The Monster Hunter IP is most well-known through its mainline releases, most recently headlined by Monster Hunter Wilds. Over time, the graphics of these games has improved to take a more realistic approach, despite the wild and wacky monster designs and extravagant weaponry. Off to the side of the mainline releases is the Monster Hunter Stories series, which uses a different anime-inspired art style alongside monster catching/raising and a somewhat lighter approach in storytelling. But Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a JRPG that adopts a darker tale alongside its staples of connecting with monsties and is by far the boldest entry in the ‘Stories’ series. The turn-based battles have depth to a point where it can be challenging to know how best to proceed, ensuring that nothing is ever too easy or repetitive. This is not child’s play. The story is engaging and full of immersion. The monsties are varied and unique. After playing 40 hours of Monster Hunter Stories 3, I am convinced that I prefer this gameplay loop to Monster Hunter Wilds. I am convinced that this is my favourite Monster Hunter game across 20 years of engagement. Here’s why.
This entry of Stories opens with a character creator and a range of cut-scenes that quickly establish you as a Ranger and child of the king. When two Rathalos hatch from an egg found in the wild, the bad omen of twins means one must be destroyed. Flash forward to the present day, and you’re leading the Rangers atop one of the fully grown Rathalos. The story is strong, especially in the first third, and sets up the rest of the game well in a pacing that is really decided by how much of the side content you’re unpacking. I was impressed by the cut-scenes and narrative style, able to carry heavier themes of loss and abandonment alongside what is essentially a monster raising and battling game. Still, this presentation and depth exceeds that of recent mainline Pokémon titles and even the latest Digimon game to ensure story allows gameplay to feel more impactful. There is also emphasis on character relationships. No spoilers, but the character aspects of this game are one of its highlights – and this will transform over the 40+ hours of playtime.
I mentioned in the introduction that I prefer Monster Hunter Stories 3 to Monster Hunter Wilds (which I completed in 12ish hours compared to Stories in 40). This includes performance and style, which I will discuss in the next paragraph. First is combat. While Wilds is much more active and higher octane, I found a rhythm of just spamming attack buttons and circling bosses for what felt like much too long in Wilds. Here in Stories, there is so much more strategy to engage with alongside companions and monsties. Being able to hatch, level up and customise monsties while also adapting three weapons to a flexible playstyle is just one aspect of depth. Once a tough battle ensues, you’re managing weaknesses, the rock-paper-scissors juggle, the elementals, the body parts, gauge meters, syncing attacks and figuring out what half the words on screen mean. This creates challenges early, when all the options can be hard to understand. But it also makes you learn and feel more competent as time goes by. Side missions and character Stories become more integral to boost up stats and partnerships. Your average battle can take 20 seconds or fifteen minutes in a balancing act of power. The amount of intricacies won’t please everyone, perhaps including the mainline Monster Hunter enthusiasts, but coming off of Octopath Traveler 0 and liking that so much more than the simplistic Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined demonstrates that depth is key to turn-based evolution. Being able to swap out so many battle components (companion, monstie, weapons, items) keeps battles fresh rather than grindy. I always wanted to explore for enhancements to my abilities.
The art style here is much more anime and cartoon, by intention and design. The result is really a spectacle of visual delight, whether in a cut-scene or riding your monstie across the colourful vistas. The game looks and runs fantastic on the base PlayStation 5. Within the first hour, you are essentially riding a dragon over a castle in real-time. The draw distance is strong and the animations are varied, which allows for emotion to play a core role in storytelling. The sounds align well here also. While nothing screams memorable in the soundtrack, I know every time I booted up the game I was swept away by a soaring score alongside the chatter of friends and the roars of beasts. I’ve heard that the Switch 2 version does not have the same level of positivity in performance, but I can only comment on my time with the game on PlayStation 5. If given the option, definitely go with the most powerful system available to you. It’s a delight on the biggest screen possible.
The exploration is one of the areas that has layers. Your monsties can either fly, scale walls, swim or do some form of traversal as they can all be ridden at the click of a button. The game starts you off with three very competent monsties that dash across the detail-rich environments at pace. While exploring, there is also verticality employed. During your time in the fields, you’ll often be fighting monsters or raiding eggs out of their dens. Monsters aren’t caught in their full form, instead retreating into dens that you can enter and pillage (though once they’re yours, they’re full form and just at level 1). Dens are small, circular areas that have a nest in the middle. Simply walk up, grab and run. The trick here is whether you want to test fate and be greedy. You’ll only be carrying one egg, and each time you swap it in hope of a stronger form there is more chance of being attacked. You’ll find most of your monsties this way, and then you can either add them to your party of six or set them free in the environment to boost their stats on future captures.
I was initially overwhelmed by all the systems. Once you’ve got a grasp on the battle system, you’ll then start to care more about your weapons set-up. It’s essentially required to have three ‘types’ – one that can bash like a hammer or horn, one that can slash like a sword, and one that can pierce like a bow. But within each category is an ever-expanding list of options. I wanted the gun lance, but I also wanted to keep the bow on rotation as I liked its move set. The sword and shield looked impressive, yet I liked the elemental of another option. Even armour plays this way – the starting gear matched my character so well, though elementals and the cooler styles of upgraded weapons swayed me. Much of your time will be spent making decisions, finding crafting items and setting up all these options for battle success. The battles aren’t always easy, and the game works on a default difficulty. Therefore, engaging with stats and systems is a necessity, and one I grew to enjoy over my playtime. The UI can present challenges in upgrades and assessing strengths. My advice is to spend time in all menus to understand what each icon means. I caught two monsties of the same breed, though one was 2 stars and the other was 4 stars. I accidentally had the 2 star in my set-up for a good few hours, and it was then level 14 (the 4 star was level 1). I eventually swapped this out, but needed to grind to get that monstie at a useable level. Engaging with all the side stories does help in understanding the systems.
Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a deep, intricate and well-presented game that stands as my highlight in a storied series. There are so many options to tinker with while also navigating a colourful world full of secrets and danger. The battle system has its challenges, but also ensures attention is always focused on what is happening on screen rather than button mashing to victory. Alongside a compelling narrative, the exploration is rewarding and characters provide a lived-in atmosphere. This is one of the highlights of early 2026 and should be on the radar of any turn-based, monster collecting enthusiasts. If comparing to a Pokemon or Digimon, you’ll find this title is much more polished despite not having the recognisable monsters beyond series enthusiasts. It’s a sharper story, a more confident build and includes a combat system not reliant on luck. I’m eager to play more.
Pros
- Performance and art style make play a joy
- Depth is impressive across all lines
- Story has heart and emotion, much darker than previous instalments despite colourful presentation
Cons
- Battle system can be hard to grasp early
- Repetition creeps in at the mid-point
