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5 Things We Want to See in a ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Sequel
Gaming Gear

5 Things We Want to See in a ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Sequel

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The future of KPop Demon Hunters as a franchise remains unclear even as the massive Netflix hit acquired from Sony Pictures Animation continues to dominate pop culture. The fandom, of course, expects a sequel—and it’s already abuzz with what’s next for Rumi, Zoey, and Mira and their destiny to keep the Honmoon sealed from the demon world.

Here are just some of the things we’d love to see explored in an eventual (and probably inevitable) KPop Demon Hunters 2.

Different Demon Hunter Eras

© Netflix

The mythology of the Demon Hunter lore goes deep if there was always a trio of singers holding the Honmoon down. It would be so cool to explore spinoffs of different eras through a series or anthology of shorts (think Star Wars: Visions) that jumps around time periods and perhaps other countries.

I’m interested in learning if other cultures also have music magic wielders and how demons might work through commercial music to try to gain control. I want to learn about other bands, maybe in short-form spin-offs, to set up new characters for the future. There are so many possibilities!

Rumi’s Family Backstory

© Netflix

Rumi being the love child of a demon and a hunter is an origin story we want to see. It’s perfect for a prequel or somehow pulling a Godfather 2 with dual timelines arcing into how that informs Rumi’s destiny.

Perhaps we could glimpse her father’s and mother’s past as they meet in the present to further the complexities of good vs. evil between the demons and the humans. If Jinu could be a good-guy demon, maybe Rumi’s father was too. There was so much left unanswered by Celine (Rumi’s guardian); we don’t really know what happened to her parents or how they were dealt with by Gwi-ma and the other good guys.

Theories have abounded about Rumi being related to Gwi-ma, but being his daughter directly seems unlikely—maybe his granddaughter? Would that be too Star Wars-y? It would be best if Rumi’s lineage was explored without her having to be a product of pure good and pure evil.

Bringing Jinu Back

© Netflix

Usually we think characters should stay dead but not this man. Our boy Jinu deserves a second chance. His sacrifice was huge so we’d like to see him return in some way. A popular theory online is that he’s trapped in Rumi’s sword, which would make sense as he gave her his soul and became a part of the prism Honmoon. Plus, if Derpy and Sussie are still around, they might be able to find him through their connection to pull him out of a backdoor of sorts. Maybe he’s human again but doesn’t remember who he was? We want the drama and to have him earn his way back to Rumi; that’s both fulfilling and romantic. We don’t need any more tragic star-crossed lovers; that could have been Rumi’s parents story but it doesn’t have to be hers.

And speaking of bringing back characters, maybe let’s give the Saja Boys a chance at redemption too. It would be nice to see them come back as comedic relief and try to do good while making more good music. We miss Baby and Abby. Perhaps they can team up with Huntr/x to defeat a bigger threat. Also, more Derpy and Sussie always and forever, please.

A Full Huntr/x Album

© Netflix

As someone who wished there was a Powerline album out of A Goofy Movie and who excitedly bought that special edition Josie and the Pussycats (2001) vinyl, I cannot stress enough that we need a whole Huntr/x album. Songwriter EJAE (who does the singing voice for Rumi), along with voice cast singers Audrey Nuna (Mira) and Rei Ami (Zoey), will soon be performing awards-season contender “Golden” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which feels like a test run for a real-life Huntr/x and more music, we hope.

Huntr/x could really do a whole sequel companion album—that would be so meta! The future of Huntr/x feels unlimited because we’d be seated to see a sequel movie in a theater or at home and go to the official tour with Huntr/x light sticks in hand. Do it for the fans!

Demon Hunter World Song Contest

© Netflix

Picture it: Huntr/x is the main band we follow as the sequel introduces a bigger global threat that’s connected to Rumi’s family. Who you gonna call? A story along these lines could bring in other Demon Hunters for an Avengers-style team-up from around the world that’s part world song contest (like Eurovision) and part Mortal Kombat.

Maybe the latter might be too extreme for the world of KPop Demon Hunters but the baddies have to be vanquished somehow. And these potential team-ups can be characters introduced through friendly competition in the sequel, with their side stories featured in an anthology leading up to a third film where it all comes together.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.





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Key artwork for Hades 2
Gaming Gear

Hades 2 review: a faithful yet boldly reinventive sequel that somehow improves on perfection

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Though it’s only been five years since its predecessor, roguelite game Hades 2 feels long-awaited. The weight of expectation on developer Supergiant to surpass the massive success of Hades must have loomed more dauntingly than the sword of Damocles itself. So, how do you build on a game ranking among the best roguelites in modern history?

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: September 25, 2025

With a refreshed cast of Grecian heroes and gods, Hades 2 carves its own take on mythos, making for a game that feels both familiar and wildly different to Zagreus’ tale.

For one thing, gameplay mechanics have been boldly reinvented, and there’s a whole lot more variety in each run. In Hades 2, range and placement can make or break your strategy; the addition of Magick gives Melinoë an entirely different moveset to Zagreus, and with less mobility than her brother, it’s all to play for on the battlefield.

The stakes are immediately high, and nothing encapsulates the shift in priorities better than the art and world-building Supergiant is so famed for. An inventive array of new foes, friends, and plenty of frenemies make for a captivating narrative that rarely strays into “wall-of-text” territory, and it’s a breathtaking journey from start to finish.

With war brewing at the home front in Tartarus and on Olympus, a war of the gods has begun once again, but will the Princess of the Underworld be able to defeat Time itself?

Generational trauma

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

The game begins at a crossroads – the crossroads, in fact, between the surface and the road to Tartarus. Readying for battle in this liminal space between life and death, Melinoë, daughter of Hades and Persephone, prepares to battle primordial powers to rescue her family.

Your foe is Chronos, the Titan of Time and father of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades – for the nerds, yes, that’s an amalgamation of Chronos, the primordial concept of time itself, and Kronos, the leader of the Titans; two different figures from mythos. It’s fine, I’m not mad about it.

