'My Hero Academia' Season 8 Trailer Brings Superhero Shonen Series To Explosive Finale In Oct
My Hero Academia's anime journey is coming to an end, with TOHO Animation unveiling a teaser trailer for the adaptation's eighth and final season, which starts in October this year.
Based on the manga by Kohei Horikoshi, which concluded its 10-year run in August 2024 after 42 volumes, My Hero Academia's final season will pick up directly after the events of season seven, which saw the start of the final battle between protagonist Izuku Midoriya (aka Deku) and big bad Tomura Shigaraki, alongside an Armoured up All Might against his nemesis All For One.
The trailer offers a glimpse at both of these clashes, teasing an epic finale that looks to push both heroes (and villains) to their breaking points. The superhero shonen (animated films aimed primarily at a young male audience) series, created by Kōhei Horikoshi, followed Midoriya, a powerless boy in a world where most people have unique superpowers named Quirks, as he trains to become a Pro Hero at U.A. High School, the top Hero Academy in Japan, under the guidance of his mentor All Might, Japan's most famous superhero.
The anime premiered in 2016 and spawned several spin-off movies alongside its now eight-season run, including 2018's My Hero Academia: Two Heroes , 2019's My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising and 2024's My Hero Academia: You're Next . A prequel series, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes , was also released in April this year and focused on Koichi Haimawari, a young man who becomes a vigilante prior to the events of the main anime.
Although there's no official date yet, the eighth and final season of My Hero Academia will debut on Crunchyroll in October 2025.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. my hero academia My Hero Academia Season 8 Toho Animation
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Capcom Drops First 'Resident Evil Requiem' Gameplay, Explains Why Leon Isn't The Focus
Capcom has revealed the first gameplay tease for its highly anticipated survival horror sequel, Resident Evil Requiem , showing off both first and third-person gameplay and highlighting its new protagonist, FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft. Shown via the Capcom Spotlight event, brief snippets of the upcoming title were shown, including clips of Ashcroft slowly moving through dimly lit corridors with a lighter in hand, stalked by a giant humanoid creature that's pure nightmare fuel. On first look, the game does give off similar vibes to 2017's Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, with its tight, claustrophobic interiors, although this might just be a specific section of the game, and environments might open up as the game progresses, similar to 2021's Resident Evil Village . In the trailer, game director Koshi Nakanishi explains the focus on a new protagonist this time around, with the game centred on a new type of character for the series, the introverted and jumpy FBI intelligence analyst Ashcroft. 'We wanted someone that experiences horror from the same perspective as the player,' Nakanishi explained, adding that even though the goal was to allow players to witness Ashcroft overcome her fears over the course of the story, she's not entirely helpless either, being trained with firearms and possessing 'calm deductive reasoning'. Gameplay for both the titles' first and third-person perspectives were also shown, with the developers explaining how the former makes for 'tense, realistic gameplay', while the latter is 'great for people who enjoy action-heavy gameplay', offering more freedom for players to experience the title in their own way. Alas, the trailer didn't feature the big Leon Kennedy reveal fans were expecting, with the developers instead noting why the franchise veteran was actually a 'bad match for horror'. 'We always thought about making Leon the protagonist,' Nakanishi explained, 'but making a horror game based around him is difficult. He wouldn't jump at a bucket falling. No one wants to see Leon scared by every little thing.' Despite the statement, Leon's appearance in the game was not ruled out entirely, adding to fan speculation that he might be the game's unannounced second protagonist, and would show up in the later portions of the game, similar to Resident Evil Village 's closing section with Chris Redfield. This follows details spotted in the game's reveal trailer hinting at Leon's presence, including the character's truck parked outside the ruins of the Raccoon City Police Department, the character's voice actor Nick Apostolides' online resume, and comments by Resident Evil leaker Dusk Golem. In any case, it's still early to say for sure, with more details surrounding Resident Evil Requiem's plot and characters bound to come as the game approaches its 27 February 2026 release for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Capcom Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem
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Nintendo Switch 2 — Review
