawn Jones, Shane O’Neill, Leo Baker, and Lizzie Armanto.

Most of my runs were done with Philippine pride Margie Didal. Fun fact: this writer actually met Margie Didal before her rise to global prominence when she represented the Philippines in the Olympics. There’s just something inherently cool about meeting someone in person and them being a character in a video game later on.

Sticking with one or two skaters can be to your advantage as you try to unlock more maps. You gain stat boosts and more familiarity with the skater’s capabilities as you go along.

As you progress, you also unlock more customization options. These range from cosmetics to adding tricks to your arsenal.

As you rack up more tricks, you’ll become more ready to create your own skater or unlock more skaters. My first target was to unlock Michael Angelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Mickey + Skateboarding just feels right. Definitely a cowabunga moment.

There are more skaters available making it a prime candidate for massive replayability.

Is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 your Game Match?

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 qualifies as both a quick pickup-and-play or a game that you can really sink your teeth into. There are plenty of maps and characters to unlock and each run feels fresh. Upping your skills also feels challenging but not unattainable. That makes this game an easy Swipe Right.

It’s the perfect in-between game when you want to take a break from RPGs or those really big story-driven AAA games. And there’s plenty to do in the game that you’ll likely be able to squeeze plenty of playtime from it for the next few years.

Gaming

Steam Machine was supposed to be much, much cheaper

Was the price increase justified?

Published

June 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The Steam Machine is the most anticipated gaming device this year. Valve’s upcoming machine aims to deliver a PC gaming experience in a convenient package. Today, the price of the Steam Machine was finally unveiled, and it’s a doozy. But did you know that it was supposed to be much, much cheaper?

Now, we already know that the Steam Machine was cheaper before, but we didn’t really know how much cheaper. Speaking to IGN, Valve essentially confirmed the Machine followed the same price hikes as the Steam Deck, which experienced an increase of over US$ 200.

After doing a bit of algebra, it can be assumed that the Steam Machine was supposed to start at around US$ 750. That’s a huge jump, considering that the more expensive variant currently costs almost US$ 1,500, almost double the price of the original.

Unfortunately, that’s just how the industry works these days. Because of the ongoing RAM crisis, several manufacturers have already confirmed price hikes happening throughout the year. Apple, most recently, announced that price increases might come soon because of the untenability of shouldering the costs themselves.

It gets worse for the Machine, though. Despite being expensive, the price tag doesn’t really reflect the specs you’re getting. You can certainly grab a gaming laptop with better specs for around the same (or even a smaller) price tag, especially considering that Valve’s console-but-not-really-a-console doesn’t come with peripherals yet.

Gaming

Epic Games Launcher is getting a huge update to make it faster

The update will also add customizable profiles and user reviews.

Published

June 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Admit it; you probably have a hoard of free games languishing on the Epic Games Store. Though it’s nice that Epic gives away games every week, the overall inconvenience of using the platform sadly outweighs the freebies. Now, the company is finally redesigning the app from the ground up with a distinct focus on making it much faster.

Earlier this year, Epic admitted that “the launcher sucks.” Though the company cited a number of reasons, the number one culprit is certainly speed. Compared to its contemporaries (especially Steam), the Epic Games Launcher leaves much to be desired. The platform just doesn’t let users into their games as quickly as Steam does.

During the recent Unreal Fest, Epic, via @LuKaOnIndeed on X, confirmed that the entire launcher will be rebuilt to be “5x to 6.5x faster.”

The performance improvements will come with other new features including player profiles and user written reviews. Epic’s vision of the future looks completely different from how the launcher is today.

Though the company doesn’t have a definite timeline right now, Epic promises that the updates will come later this summer.

It does remain to be seen whether these updates will change anything about how users perceive the platform. For the longest time, gamers consider Steam as the platform of choice. Some users even repurchase their Epic games (sometimes obtained for free) on Steam just to have it on the platform they prefer.

Gaming

Steam Machine price, reservation system revealed

Reservations open now

Published

June 23, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Valve has officially revealed pricing and availability details for the Steam Machine, its living room-focused gaming PC running SteamOS.

The company is launching the device in four configurations. Reservations open immediately through a randomized queue system designed to reduce scalping and bot purchases.

Steam Machine price

The base Steam Machine with 512GB of storage costs USD1,049. A bundle that includes the Steam Controller is priced at USD 1,128.

Meanwhile, the 2TB model costs USD 1,349, while the 2TB bundle with a Steam Controller retails for USD 1,428.

Buyers who opt for either 2TB variant will also receive two additional faceplates: a red fabric finish and a solid walnut option.

Valve says all listed prices already include VAT where applicable.

Why Steam Machine costs more than expected

The pricing announcement comes months after Valve delayed the Steam Machine’s launch.

According to the company, rising component costs and supply chain issues forced it to revisit its original pricing targets.

Valve explained that when development began in 2023, it expected hardware costs to gradually decline over time. Instead, the company encountered significant increases in RAM and storage pricing, alongside periods where some components became difficult to source altogether.

The company added that component shortages also limited the number of units it could manufacture for launch.

Steam Machine was first announced as a compact PC gaming device designed for living room setups. It runs SteamOS and is positioned as an alternative to traditional game consoles while maintaining access to the broader PC gaming ecosystem.

Reservations use randomized queue

Rather than opening direct sales, Valve is implementing a reservation system.

Interested buyers can sign up for their preferred Steam Machine model until June 25 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. After the registration window closes, Valve will randomize all entries and assign customers either a reservation slot or a waitlist position.

Customers selected for the reservation queue will receive an email confirming that a Steam Machine has been reserved in their name. Purchase invitations will begin rolling out starting June 29 as inventory becomes available.

To qualify, users must have a Steam account in good standing and must have made a Steam purchase before April 27, 2026. Valve is also limiting registrations to one entry per household.

Users may sign up for multiple models. If selected for more than one queue, Valve will automatically assign the highest-end model available and remove the user from other reservation lists.

Not a console, says Valve

Despite its console-like form factor, Valve says it does not view Steam Machine as a traditional console.

The company describes the device as an extension of PC gaming rather than a closed ecosystem. Unlike conventional consoles that often subsidize hardware through software sales and subscriptions, Valve says Steam Machine is built around the openness that has long defined PC gaming.

Valve also reiterated plans to expand SteamOS support beyond its own hardware. With the recently released SteamOS 3.8, users can already install the operating system on compatible living room PCs, although support is currently limited to AMD graphics cards.

For users in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, orders will be handled through regional distributor Komodo. Steam Machine will not be available in South Korea.