Before the events of the game, Chronos captured his chthonic son, along with Persephone, Zagreus, and a host of other underworld dwellers. Thankfully, Melinoë was whisked away just beforehand and into the care of Hecate, Witch of the Crossroads, to be trained in the art of witchcraft and, hopefully, rescue her relatives – and thus the story begins, and the generational trauma continues.

For your first few runs, you’ll venture towards Tartarus through Erebus (and Oceanus, if you can trounce the first guardian), but after these first two more linear levels, there’s a lot more diversity in chambers and encounters.

However, you’ll also quickly unlock access to the Surface, where Chronos’ goons are mounting an attack on Olympus. Having two options to venture keeps the game feeling fresh, removing the frustrating feeling of repeatedly falling at the same hurdle, and it’s a welcome change to the formula.

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

There’s a lot of ebb and flow to the game’s two pathways, and each region offers dynamic maps with plenty of ways to progress by gathering resources, meeting with allies, and finding familiars to recruit. Some regions can feel a little gruelling; Tartarus’ Fields of Mourning, in particular, forces you into repetitive waves of enemies to cash in on multiple rewards per encounter, but you often only really want one of them.

However, other levels like the City of Ephyra play on the level design to push you to think harder about your build’s foundations, choosing six of ten possible rewards; both examples dismantle the classic two-door choice convention and keep the game varied.

Along the way, various gods from Hades – plus some new faces – will appear to deliver Boons: powerful upgrades to your attacks, movement, weaponry, chance modifiers, and beyond. These feel improved on Hades’ strong foundations; there’s a great variety on offer, and it’s rare that I really need a re-roll to find something useful.

Another noticeable difference is the increased focus on resource gathering. Doing away with the trade mechanics makes for much more rewarding progression materials, and there’s a lot more to find within each region. Your familiars can help you here, with each specializing in a different resource (spirits, seeds, fish, and foliage) as well as helping out during combat.

Which witch is which?!

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

Oft characterized in non-game lore as the goddess of ghosts, spirits, and sometimes nightmares, Melinoë is a wildly different protagonist from her brother Zagreus. She bears a glowing, enhanced arm capable of wielding various Arcana card power-ups, and can use Magick to charge and cast enhanced abilities through Omega spells.

Like your regular abilities, Omega spells have a further set of Boons, allowing you to build around your powerful charged attacks instead of just amping up your base damage. Alternatively, you can pretty much ignore your spells altogether if you prefer button-mashing your standard attack, special, and cast; the game rewards you for playing well, not for playing every feature.

Now, the cast has switched to an area of effect (AoE) crowd control move; you can sit in it to slash at enemies on the border or build it up to be a damage-dealing trap for your enemies. This is vital, and certainly the most significant change to combat at a base level. Using it well, and often, is key to surviving with enough strength for bigger battles, especially in later levels where you’re contending with hordes of the undead or fiddly ranged attackers.

There’s a great, gradual progression arc to power up throughout the game, and I found myself genuinely surprised on multiple occasions that there was still more to unlock.

Once again, there are keepsakes, weapon unlocks, and enhancements you can build into your runs to make your attacks hit even harder.

Best bit

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

Eris is a real pain to tackle the first few times, but hoo boy, is it fun to thrash her once you learn the ropes. She’s not as punishing as late-game bosses like Prometheus, but there’s a satisfying knack to timing your dodges and landing hits.

From an enormous, badass battle-axe to skulls that land with a “BOOM!”, Melinoë uses a mix of ranged and melee weapons to tackle her foes, but with way less mobility than her older brother. There’s no more double dash, but you can always use the new infinite sprint to zoom away from danger. Still, combat feels satisfyingly snappy, just with a greater emphasis on positioning.

Mel also swaps God Calls for Hexes, gifts from Selune that can be upgraded via a skill tree as you journey onwards. Personally, I’m a fan of the health regen Hex, which can be leveled to stack across regions and deliver huge amounts of health; particularly useful when you’re running with a squishier Mel build.

Each of these changes feels meaningful, and not just to differentiate Hades 2 from its successful predecessor. Plus, there’s so much variety and depth to each run that there’s no point in banking on specific builds; your Keepsakes can help pave the way for specific Boons, but you’re up against greater odds than in Hades.

That’s doubly true when you contend with the great variety of enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses. There’s no one way to play Mel, and the combatants want you to remember that; some punish you for an over-reliance on dashing, some for sitting too still or getting too close; others, you just have to hope you’ve built around strongly enough to kill before they can get you first (Prometheus, I’m looking at you. I’m judging you, in fact. Relentlessly.)

On the road again

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

Calling the crossroads a liminal space feels at odds with the teeming life, love, and emotion housed in the battle camp Mel and her associates call home, but perhaps that’s exactly the point. Here, in a space designed for passage, a band of heroes, villains, and gods alike from mythos find refuge and comfort from a world in a perpetual state of pre-apocalypse. Of course, that’s all tinged by the undertones of the dysfunctional Olympian family tree, but if you can look past the bickering siblings, Mel and Hecate’s mommy issues, and, of course, the many mortals left in the wreckage of godly pettiness, there are some beautiful bonds formed at the crossroads.

From shopping to decorating and even gardening, there’s a lot to do between runs. Hecate’s cauldron offers permanent upgrades both in and out of runs, and there are more interactive spaces like the salt baths and the fishing pier. There’s a huge amount of unlockable content and interactions here; characters react to the outcome of the previous run and even the items Mel takes with her to the field, making it genuinely rewarding to sit through dialogue.

Eris, Nemesis, Moros, and Icarus are the romancable options (at least, the only ones I’ve encountered), but I’d really encourage forming bonds with all of the main cast. Deep secrets and connections to other figures in mythos mean characters like Dora expand the universe even further and teach you more about Mel’s history and identity. Greg Kasavin was not messing around when he put pen to paper for Hades 2, though I do share some fans’ criticisms of the slightly rushed ending.

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

The world is, of course, more than its writing. Darren Korb’s tremendous musical talents are once again in full force, providing a dramatic underscore to the on-screen action with even greater zeal. Jen Zee also delivered with some excellent refreshed character designs, each with subtle hints to the more militant themes in the game.