Before 2017, the idea of playing games on a home console that could double as a portable gaming device remained a pipe dream for many, until the reigning king of video games introduced, well, a game-changer (pun intended). Nintendo packed the best of both worlds into the Nintendo Switch, which served as a strong bounce back for the Japanese giant following the commercial failure of its previous Wii U console. The hybrid 6.2-inch offering, which came with a home docking station, went on to become the third-best-selling console of all time, behind the Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, even as its distinctive red/blue controller design became a household sight. While its first-party titles certainly worked their magic, the extended support for third-party games and lack of region lock also contributed to its overwhelming popularity, prompting two more hardware revisions along the way – the handheld-only Switch Lite in 2019, and an upgraded model with a 7-inch OLED display in 2021. Suffice it to say, the arrival of its successor has been hotly anticipated. The Nintendo Switch 2 represents a monumental shift in the industry giant's strategy, introducing the next technological leap to address the original's increasingly ageing gameplay experience. But the price to pay for monolithic success is sky-high expectations, and this follow-up system falls short of the mark, bogged down by a difficult-to-justify price tag, especially since it no longer brings the same lustrous novelty as before, and puts itself on a two-steps-forward, one-step-back situation. The familiarity hits right out of the box, except everything is bigger. As the scaled-up version of the original, the Switch 2 measures 272 x 116 x 13.9mm, and weighs 535 grams with the new Joy-Cons, versus 238 x 102 x 13.9mm and 399 grams on the original, and 241 x 102 x 139mm for the 422-gram OLED iteration. At first glance, the extra screen real estate is immediately prominent and the added heft does little to disrupt its existing streamlined silhouette, as the unit comes with a new kickstand, sleeker buttons, and an all-black aesthetic lending a refined touch to the hardware. In hand, the Nintendo Switch 2 feels luxurious, as the solid chassis shows no hint of flex. Meanwhile, the build quality of the larger Joy-Con controllers is a step up, offering firmer key presses and a more satisfying tactile experience. A welcome tweak sees a second USB port on the unit, opening up the option for users to charge in handheld mode – a godsend for those travelling on long-haul flights – and connect external devices like camera accessories simultaneously, including an official one sold separately from the device. Building on its predecessor's signature slide-and-click mechanics, the Joy-Con controllers are now held together and detached using a new magnetic attachment system. The process works as seamlessly as before – simply press down on the protruding button on the rear, located directly below the shoulder trigger, triggers a crisp-sounding snap. Gone, too, are the concerns of loose controllers, which were a drawback of the original railing system, as these sturdier Joy-Cons won't budge unless the release lever is pressed. It's too early to determine how this overhauled feature will hold up in the long run, but its intuitive and clever design makes the Nintendo Switch 2 feel more cohesive than before. Still, there's a lingering sense of loss – more than just a pop of colour as the red-and-blue styling gave character to the previous Joy-Cons – as the subtle detailing here robs them of that charm. Based on personal experience with the original model, the rubber rims may also experience wear and tear more quickly than expected, especially in tropical and humid climates like Singapore. The other gripe lies in middling ergonomics. While Nintendo's latest is less bulky than the Steam Deck and most of its portable contemporaries, the placement of the joysticks and directional buttons are no less cramped than before and not using the larger real estate of each controller, causing heavier strain over prolonged use in handheld mode, which is already exacerbated by the increased weight and size. While the bigger, firmer ZL and ZR trigger buttons make things slightly more tolerable in horizontal placement, it'd be good if the straight edge could have a groove for a tighter, more comfortable grip. Speaking of grip, users can now rotate each Joy-Con on its flat side (that connects to the display) on a table, and use it as they would a computer mouse, to move a cursor around the screen. It works on most surfaces, from fabric to even the palm, but not glass, extending smooth and easy control over actions like navigating menus, scrolling, and in specific cases, gaming. Using mouse controls in Fortnite at the preferred sensitivity level yielded precise aiming and responsive wrist flicks, as well as fluid on-screen tracking, although the swiping and sideways grip require some getting used to. The initial experience can feel weird, and it's only normal with any introduction of a previously unheard of interface feature. In Epic Games' battle royale shooter, one controller will be face-down while the other remains upright, and each is tied to different functions – the former to rotate the camera, picking up or using items, and switching between weapons, and the latter, primarily for controlling player movement. Get into the swing of it, and the gameplay will start becoming more intuitive and enjoyable, even as game compatibility of this feature is currently limited to 18 other titles, including Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition , Fortnite , Metroid Prime 4: Beyond , and Donkey Kong Banaza . Call it a gimmick or a quirk (Nintendo needs to maintain its 'weird uncle' reputation after all), but there's little to complain about the execution. Porting over from an older-gen Switch proves to be a breezy affair, too. As with data transfer between Apple devices, it involves logging into a Nintendo account and placing both devices within proximity after downloading an update via an Internet connection. In our case, the whole set-up took around 20 minutes, with all save files, settings, and captured content perfectly intact. There's just one caveat to note – instead of