Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection review for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch 2

Monster Hunter is a staple franchise for Capcom, encompassing decades of giant monsters and an addicting gameplay loop. There’s been some spinoffs here and there, including what I consider one of the best turn-based RPG series of all time. Monster Hunter Stories released on the 3DS back in 2016, with a sequel releasing years later for the Nintendo Switch and other platforms. The first MHStories game got a remaster for modern platforms, bringing the duology to everybody, which leads us to today: Monster Hunter Stories 3. A third entry in Capcom’s titular spin-off series was shown off plenty with even a really generous demo, leaving me very excited to get my hands on the full release. I’ll keep to a lot of the changes this game makes as well as new mechanics while keeping relatively spoiler free, as I did my best to avoid playing the demo to go in fully blind, so I’ll avoid talking about story beats as a result.

As is tradition, Monster Hunter Stories 3 retains the cell-shaded visual style but this time a bit more realistically proportioned. The first game was kept fairly flat in style due to the 3DS limitations whereas MHS2 got a bit more bombastic with world design and characters thanks to being on more powerful platforms. Stories 3 is seemingly the culmination of roughly a decade of work and further enhancing the visual design of the franchise. The character models are now full-size humans instead of the more chibi-like approach to previous entries, the environments are beautifully detailed and pretty large, and monsters look like their more traditional Monster Hunter appearances with a cell shading modification to them. This also marks a huge step for Capcom, as Stories 3 marks the first time they’ve delved so heavily into a stylized art style using the power of the RE Engine. Ignoring the travesty that was Monster Hunter Wilds’ PC optimization with each update, the RE Engine is genuinely incredible for offering stellar visuals and exceptional performance. This is obvious with the recent Resident Evil Requiem release too. Stories 3 takes all of that work and wraps it up in a really pretty stylized package.

The story is honestly pretty solid. I’ve heard some mixed opinions on Stories 1 and 2, but I thought they were alright for what they were. Monster Hunter Stories 3 pits two opposing kingdoms against one another in a pseudo civil war conflict, each with their own Rathalos. You, as the crown prince or princess of Azuria, are tasked with discovering past transgressions kept from you by your family after discovering your mother had abandoned the kingdom to pursue something. Combining the general main story with the nice addition of companion quests going over your companions’ backstories, you really do get a sense of immersion deeper than ever before. Each member of your party fulfills a specific niche in the party and the more you’re willing to learn about them, the more rewards and recipes you’ll acquire throughout your journey. You’ve got a character to apply statuses to monsters, a character whose designated role is tanking damage and using bombs, another for straight damage, etc. Learning about each character’s backstory and how they came to be who they are is genuinely interesting, which isn’t always easy, so massive kudos to Capcom for this.

Touching on character archetypes sorta leads into the gameplay and teambuilding parts of the game. Like I said, each party member fulfills a niche. Healer, tank, another DPS, a support character, and more. It requires a lot of understanding what you’re up against and making sure you’ve picked the right party member for the job. Surprise surprise, bringing a fire damage party member into a fight against something like Anjanath doesn’t bring the best results. This is also a thing to pay attention to for your own loadout. You’ve got three weapon slots, so make sure you bring what you need for encounters. Generally, you’ll be rocking a slashing weapon, piercing weapon, and a blunt weapon. You’ve the weapons you’re accustomed to from Stories 2 but this time there’s a longsword instead of the sword and shield.

Covering all your bases is important in Stories 3 for sure. You can scrape by with non optimal weapons, but you’ll want to diversify your loadout to have the best results, especially when it comes to part breaks. Each part of a monster takes more damage from a respective damage type, so if you’re trying to maximize your damage output you’ll need to focus on all three damage types. Additionally, something that’s easily missable is how you can modify weapon movesets. You’ll be finding and buying decorations to slot into gear which add additional moves not native to said weapon. If you wind up with duplicates, it’ll auto-upgrade that deco into a higher tier version of itself in the case of something like elemental resistances.

Paying attention to the different color monster head icons above monsters will help you judge whether you’re gonna get turned into a fine paste or stand a chance in random encounters, so make sure you’re not accidentally challenging something 30 levels above you unless that’s your type of thing. Yellow means it’s probably fine, none means it’s a cake walk, and red means “Run in the opposite direction or die”. Basically, prep accordingly for what might be major fights and enjoy the monster collection. The rock-paper-scissors system of Speed-Power-Technical also returns, rewarding attentive players for learning monster attack patterns. This is largely key to succeeding in battles you may not otherwise be prepared for, as winning a Head-to-Head no longer inflicts partial damage to the player.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is everything I’d hoped for in a follow-up to the second game, so seeing it realized so well is nothing short of fantastic. With excellent characters, a decent story, an enjoyable gameplay loop with as much grinding as you want there to be, and a really gorgeous appearance and world, it’s a genuine must play for fans of turn-based RPGs. In a year of Capcom releasing some of the most exciting titles, Monster Hunter yet again stands out with Stories 3. I’d say it’s a treat to play through, but it’s more like a full course meal you can’t get enough of. Whether you’re a fan of Monster Hunter or RPGs, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not playing.

Note: Capcom provided us with a Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection PC code for review purposes.

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