Even Aphrodite now bears arms (though clothing still appears to be optional), and Zeus is armored up in preparation for the great battles on the horizon. New animations for character cards breathe life into the designs, aided of course by another stellar cast of talented voice actors.

Rolling credits for the first time is only the beginning; there’s a lot more you’ll want to eke out of these relationships on your road to the ‘true’ ending, and that’s the real magic of the Hades 2 formula. It takes repetition and makes it a thematic driver, pulling you deeper into the world of the Gods and their follies.

Hades 2 absolutely surpasses its predecessor in almost every way, building on its success reservedly but meaningfully, and it’s a must-play game for all to enjoy. It’s a masterpiece in its own right, though Mel’s story is inseparable from Zagreus’ successes in more ways than one.

Should Supergiant choose to revisit the land of the gods with a sequel, I’m once again left wondering how it could withstand its legacy, but with a fresh confidence that they can once again go the distance.

Should you play Hades 2?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility

Within the settings, you have the option to toggle ‘God Mode’ under the Gameplay tab, which reduces the difficulty in the game, offering more damage resistance the more often you die. Alternatively, you can customize features like Auto-Fire/Auto-Sprint, Aim Assist, Dead Zones, and more to make gameplay more accessible. There are subtitles for both speech and song, as well as changeable vibration settings and visual effect settings.

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

How I reviewed Hades 2

I got 50 hours of the game, unlocking both the main ending and rolling credits on the ‘true’ ending of Hades 2 using a Nintendo Switch 2. I played it in both docked and undocked mode to see if legibility or performance is impacted by the screen size, comparing my experience against other roguelites, including Dead Cells, The Binding of Isaac, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree, and, of course, the original Hades.

I tried different settings, including God Mode, to see the impact on the game’s accessibility and performance, and tried playing both with a Corsair Void Max Wireless v2 headset and through the Switch 2 speakers.

First reviewed September 2025

Hades 2: Price Comparison



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A screenshot of Atsu in Ghost of Yotei
Product Reviews

Ghost of Yotei review: a beautiful and bloody sequel that iterates on its predecessor in almost all the best ways

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I have caught myself reliving riding my horse across Ghost of Yotei’s landscape of 17th-century Japan almost every time I’ve put the game down since starting it.

From the simplest of jogs between locations, or the longest of horse rides across sweeping lands, through fields, and over rivers, there’s just something truly beautiful about it that has consumed me.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5
Release date: October 2, 2025

  • Ghost of Yotei at Amazon for $69

And while the world of Ghost of Yotei is one of the best I’ve played in years, and one of the most spectacular things about the game, it’s only one of a number of highlights in the PS5 exclusive.

The worldbuilding and sense of place the lands offer is supported by an epic tale that twists and turns, an interesting protagonist who develops as the story goes, multi-faceted, immense, and bloody, moreish combat, and a smattering of enjoyable open-world and role-playing game (RPG) staples. Which, even though they can be repetitive sometimes, also bring much value and meat to the experience.

It wears the influence of its predecessor on its sleeve prominently, but Ghost of Yotei has been more than worth the wait.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

A tale for the ages

Set a few hundred years after Ghost of Tsushima, you are Atsu an outlaw making a return to her homeland of Ezo with revenge on the mind. Be prepared to hear the phrase “The Yotei Six” an awful lot in the first half of the main story in particular, as that is who Atsu is chasing down: six masked-up baddies who inflicted great pain on her and her family when she was a child.

Complemented by intriguing flashbacks that give greater context to that original pain, the story of Atsu chasing after these six almost-mythical enemies is an epic one. It has twists and turns and is deeply cinematic and gripping, and Atsu and the change she experiences along the way make her a compelling protagonist. You can feel the anger and deliberation in her encounters, in her visceral combat actions; and you can see how her relentless pursuit of justice changes her outlook along the way, too.

And while the premise of hunting down the six masked big bads is similar to Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, a linear revenge tale, and checking off an assassination hitlist, this is not. There are more layers to the story and to each of the narratives around the enemies to get stuck into.

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(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

Experiencing the beauty of nature

That stylish way that the story is delivered is indicative of the lands that it takes place in, too – as well as how you explore it.

Firstly, the scenery and sense of place in the game’s landscapes and environments are wonderful. From expansive, sweeping fields of grasses and flowers bathed in sunshine, to the icy mountainsides of an arctic, wintry region. And from the spring-like, verdant, and lush fluvial landscapes either side of meandering waterways to the gorgeous and blinding oranges and golds of hundreds of trees in their autumn form, all four seasons are draped over the landscapes of Ghost of Yotei beautifully.

As well as offering sheer beauty, everything seems truly part of the environment; each location does seem purposefully placed, sprouting from the ground or perched on it intentionally.

There’s also a wider use of the landscape to create ‘landscape moments’ as I call them; using the wind for guidance is a sheer joy once again, throwing up thousands of flower petals as you bound across plains is a thrill, and there’s a few moments where your ride across the countryside or along winding tracks is accompanied by wonderful and haunting songs.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

Mapping an adventure

Taking the importance of the landscape and environment further is Atsu’s in-game map, the way objectives are presented, and also how exploration and discovery work.

In short, the map is outstanding. Its art style is gorgeous, and the way icons and your travel route appear on it like paintings is great. Additionally, cartographers’ maps can be bought and placed over areas on your own map to reveal locations in an incredibly satisfying way that brings the map to life as opposed to being a static resource. This is echoed by other locations on the map being slightly animated, rather than just quest markers on a static background.

The details are excellent here, too. For example, if it’s raining in the world, you’ll see a pitter-patter of raindrops fall on your map. Teaming this map with your spyglass makes for satisfying exploration that nails the ‘see that over there, mark it, and go there’ incentive, which is key to a well-done RPG world.

Additionally, there isn’t a smattering of side quest markers on the map or a list of text in your menu – there’s a superb card system instead, which is stylish and artsy – and you can stumble across simple side encounters naturally through exploration. It’s a world that demands to be explored, and its slowly revealing open zones in the open world are filled with things to see and do, and are more densely filled than massive, open, and empty.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

Put them to the sword

However, it’s not just style and aesthetics and a stacked world; there’s plenty of substance elsewhere in Ghost of Yotei, and at the forefront of that is Atsu’s violent, bloody, and super-slick combat.