using standard microSD cards, owners looking to expand their storage will have to use microSD Express cards. Although the 256GB of internal storage here, which is already an upgrade over the 32GB and 64GB on the base and OLED model on the original console is sufficient to tide things over temporarily, the lack of options on the current market can be inconvenient, especially since microSD Express cards are the newer and pricier of the two. In terms of processor, the Switch 2 boasts a custom-built NVIDIA processor featuring eight ARM Cortex A78C CPU cores and a T239 chipset running on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture – the same one used to power the RTX 30-series of graphics cards. The Nintendo Switch 2 promises, and delivers, vast improvements in performance and visuals, and ray tracing is supported, and loading speeds are noticeably faster, whether it's accessing the Nintendo eStore – a choppy mess on the Switch – or navigating in-game menus. More importantly, its backwards-compatible nature means older Switch titles can be enjoyed on this newer, enhanced system. Docked play outputs 4K resolution (3,4820 x 2,160) at 60 frames per second (60 fps) for supported games, as compared to 1080p previously. Dropping the resolution to 2,560 x 1,440 or 1,920 x 1,080 pushes frame rates up to 120 fps, while handheld mode caps out at 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and 120 fps (versus 720p at 30 fps on the original). In reality, though, the performance gap between the Switch 2 and its predecessor varies from one title to another, even if all of them runs smoothly in both TV and handheld mode. Mario Kart World , released exclusively for the sequel device, delivered an optimised, fluid experience with little to no frame rate dips, whereas both enhanced editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom meant for the Switch 2 kept stutter to a minimum, showcasing game environments and animated cutscenes in sharper detail. Pokémon Scarlet , available as a free update on the Switch 2, is easily the best point of comparison, transforming the notoriously laggy Casseroya Lake into a pleasant free-roaming experience and bringing a velvety quality to Koraidon's movements. As for third-party games, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 , Bayonetta 2, and Fire Emblem Warriors all registered an impressive uptick in performance. Where the heavy particle effects would send the Switch into a sluggish state, the fighting action now flows a lot more seamlessly, which is important for the fast-paced gameplay such titles demand. Conversely, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim isn't quite as impressive, with flat textures, murky detail, and stilted movement showing its age. Here's where the inconsistencies of backwards-compatible optimisations come into sharp focus, amplified on the larger TV display. When docked, the artefacts and jagged edges in Marvel Ultimate 3 are more prominent to the eye, and it's harder to ignore visual imperfections like motion blur in Pokémon Scarlet . Handheld mode remedies (not solves, because its bigger-than-the-first display leaves it susceptible to similar issues) the situation, although Switch OLED owners should lower their expectations for visual enjoyment. In an unexpected and bizarre back-pedal, the Switch 2 has opted for a wide colour gamut LCD panel, so expect duller colours, lower brightness, and weaker contrast levels than its higher-grade OLED predecessor. Users who prefer docked play will be less affected by the downgrade, but the disappointment is justified, especially since Nintendo has already set a precedent with an OLED option and it's not that the display is bad by any stretch, mind you, as it's more than decent on its own, delivering a snappy and immersive experience. No matter the mode, the next-gen offering tends to run hot. Diving back into Hyrule for a mere 10 to 15 minutes, peppered with the occasional battles, was enough to push our review unit beyond lukewarm standards, and Fortnite 's constant firefights called for the need to cool down after a few rounds. Fortunately, the heat doesn't throttle performance, and the welcome handling is undermined by a subpar battery life that leaves much to be desired. Compared to the original's 4,310mAh battery capacity, the Switch 2 marks an improvement with a 5,220mAh one, though its duration takes a hit. A 40-minute Pokémon Scarlet romp drained around 25 percent of the battery bar (in comparison, the official website puts 5.5 hours for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on a single charge), with third-party titles seemingly consuming more juice at a quicker pace. In a separate test, Mario Kart World registered an almost 40 per cent dip after three rounds of Grand Prix races, totalling up to 16 races for two players. Also new to the device is a nifty lending system that makes it easier to share and access titles between consoles. Designed to function similarly to physical ones, Virtual Cards are created automatically with every digital purchase from the Nintendo eShop, and can be loaned out to members of the same Nintendo Switch Family account one at a time for up to two weeks. Personally, though, physical cards are still the way to go, and here, a bright red design has replaced the original black cartridge. GameChat is another Switch 2-exclusive feature, accessed through the 'C' button on the right Joy-Con and enabling users to chat with up to 11 others, share their screen, or activate a video call with a compatible camera accessory. While there wasn't any opportunity to test it out, the setup process was quick and easy to follow. On the flip side, the official launch