With access to five melee weapons when fully kitted out, Atsu can cut through hosts of enemies with ease and grace; it really can be like a dance, almost, and chaining together parries, strikes, weapon swaps, and dodges to seamlessly work between enemies and cut them down is almost poetic.

The violence and bloodshed are incredibly graphic – something that I’ve greatly enjoyed upping the ante on by playing in the game’s Miike mode – but also arty and make for extremely reactive visuals to this dance too.

At the core of the combat is, of course, the weapons and toolset open to Atsu. Yotei does away with the different stances to combat different enemies and weapon types, and instead gives you an arsenal of different weapons to use.

Each will work against anybody, but it pays to know your katana from your Kusarigama and who best to fight with each, for example – however, each weapon is excellent, dynamic, and exciting to use and master. I greatly enjoyed the process of acquiring these weapons through quests, too. Each expert you find for the weapons feels organic and feeds into Atsu’s learning and developing skills to be best equipped to fulfill her revenge mission.

The bows in Yotei are once again satisfying to use, and while the rifle is an option, I barely used it – though finishing a stand off with a quick, hip fire shot of the pistol is dead cool. Complementing this are some ranged throwables you can use, such as firebombs to wreak havoc on groups of enemies, and quickfire kunai knives.

Armor always plays a part by offering perks that can be boons to different play styles. You can gain new sets to obtain with mysterious side quests or tasks, and they can be upgraded – but your main Ghost one is upgraded through the main story.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

Style *and* substance

There’s plenty of opportunity to customize Atsu’s gear, too, and there’s clearly an emphasis on this. You can work to find resources for weapon and armor upgrades, and a whole raft of charms – themselves upgradeable through in-game tasks or actions – can give you edges in certain play styles. However, you can also enjoy a whole host of cosmetic upgrades to give Atsu the perfect look.

There are loads of skill trees and options to explore and acquire to enhance Atsu along your journey too. Each weapon has its own tree; there are some skills relating to Atsu’s survivor background (reducing fall damage, etc), and even some that relate to help you can sometimes get from a wolf companion.

You’ll unlock these abilities by bowing in front of altars. These can be found out in the wild on their own, or be tied to clearing camps of badmen. I appreciate the simplicity of this, but to mirror the location-specific skills of those who can teach Atsu skills, it could have added a further layer by tying certain abilities to certain altars or locations to give some geography-based nuance – i.e., certain skills can only be acquired at specific altars, for example.

Putting all of that to practical application is fantastic. Whether you’re absorbing the main quest line, or going off the beaten track to hunt down challenging or intriguing bounties, exploring myths and legends, or simply clearing out bandit camps to rid the land of baddies, utilizing Atsu’s wealth of combat approaches – either stealthily or head-on – is a joy.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

In an incredibly strong field, perhaps my favorite part of Ghost of Yotei that made me smile every time I did it was when dispatching a whole gang of goons while barely receiving a scratch. Changing weapons out seamlessly while knowing when to strike, when to parry, and when to go in for the kill is one of the things that makes Ghost of Yotei’s combat spectacular. I have to add that the map itself could have been my choice here, or indeed the landscapes and how they affect and frame the gameplay.

On the whole, I have found myself preferring head-on combat. There is a good balance between stealth and combat – but I prefer the stealth found in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Charging in and beating goons of all types and sizes, and bosses, with Atsu’s beastly weapons is so moreish.

Either way, whatever you choose, there’s excellence and mileage in both approaches, I’ve found. Utilizing tall grass to sneak around camps and pick off guards with a bow or with distant assassinations with the Kusarigama – a personal favorite – is brilliant. However, nothing quite hits like taking out a few pesky ranged enemies before engaging in a standoff to dispatch a host of guards. Throw in Atsu’s Onryo’s Howl skill – a banshee-like scream you can blast toward your enemies, causing them to cower in fear.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

A near-perfect cut

Are there creases in all this bloody brilliance, though? Of course, but only a few that I found that impacted my enjoyment. While I’m always one to sink dozens of hours into an open world, checking activities off a list, I did feel a bit of fatigue when stumbling across a vast number of the same activities such as bamboo cuts, hot springs, and altars.

The number of which also impacted the sense of exploration and discovery that the world is generally so good at. Elsewhere, the conversation options you get don’t seem to make a huge impact on encounters or quests I’ve found, which is a shame, and there are some strange moves later in the story that reintroduce tutorial-like sections that affect pacing.

However, one thing that is a fierce double-edged sword for Yotei is the game that came before it, as it wears the influence of Ghost of Tsushima and all that made that game excellent proudly on its sleeve. As a result, in a similar way to Horizon Forbidden West, there’s a lot of iteration on established features and facets.

Golden birds and foxes are present again, breaking guards in combat with heavy attacks is key again, and acquiring charms from shrines up broken pathways are back, to name a couple of examples. This might disappoint some, but it also offers ‘more of the same’ of one of the most memorable and enjoyable games of the last five years.

This is simply a world worth committing dozens of hours to

Technically, however, Ghost of Yotei does a lot to make itself feel like the PS5 exclusive we’ve been waiting for. The Ray Tracing Pro mode available on the PS5 Pro is superb and has offered a fault-free and technically excellent experience for my entire 55+ hours, but it’s the DualSense integration that is a real highlight.

Those raindrops I mentioned earlier falling on your map? You can feel those on the controller, along with rain on Atsu in the world; the balance of your instrument’s music coming from the main speakers with that of the DualSense’s speaker is a delight, painting sumi-e with flicks across the touchpad is superb, and you can even blow in the microphone to help light your campfires.

If there was any other indication needed to show what I think of Ghost of Yotei, then it’s the fact that I have kept playing the game, long after finishing the story and almost all of the quests, and am committed to going for the platinum trophy.

Yes, those few slight gripes hold it back from true generational greatness, but I’m already planning my way mentally across the map, strategizing weapon swaps and attack combos in my mind, and this is simply a world worth committing dozens of hours to, and I’m going to drink it all up.

Should you play Ghost of Yotei?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility

Ghost of Yotei‘s accessibility features are a little lighter than some of its PS5 first-party contemporaries. There are no colorblind options, which is a shame, for example.

Elsewhere, you do have options for subtitle size and color, you can increase gameplay clues and visibility, and simplify control schemes for things like campfires and forging, and also get some assistance for combat, such as projectile indicators.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Sucker Punch)

How I reviewed Ghost of Yotei

Totalling more than 55 hours of testing, I reviewed Ghost of Yotei on a PS5 Pro teamed with a Samsung Q6F 55-inch 4K QLED TV and Samsung soundbar, and carried out some brief testing on a PS5 Slim combined with an Acer X32QFS gaming monitor and a Yamaha SR-C20A soundbar. On both machines, I used a standard DualSense Wireless controller, and I also spent many hours playing the game on my PlayStation Portal. When using a headset, I used a Drop + EPOS PC38X wired gaming headset combined with a Creative Sound BlasterX G6 on my PS5 Pro, and a SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 wireless gaming headset on the PS5 Slim.

I tested the game thoroughly in all its graphics modes and found its Ray Tracing Pro mode on PS5 Pro to be the best way to play on Sony’s premium console. I also played chunks of the game on several of the difficulty levels to explore and experience the different challenges in the combat, and tried out the different filmic modes too, with my favorite being the Miike mode by far.

First reviewed September 2025

Ghost of Yotei: Price Comparison



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Chris Tilly
Esports

Black Phone 2 review: Scary sequel that improves on the original

by admin



Black Phone 2 is a superb sequel that maintains the creeping sense of dread established in the first movie, through a story that both extends and expands on the horrific Grabber mythology.

Directed by Scott Derrickson – from a script he wrote with C. Robert Cargill from a Joe Hill story – the first Black Phone movie was a period piece that effectively combined 1970s coming-of-age drama with spine-chilling supernatural horror.

The film was anchored by fine performances from young leads Mason Thames and Madeline McGraw, and a truly terrifying turn by Ethan Hawke as a child killer known as The Grabber.

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That team returns for this excellent sequel that explores big, weighty themes, while still delivering thrills and scares.

What is Black Phone 2 about?

Following a brief prologue in the Rocky Mountains, we’re back to North Denver, the year is 1982, and teenagers Finney (Thames) and Gwen (McGraw) are not in a good place.

Although they defeated the Grabber at the end of the first film, he still casts a long shadow over the siblings. Finney’s simmering rage sees him fight other kids at school, and self-medicate with weed when he’s home.

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Meanwhile, Gwen is branded a witch by her classmates and plagued by disturbing dreams about dead children — dreams tied both to the first film’s events and her own complicated family history.

She wants answers, so Gwen drives the story forward through her investigation, which sends the dynamic duo to a Christian summer camp with its own dark past, and puts them on a collision course with their old enemy.

Dealing with trauma

Universal Pictures

It’s a while before the Grabber reappears, as much like its predecessor, Black Phone 2 is mostly concerned with these kids just trying to live their lives, in unfathomably trying circumstances.

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But in spite of their innocence being lost during the first film, they’re both fighters, who won’t let the troubles of their past bring them down. This makes the sequel a movie about trauma, and the need to face issues head-on, before finally being able to let go.

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Faith also becomes a repeating theme, with heaven and hell very real concepts in the movie. Ultimately, though, Black Phone 2 is about the power of love, and how it can help to heal the most painful of wounds.

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Channeling Dream Warriors

That’s the serious stuff, but Black Phone 2 is also immense fun, especially when we head back to the Rocky Mountains, and kills start happening in beautiful snowstorms, where they’re complemented by Atticus Derrickson’s thumping electronic score.

Thanks to Gwen’s affliction – which she sees as a curse – there are also lengthy dream scenes, shot on grainy Super 8 that really works for such sequences.

This is where the movie channels A Nightmare on Elm Street – and most specifically Dream Warriors – as Gwen starts playing a more active role in those visions as a way of taking back her power, which succeeds thematically, while being wildly entertaining to watch.

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Is Black Phone 2 good?

Universal Pictures

Black Phone 2 is a perfect sequel in that it leans into what worked in the first film, while also taking the story in interesting and unexpected directions.

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There were questions asked at the end of its predecessor that are addressed here, as we learn more about the Grabber and what drives him to commit such evil.

Meanwhile, Finney and Gwen continue to change and grow in ways that are consistently satisfying to watch.

Black Phone 2 score: 4/5

If you liked the first movie, you’ll love Black Phone 2, a sequel that’s both bigger, and better.

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The Black Phone 2 was reviewed at Fantastic Fest and will hit theaters on October 17, 2025.



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Hornet against a gloomy underground cave backdrop
Product Reviews

Hollow Knight Silksong review: a daring, experimental, and breathtakingly beautiful sequel

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Long-awaited metroidvania game Hollow Knight: Silksong is already proving to be a victim of its own success.

The unbearable hype surrounding its storefront-destroying launch, combined with the simultaneous release into the eager hands of both critics and players, has created a uniquely voracious narrative.

There’s a sense that one must devour Silksong all at once, or else risk being left behind and out of the loop on what is surely one of the biggest gaming events of the decade so far.

The problem is, Silksong is not a game to be binged. It’s a sprawling, complicated, and brilliant sequel that demands patience above all else. Only then does it fully reveal itself as a game that’s much more than the conversations around difficulty would have you believe.

Review information

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: September 4, 2025

Not even two weeks into its life, developer Team Cherry’s Silksong has largely been misrepresented and mislabelled as an impossibly difficult and sadistic continuation of 2017’s brilliant Hollow Knight. Of course, Silksong is a very challenging game; I agree with that wholeheartedly. It’s so much more than that, though.

As the dust settles, and now looking back on my first completed playthrough, I believe it’s going to take years for the collective player hivemind to truly unpack exactly what Silksong does well, and where it falters.

Rough starts and Bellharts

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

I made the decision to play the first five hours of Hollow Knight alongside those of Silksong’s. This is where the two games differ most drastically. Hollow Knight is much more generous with checkpoints, resources, and clear tutorial sections than Silksong.