of the free Nintendo Switch app means users in Singapore can now get the most out of experiences that are linked to it, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom , with the fuss-free setup serving as a sweet bonus. Alas, the biggest bone of contention is price. The Nintendo Switch 2 costs a whopping S$719, nearly twice the base price of the OLED model (S$369), or S$769 for the Mario Kart World Bundle, which comes in at S$195 less than a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (S$669) and PlayStation Portal (S$295) combo that offers a bigger game library. At launch, only two exclusives will be available – Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour , with the latter more of a glorified tech demo than a full-fledged release. Then, there are the upgraded versions of existing games, not to be confused with updates. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom , as mentioned previously, fall into the first category, whereas Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is an example of the second, joining the likes of ARMS , Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain , Captain Toad Treasure Tracker , Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics , Game Builder Garage , New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe , Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury , Super Mario Odyssey , and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Link's Awakening . The neat thing is that the above game updates will be available at launch for free, though what's not is the additional bucks needed to complete the upgrade jump. For starters, both The Legend of Zelda upgrade packs set existing users back by US$9.99 each, and unlike PlayStation's very own tech demo Astro's Playroom , Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour isn't included as part of the free package. The Nintendo Switch 2 titles, exclusives or otherwise, aren't the most wallet-friendly, either – while prices vary across the board, the S$119.90 price tag of Mario Kart World is telling, considering the S$60-plus average previously. To be fair, jacked-up prices aren't unique to Nintendo. Triple-A gaming has gotten expensive in recent years, with standard PS5 prices ranging anywhere from S$60 to over S$100. Still, the Japanese giant has built a reputation for being kid and family-centric, and well, that's certainly not something a child can afford (unless they are a scion of a rich family or of that ilk). Let's not forget other hidden costs that will add up over time, too, from microSD Express cards to the various subscription features. The Nintendo Switch 2 is more than just a shiny new toy. Between impressive technological refinements, intuitive design tweaks, and a great deal of visual polish, the follow-up device presents a compelling proposition for fans of the brand and its exclusives. The absurd price hike from its predecessor makes it difficult to recommend, however, compounded with mild frustrations that outweigh the benefits, and especially with more affordable and powerful alternatives on the market. As is always the case with new tech offerings, it's also an advisable option to ride out the hype for now and wait until more choices are available. In the same breath that it introduces delightful surprises, there are also accompanying downsides, but those who don't mind shelling out some extra cash will likely learn to live with them, and appreciate the fresh touches on existing experiences, in addition to the promise of more to come. Summary Picking up from where the original left off, the Nintendo Switch 2 represents the zenith of hybrid console gaming, despite some rough ends left in its wake. Price is its greatest enemy and the deal breaker for most, though. Aesthetics - 8.5/10 Build Quality - 9/10 Performance - 8.5/10 Value - 5.5/10 Geek Satisfaction - 8/10 Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really. Hybrid Console Nintendo Nintendo switch 2 Review
Geek Culture
5 days ago
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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — Review
Regardless of the times, the tragedy of reality is that strife and dissolution will always persist in life. In the eyes of renowned video game designer Hideo Kojima, the road to a united utopia is achieved not in distance, but in relationships and social bonds. It may sound like a tenet from a hippie with an appetite for 80s and 90s cinema, but Kojima has masterfully illustrated this theme in Death Stranding , a delivery game by his then-newfound studio Kojima Productions. To some, the game was Kojima's magnum opus, and to others, a glorified walking simulator filled with cinematic cutscenes. Now, with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, fans are eager to see what Kojima's sequel has to say about exchanging sticks (violence) for strands (unification). Narratively, Kojima has proven he has the tools and talent to spin a compelling, conceptually highbrow and cinematic tale about bringing humanity together. However, like any delivery errand rooted in the realities of painstaking mundanity, those who wish to experience the story and truly understand its message must be willing to trudge through extensive amounts of jargon and route planning. For the uninitiated, the world of Death Stranding begins with both a bang and a whimper, where souls of the dead who are unable to move on in the afterlife (represented by beaches) become ghost-like entities unseen by the naked eye, known as Beached Things (BTs). As more people die, more BTs roam the earth. Anyone swallowed by a BT results in a voidout, an explosion of energy akin to an atomic bomb and