Enemies hit hard from the get-go in the sequel, while Hollow Knight gives you some softball encounters to practice on before its first proper boss fight. These are very different games, diverging from one another almost immediately and taking very different paths towards completely different conclusions.

The opening hours of Silksong are likely to be where players find the most friction. Enemies frequently deal two full health segments of damage, though you’ll have more freedom in how you heal thanks to main protagonist Hornet’s increased speed and aerial options. Instead of a simple down attack, Hornet dives in diagonal needle drops. This in itself requires hours to master, and it’s made very clear that bouncing between enemies without touching the ground is the strongest strategy available to you at first.

Your main special resource in Silksong is the silk meter, which is primarily filled by hitting enemies. Upon collecting enough silk, you’ll need to make a quick decision: heal, or unleash a special attack to hopefully end a fight earlier. Risk vs reward is hammered home again and again in Silksong, and it’s the first few hours where you’ll need to experiment with how you want to play. Eventually, you’ll get to the first town area, learn how to purchase items from merchants, and the currencies that you’ll have to focus on seeking out.

Rosaries are the main ones, but they’re also lost upon death, wrapped in a cocoon that must be retrieved in order to get them back. Shell Shards are somewhat supplementary, used to craft tools and open up your combat options.

My wallet is filled with moths

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

The economy between Rosaries and Shards is a tricky one to make the best use of. Silksong doesn’t give you many opportunities to get Rosaries consistently until a few hours in, while Shards aren’t particularly useful until you’ve bought tools and crafting kits from later merchants.

Tools become vital against flying enemies, bosses, and mobs of enemies, leading to one of the game’s key frustrations. To craft tools, you need Shards. To reliably purchase Shards, you must earn Rosaries, which come from exploring or, more reliably, killing enemies.

Many of the difficulty spikes I hit in Silksong completely cleared out my tools. I’d then have to travel elsewhere to farm Rosaries just to have enough tools to have another go at what was besting me. It’s reminiscent of the awful Blood Vial farming required for some bosses in Bloodborne, taking the player away from the action for repetitive bouts of repeated enemy hunting.

Unfortunately, this never really goes away in Silksong, and if anything, it becomes more common as you progress. The Shard vs Rosary reward balancing is ever so slightly off, making certain areas more and more difficult to progress through.

Shall we take a detour?

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Silksong offers the same approach to problem-solving as seen in Elden Ring and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, in that you’re supposed to go and find something else to do when a perceived skill wall presents itself. Silksong’s map is vast, and much of it is completely optional.

Best bit

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

The Needolin is an upgrade that turns Hornet’s needle into a musical instrument. You simply hold down a button, and Hornet plays along to nearby or ambient music. It’s used to unlock secret doors, interact with NPC events, and even open up new paths that are linked to the final ending of the game. It’s very ambiguous as to what the Needolin can interact with, so experimenting while exploring becomes its own intriguing side quest. I bet there’s even more the Needolin can do, and it’s going to take players years to find out all of its hidden functions.

Many times, I’d find myself throwing Hornet into the same repeated encounter, as I grew increasingly tired of losing the same fight over and over. At a certain point, however, it clicked that I simply needed to open up the map, look for new paths, and follow them forward. Every single time I did this, I happened upon something that made my build stronger – be that secret bundles of Rosaries, new move sets and upgrades, or non-player characters (NPCs) that could be brought into particular fights alongside Hornet. I developed a mantra to live by: if a section took me more than five tries, I needed to go somewhere else.

Once I opened myself up to Silksong’s non-linear progression paths, I started to meet less friction. Side quests are smart new additions that gently nudge players towards points of interest: An old town built into caves of gold, silver, and bronze bells; a decrepit medical wing filled with Lovecraftian horrors and a few allies to meet; a new encounter at the starting village that changes its topography and makes use of music to deliver sorrowful worldbuilding.

Kicking over a log in the woods

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Playing Silksong makes me feel itchy; I’m not sure how else to describe it. Anyone else who spent their childhood wandering around rain-soaked woodland and muddy river banks will know the feeling. You find a rotten piece of wood, roll it over, and jump back at the writhing cities of grubs, bugs, and spiders you’ve unearthed.

Stepping into every new area always feels like a log turned over. You’ll hear the scritch-scratch of tiny legs from somewhere in the shadows. Tiny gnats will whine nasally as you approach. There’s a griminess to Silksong’s initial zones that’s made all the more potent by the golden gleam and religious opulence of late-game areas.

All of this is achieved in a 2D game, mind you. Somehow, Team Cherry has managed to make even the simplest passages feel thick with dirt, fog, and dust. Light is expertly used to add extra volume and scale to the standard side-scrolling formula used in other modern Metroidvanias.

In comparison, the map is one area where there’s been the least innovation. You still need to purchase them before you’ll see certain areas; there’s still a Compass that takes up a Crest slot, and pins can be used to mark key information.

Given the added variety and scale of Silksong, it’s unfortunate that the map isn’t really up to the task of leading you through the game. There frankly needs to be more information on NPCs, added options for pin types, and a reworking of the way the compass works to measure up to the changes made in this sequel.

Sting like a Hornet

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Playing as Hornet is a wildly different experience when compared to the silent Knight of the first game. Hornet has dialogue. She’s confident, empathetic, and sternly protective of her personal space. There’s also a concerted effort to contextualize Hornet within the world of Pharloom. You get the impression that she has a personal connection to the bugs you meet, and a genuine desire to help them.

I’m impressed by how well-rounded Hornet is as a protagonist, which makes the combat and boss fights all the more impactful. Silksong is once again filled with an expansive lore and world history. Having Hornet be a part of that lore is a master stroke that elevates the sequel above the first game.

Let’s dance

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Silksong is at its best when you’re fighting a boss. Every single one is memorable: equal parts deadly and stunning, with clear design motifs bolstered by bespoke musical accompaniment. Many of the boss battles are intricately choreographed affairs. One early game fight with a needle-wielding foe plays out like a synchronized dance routine, all death-defying dives and sparking slashes of sharpened steel.

I’m struggling to remember another game that’s so filled with best-in-class bosses as Silksong. With enough patience and a bit of time spent exploring for upgrades, none of them feel unfair. The loop of slowly learning patterns and then executing daring counters is what all great boss fights are about. Silskong delivers again and again and again in this respect. I can’t wait to jump back in and face the gauntlet of bosses with new tactics, builds, and strategies, and there isn’t a single boss I’ll be skipping in a second playthrough.

Silksong is every bit the sequel that Hollow Knight deserves. It’s the spoils of a team going the extra mile. It’s challenging, yes, but take your time and explore the vast world of Pharloom, and you’ll be rewarded with yet another masterpiece. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Team Cherry, as it’ll never be a team that settles on delivering ‘just more Hollow Knight’.

Should you play Silksong?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility

Silksong offers the option to turn off camera shake and customize HUD size. There are audio sliders for individual tracks, and you can remap controls. This is a very limited offering, with no color blind, difficulty, or repeated button input options available.

How I reviewed Silksong

My first playthrough of Silksong lasted 36 hours, and I spent a while doing every side quest available before the final boss fight, not counting courier missions. I still haven’t explored the two final sections of the map, and there are plenty of secrets and locked doors I didn’t get to before the end of the credits. I played Hollow Knight back in 2018, completing the main story and some of the first DLC. I intend to go back and play Silksong a second time, focusing on a different Crest, and making use of a completely different set of tools.

I played Silksong on Nintendo Switch 2, making use of the 120Hz mode when docked. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller was perfect for this game, though d-pad users may want to go for an alternative controller (the d-pad on the Pro 2 is very subpar when compared to other options like the 8BitDo Ultimate).

I ran Silksong on my LG UltraGear 4K gaming monitor (27GR93U), making use of the extra refresh rate options. Generally, I played Silksong docked, though I did play about five hours handheld.

First reviewed September 2025

Hollow Knight: Silksong: Price Comparison



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Here's your first look at the Mario movie sequel
Game Reviews

Here’s your first look at the Mario movie sequel

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As part of it latest Direct showcase, Nintendo has had a bit of a Mario moment to celebrate the iconic plumber’s 40th anniversary. Alongside other bits of moustache-adjacent news we got a very first look at the second Mario movie, officially titled The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.


Animation studio Illumination’s breezy but entertaining first movie adaptation – officially (and unimaginatively) titled The Super Mario Bros. Movie – proved to be an huge hit when it released in 2023, grossing over $1bn world-wide. So a sequel was almost inevitable.


To date, details on the follow-up have been limited, although Toad voice actor Keegan-Michael Key did last year tease it would feature an “intriguing” setting alongside “old favourite” characters and “really deep cuts”. Then, this May, it looked like NBCUniversal had inadvertently revealed the sequel’s title: Super Mario World.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer.Watch on YouTube


That, it turns out, was wrong. Instead, it’s called The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and we got a very first trailer as part of Nintendo’s latest Direct. Cue the internet leaning in for careful scrutiny in a bid to reveal its many Mario-themed secrets.


The Mario movie sequel, as previously confirmed by Nintendo, releases on 3rd April 2026 in the US, with a Japanese release scheduled for 24th April. Expect it to arrive for most other territories somewhere in-between.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

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Fede Alvarez Won't Direct the 'Alien: Romulus' Sequel
Product Reviews

Fede Alvarez Won’t Direct the ‘Alien: Romulus’ Sequel

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After Alien: Romulus proved to be a success for 20th Century Studios, grossing $350 million globally, sequel plans were quickly announced, with its director, Fede Alvarez, thought to be returning.

Turns out that’s not entirely the case, as Too Fab reports that Alvarez will not be coming back to direct the Alien franchise follow-up feature after all. The filmmaker attended the red carpet for Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood and shared, “We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for Romulus. But I’m gonna pass the torch on this one as director,” and added, “I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together, and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in.”

The script for the Alien: Romulus sequel at least has Alvarez re-teaming with co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who he has long collaborated with on past features, including their Don’t Breathe series and Evil Dead (2013). The Alien franchise is currently experiencing a resurgence in the zeitgeist between Alvarez and Noah Hawley’s current FX series, Alien: Earth.

It will be interesting to see what filmmakers step up to the plate to continue Ridley Scott’s original sci-fi universe. Our only request besides more stories is for Disney to just please bring back Alien Encounter at Walt Disney World so we can have our terrifying Alien meet and greet since you can argue now the Aliens are official Disney royalty, and they can feature prominently everywhere. Hey, the Alien: Earth immersive experience at SDCC was met with a lot of love. We stan the Disney Alien Queen and its offspring’s takeover of the Disney pop culture sphere.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



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Batman Arkham Shadow VR sequel in the works, actor confirms
Game Updates

Batman Arkham Shadow VR sequel in the works, actor confirms

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Last year, Camouflaj and Oculus Studios released a Batman-flavoured VR release in the form of Arkham Shadows, and it looks like the teams are taking another bite of the apple.

During a recent interview with Culture Combine, which was spotted by UploadVR, Commissioner Gordon’s actor confirmed a sequel is in the works.

Actor Mark Rolston was chatting about his career, and the difference between approaching games such as Blade Runner and Spider-Man 2.

“In the Blade Runner game, I was a voiceover, but for Spider-Man, I do complete motion capture, voice, and everything,” the actor told the publication, before slipping this little nugget of information into the conversation:

“Same thing with the Batman Arkham Shadow VR game. We’re about to start another one of those. I play Commissioner Gordon.”

So, there you have it!

Our Ian rather enjoyed Batman Arkham Shadow in its release last year. “Batman Arkham Shadow can feel rough around the edges at times, but it’s still a more than worthy entry to the Arkham series, and an essential Quest 3 experience,” he wrote in Eurogamer’s four star Batman Arkham Shadow review.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.



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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sequel or DLC confirmed: it's only "one of the stories that we want to tell"
Game Updates

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sequel or DLC confirmed: it’s only “one of the stories that we want to tell”

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You know what, I’m going to bare all: I’ve still yet to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 beyond the hour or so I played at a preview event, during which I approximately deemed it “a pretty tidy slice of RPG with some cheeky QTEs on the side”, but certainly not the diamond-plated GOTY candidate described by Nic in his review. As is my rotten nature, my desire to see what all the fuss is about is proportionately lower for knowing that they’re going to make a sequel – or at least, some rather substantial-sounding DLC. Ugh, I have even more to catch up on now. Why do the gods mock me.