leaves a giant crater in its wake. In addition, the rain ages anyone who gets caught in it. Consequently, humanity has been driven to isolation, going underground in clusters or alone. To survive, these communities rely on porters to deliver materials and precious resources, and you are one such courier, Sam Porter Bridges, played by a returning Norman Reedus ( The Walking Dead ). To ensure the safety of porters, they use Bridge Babies (BB), a fetus extracted from a brain-dead mother and stored in a pod, to detect BTs. In the first Death Stranding , players are tasked with connecting bastions across the United States of America, integrating these communities into a 'Chiral Network', and thus unifying a fractured country into a new United Cities of America (UCA). Players do so by taking on deliveries and travelling between these bases, and through this journey, they learn of how BTs are formed and how they serve as precursors to the next Death Stranding, an Extinction Event that can wipe out all of humanity. While the UCA was the focus of Death Stranding , Death Stranding 2: On the Beach brings us to Australia through a portal known as a 'Plate Gate' located on the southern edge of Mexico but the name of the game here is still the same — deliver precious cargo across Australia's isolated communities and integrate them into the Chiral Network. Each order you take on will throw you into similar loops of planning your route, outfitting yourself with equipment for the journey, transporting the cargo to your destination, be awarded points (also known as 'Likes') based on your performance, and integrate the community you've arrived in to the Chiral Network. Including the cutscenes for the main story, players will be experiencing this game loop for about 40 hours. Compared to the UCA, the biomes Australia takes you to have shown how the Decima engine has evolved in generating its visual assets in leaps and bounds. Right from the start of the prologue and opening credits, the game looks and feels like a documentary, showing realistic, breathtaking dunes, rock formations, and cityscapes. Compared to the first game, there is less blue sand and so much more red dust, white snow, green foliage, and grey abandoned buildings, which makes porter work more pleasant through the hours. Porter work in Australia is more complex compared to Sam's journey across the UCA as in addition to the usual bandits, brigands, and BTs, Sam now has to prepare for harsh weather, environmental conditions, encounters with dangerous wildlife, and occasionally fight against robotic terrorists known as 'Ghost Mechs'. Instead of just grabbing your gear and going, you now have to actively weigh your options and choose the lesser evil to your next destination. More often than not, the shortest route – logically a straight line – may not be the optimal option as you may encounter BTs along the way, which may not be your cup of tea. Instead, you may want to make the detour and brave climbing rocky mountains, which introduce a different type of horror in managing your stamina, hoping you do not fall and damage your cargo or succumb to landslides and avalanches caused by earthquakes (dubbed 'Gate Quakes'). That said, environmental dangers are a welcome inclusion in the world of Death Stranding. Experiencing natural disasters in your travels, like bush fires, Gate Quakes, and rising water levels, brings a level of dynamics not present in the first game. To prepare you for greater dangers ahead compared to your time in the UCA, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach also takes a more action-oriented approach to its combat, with a wider arsenal of tools and weapons at your disposal to confront your adversaries. On top of the usual assault rifle, shotgun, and blood grenade to get rid of BTs, the game offers more innovative tools like a Blood Boomerang that uses blood bags instead of bullets, which is a great de-facto silent way to fight your enemies, or a Tar Cannon that can put out bushfires and act as a flamethrower at the same time. There's even a grenade that you can use to capture BTs, so you can use them to fight other BTs. In addition to a wider arsenal of tools is a new character progression system. You will be awarded skill points known as 'Memory', to invest in various APAS Enhancements, which make your next journey slightly easier. These enhancements come in nodes you activate, like 'Aim Assist' for your weapons or 'Instant Cargo Binding', where the scattering of cargo is prevented whenever Sam falls over. Your mastery of weapons (represented by levels) and other statistics like Carrying Capacity will also increase based on the equipment you use and the route you take. The game is also more lenient to failure. While players were met with a 'Game Over' screen once a BT swallows any human being in the first game, getting swallowed by a BT in Death Stranding 2 will result in the formation of a crater in the environment, making the area inaccessible for travel. This would just translate into a minor inconvenience where players would have to make a detour to reach their next destination. Killing people in the first game is a dangerous endeavour as dead bodies become potential candidates to cause a voidout, thus, a 'Game Over' screen that hampers progress, and there is an urgency to incinerate dead bodies by personally transporting them to an incinerator. In Death Stranding 2 , however, the denizens of Australia will dispose of any dead bodies that lie in your wake, resulting in a reduction of your total accumulated Likes. That said, although a wider arsenal of weapons and added room for failure empower you to boldly confront BTs and brigands more often, getting caught by the dead feels more inconsequential, which weakens one of the game's central themes of valuing human lives for connection. Although the utilisation of the incinerator in the first game feels like work, it encourages players to be more creative in adopting non-lethal ways to accomplish their tasks, and therefore, there is always room for an incinerator in Australia. Thankfully, you will be able to switch between lethal and non-lethal modes for all weapons, and weapons are pre-set to non-lethal, so there is no need to adopt lethal methods throughout the game. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach also takes a more deliberate, deeper approach to world-building, featuring more individuals studying the effects of the Death Stranding event, and other lore-specific aspects like chiralium and the tar. Although a greater depth to the world of Death Stranding is introduced, the game suffers from too much unnecessary complexity in introducing parts of this world. Why is there research on how tar and chiralium affect groundwater, and how is it relevant to our story? How does the tar help in healing diseases? Even the characters in the game do not currently know. While you may argue that learning about the effects of the Death Stranding alongside the denizens of this world plays a part in the immersion, how the game's lore is uncovered and communicated may just be too convoluted for any layman. The work is important, mysterious, and so complex that it can go over the heads of the casual player because what does 'parasitic chiral microbes' and 'tar current fluctuations' even mean? Fortunately, the game includes a corpus that spells out events of the story so far and jargon players may not be familiar with if they did not play the first game, and this helps elevate them to the same level of understanding if they are willing to pore over walls of text. On the grander scheme of things, it's more exciting to brood over the game's core themes of connection and how specific socio-political issues like expansionism and gun violence affect connected communities, which could have been explored more instead of convoluted world-building. The main question posed to players at the start of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was, 'Should We Have Connected?', and even Sam questioned the underlying agenda for expanding the chiral network outside of the UCA into Australia, citing concerns for the expansion to be politically masked by civility and acting as a vehicle for humanity's destruction. To that, it would seem that Kojima's stand on the matter is that humanity deserves to connect and establish relationships despite being in the wake of calamity, and this statement is expressed masterfully once again in the main events of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach . The story is wholesome and sometimes predictable; however, Norman Reedus' Sam and the supporting characters involved in the game's events have proven to be pivotal emotional backbones to its messaging. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach introduces both new and returning casts, all of whom play characters who are beautifully written. Norman Reedus has shown his deep understanding of grief in his performance as Sam, who is not only dealing with the harsh working environments as a porter, but also in his struggle to emotionally handle the deaths of those he loves. Meanwhile, scenes by Shioli Kutsuna ( Deadpool 2 ) as Rainy are sure to tug at your heartstrings and bring tears to your eyes. The player is also transported to the Spirit World against Luca Marinelli's ( The Old Guard ) Neil, a mysterious spirit of a dead porter, similar to that of Mads Mikkelsen's Cliff Unger in the World War 1 trenches of the first game. Although scenes with Marinelli are not as tense as Mikkelsen's mysterious, power-bringing aura, Marinelli brings an air of explosive intimidation in his character that can hold his own without comparison to Mikkelsen. On the other hand, Elle Fanning's ( Maleficent: Mistress of Evil )Tomorrow is also a memorable highlight in performance, spearheading most of the game's action-packed cutscenes, which are measured, exciting, and well-choreographed. Returning to the scene as the main villain is Troy Baker's Higgs. Although Baker is a natural at conveying the pained madness of Higgs as a character, the game's culmination, including the final fight and his conclusion, was underwhelming and anticlimactic. Regardless, returning to the world of Death Stranding in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was worth the 40 or so hours to finish, including savouring every moment of the game's main storyline cutscenes. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is released exclusively on the PS5 on 26 June 2025. Summary Death Stranding 2: On the Beach brings a level of innovative playability for casual gamers who are interested in the story. That is not to say that they will catch up easily with the game's events unless they spend time reading its jargon and concepts. Still, the game's gripping tale of loss, connection, and sometimes socio-political exploration is worth experiencing if gamers are willing to carry out the next delivery order. Gameplay - 8/10 Story - 9/10 Presentation - 9/10 Value - 9/10 Geek Satisfaction - 8/10 Crack open a cold one with Joey, because the moment you approach him, he will start talking about film and video games for days. He spends his waking moments during the weekends meditating on how the latest movie he's watched or game he's played has impacted his worldview. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Hideo Kojima Kojima Productions Review