That’s according to creative director Guillaume Broche, following on from lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen’s remarks in May that “chances are good” that Expedition 33 will have some kind of successor.

“Clair Obscur is the franchise name,” said Broche to Youtuber MrMattyPlays this week, as detected by The Gamer. “Expedition 33 is one of the stories that we want to tell in this franchise. Exactly what it will look like and what the concept will be is still too soon to announce, but what is sure is that this is not the end of the Clair Obscur franchise.”

For context, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes place in a society that is being gradually obliterated by an all-powerful Paintress. Every year, she paints a number on her canvas, and everybody that age or older is wiped from existence. The titular expedition 33 are the latest in a series of increasingly junior warriors who set forth each year to slay the mad artiste. I don’t know any of the story’s endings, but I imagine there’s scope, at least, for some melancholy prequel stories involving expeditions 34-75.

I know far more about the kerfuffle surrounding Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s development team size than I do the plot of the game. It’s been repeatedly enshrined as evidence that smaller outfits are the magical panacea for an industry currently prone to laying thousands of people off. As Nic wrote last year, the much-quoted figure of 30 or so core developers is rather disingenuous – it ignores an external animation team, many of the musicians who worked on the killer soundtrack, and dozens of localisation, QA and voice production staff.

Geez fine, I’ll play it already. It’s not that long, right? Brisk little 30 hour campaign, yes? Nothing I need to take time off for?



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Huntr/x performing on stage
Game Reviews

6 Unanswered Questions For The Sequel

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony and Netflix are entering early talks about producing a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters. This is hardly surprising given the animated musical’s success, but knowing a follow-up is coming means we get to spend the next however many years speculating about what comes next. Spoilers ahead!

Is Jinu alive?

The question on just about everybody’s mind is whether or not Jinu, the leader of the Saja Boys demon boy band, is gone for good. At the end of the first movie, Jinu sacrifices himself to save Rumi from Gwi-ma, the demon king. He uses his final words to tell Rumi that she gave him his soul back, and that he relinquished it to power her soulsword and help her defeat Gwi-ma for good. So is Jinu truly dead, or does he live inside his almost-girlfriend’s weapon? If it’s the latter, I would not be surprised if a significant part of the next movie focuses on Rumi trying to find a way to set him free once more.

© Netflix

Who is Rumi’s father?

We know pretty much nothing about Rumi’s father beyond the fact that he was a full-fledged demon by the time he met her mother, a demon hunter a generation before Huntr/x. He hangs over the first movie as Rumi struggles with her human/demon identity, but Rumi never really asks about him or seems to even know anything about dear ol’ dad beyond his demon lineage. Some fans theorize Gwi-ma might be Rumi’s peepaw, but he seems completely ignorant of her nature throughout the movie, and he only ever appears as a gaseous, fire-breathing monster who probably wasn’t out in the human world making babies in that form. He can probably transform into a sexy hunk the same way the Saja Boys do, but the fact that Rumi is entirely an enigma to him despite bearing his marks does leave room for doubt. See? Unanswered questions!

What happened to Rumi’s mother?

We know Rumi’s mom Mi-yeong Ryu was a member of the musical demon hunter group the Sunlight Sisters, and that she was very close with Celine, Rumi’s caretaker and mentor. Early in KPop Demon Hunters’ development, a concept that wound up being scrapped was that Celine would have secretly killed Rumi’s mother, leading to a falling out between her and Huntr/x’s lead singer. Obviously the two don’t part on great terms in the final film, but this idea adds dimensions to the relationship worth exploring, even if, according to artist Simon Baek, it’s  not official or canon. As such, we don’t really know what happened to Rumi’s mother, or how she ended up with her demon partner. A Netflix press release says she died in childbirth, but the movie doesn’t say or explore that. Given that Rumi’s heritage is the source of many of the movie’s unanswered questions, I fully expect KPop Demon Hunters’ sequel to focus on her learning more about both her parents, especially now that she is more accepting of her demonic side. Who wouldn’t want to know more about where you came from after you’ve sufficiently unlearned the self-hatred your surrogate mother gave you?

Let’s give the other girls some more spotlight

This isn’t so much an unanswered question as it is a request. I am a Rumi stan above all else, but I will admit that Zoey and Mira, the other members of Huntr/x, deserve some more spotlight in the sequel. Rumi will likely still remain the main character of the story, as she stands at the center of the demon hunting world as a human/demon hybrid, but hopefully the others can actually have more than a supporting role. Let’s flesh them out some more. Tell me about Mira’s estranged family. How does Zoey feel as a young Korean-American woman growing up in Burbank and moving to Seoul later in life? There’s a lot to dig into.

© Netflix

Did some members of the Saja Boys survive?

In the final musical number, Huntr/x makes one last stand to push Gwi-ma and the Saja Boys back into the demon world and seal the Honmoon barrier between both worlds. Our girls come out on top, but interestingly enough, we don’t actually see two of the Saja Boys die on-screen. Mira kills Abby, Zoey takes out Mystery, and Jinu dies defending Rumi, but Romance and Baby are never shown on the wrong end of Huntr/x weapons. Did they get away? Were their death scenes left on the cutting room floor? Could they return in a sequel? Maybe! But…

Just who were the Saja Boys, anyway?

With the exception of Jinu, we know nothing about the individual Saja Boys. One might think they were merely an extension of Jinu’s plan to steal Huntr/x’s fans and feed them to Gwi-ma, but there’s a theory, with some evidence to support it, that these four singing heartthrobs were, much like Jinu, people with musical ambitions that were turned into monsters by the demon king. When Huntr/x visits Healer Han’s clinic early in the movie, the doctor has several pictures with KPop groups, and some of them resemble the Saja Boys. Still, it’s just a theory. I’d like to know more about all four of these guys. They’re far too popular to stay so underdeveloped.





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