Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Review

The Monster Hunter Stories franchise is a palette cleanser. A fun little sorbet to prepare my mouth for the flavour of blood and failure as I hit the next main Monster Hunter game head on. It nails that role as a brief, refreshing distraction from the arsehole-clenching core-loop of the series proper, where you deftly dodge jaws bristling with teeth the size of squeezy sauce bottles in the quest to make an exciting new hat. I never in my life would think I’d find myself conflicted over which formula I prefer – the nail-biting action of felling massive beasts with naught but a sword to your name, or the Saturday-morning cartoon goofiness of riding your very own godzilla into battle to defeat baddies with the power of friendship.

But Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection has prompted that deeply cursed consideration. So now I must do my own bit of reflection to truly answer: what kind of Monster Hunter fan am I?

Just a gal “borrowing” an egg with her two T-Rex accomplices

Twisted Reflection kicks off its story in the kingdom of Azuria, a downright feudal spot within the Monster Hunter mythos – resplendent with castles, kings and a problematic neighbour. You see, the land of Vermeil is right over Azuria’s picket fence and things are not so gravy between the two. Both these lands are under threat from a mysterious phenomenon that is turning stuff to crystal, be it landscape or creature. For Azuria this means that the local ecosystem is taking a hit as the eponymous monsters are driven to near extinction – or worse, feral – while Vermeil has long hit a crisis state of resources and comes to ask Azuria for aid, or else.

The or else comes a great deal quicker than anyone would like, and a border skirmish leads to the Azurian King’s daughter being dragged into the conflict proper. This is you, the princess (or prince) that has dedicated their life to monster research being forced to fight in your father’s war – because the Rathalos you ride is a rare beast within the landscape and possesses enormous power. It’s a bittersweet friend too, because the birth of this beast also led to your mother’s disappearance all those years ago, when she vanished from the kingdom with the twin of that same wyvern.

Throw in a longstanding prophecy of disaster, a cast of fun research mates and a little medieval politicking and you have a wonderfully rich story to plumb the depths of, all from the comfort of your scaly winged mate. Why not abandon the burgeoning war and figure out what happened to your mum, while proving once and for all that love and friendship are the true answer to all of life’s problems?

…Unless it’s a monster angry at you for robbing its nest. Then RUNNING is the key.

Sometimes Magnamalo needs a firm bonk to the chin

It is unusual for a Stories game to really grip me with its narrative, usually the fun uncle of the Monster Hunter franchise is happy to rest on a looming threat or macguffin that doesn’t really need much depth to understand – but here, the general tone of the piece does a ton to make me want to take it a bit more seriously. Shakespeare it ain’t, but it’s a meaty enough premise that the act of chewing it actually feels rewarding and enjoyable. It’s a relief that your colleagues are far more than the usual cardboard cut-out supporting actors, with motivations and development that suit the situation at hand.

It helps that the game has had such a dedicated level of effort put into the presentation, wringing an impressive level of stylised detail out of the RE Engine. I have never questioned the power of Capcom’s proprietary polygon slinger, but this is the first time I have really seen it drawing a cartoonish-yet-painterly styled world. Characters and creatures are animated with a stunning level of presentation, be it cutscene, open world or blisteringly dynamic battle moves. The battle animations are a thing of art, capturing each of Monster Hunter’s bestial cast doing their signature move with a jaw-dropping level of care and attention. If you aren’t impressed by (or worse, choose to SKIP) a twin kin-ship attack, you may be dead inside. It actually left me wondering if my favourite beasties actually look better without a turbo-high level of fidelity, enjoying how they were displayed in a game world without so much visual noise.

Rathalos is already an aura farming machine, so adding armour just makes it unfair

An appreciated change is how Twisted Reflection significantly improves the combat systems found in Monster Hunter Stories. Immediately, the most impactful combat addition is the Wyvernsoul Gauge, a cleverly sophisticated evolution of the traditional stun mechanic. Every large monster possesses this gauge, which essentially tracks its overall fighting spirit – draining it via attacks, with some especially designed to help level it that much quicker. Once fully depleted, the monster is staggered and fatigued, leaving its Wyvernsoul Bar proper vulnerable to attack.

If you then deplete this Wyvernsoul Bar, the monster will hit the deck – toppled, but not yet slain. You can then capitalise with a group-wide pile on attack known as a Synchro Rush, where your entire crew of dudes and creatures just lay the boot into the hapless brute for a huge deluge of damage. On paper, it is such a simple system, posing the choice between trying to burn down the health of a monster versus trying to bring it to the ground at an opportune moment – and it is exactly what the Rock/Paper/Scissors SLASH auto-battler combat system needed to inject a little more consideration.

It plays in beautifully to the time-honoured tradition of breaking monster parts during a battle. The aforementioned feral creatures bring all sorts of terrible crystal-powered bullshit to bear, so you can leverage the wide breadth of trying to smash out their Wyvernsoul Bar ALONGSIDE cracking their skull like a boiled egg to try and shut off whatever nastiness they are cooking up. Player choice is king, and I loved every second – though I will continue to hear the player character’s weapon-ready ‘HUP’ voice line in my dreams.

Collectibles in games can be a pain in the arse – easy solution, making them cute pigs

Perhaps the greatest achievement within Twisted Reflection however comes in a side system, known as Habitat Restoration. This little side-venture invites you to actually control the ecosystem of each area by introducing species, released from the very eggs that you hatch at camp. By pursuing this path, you can actually influence the creatures you encounter in any zone – eventually allowing you to then harvest their eggs and breed more powerful friends to ride. This can lead to mutants appearing that can lay eggs for you, offering new mount friends with incredible strength, unique gene abilities and even special element combinations you wouldn’t see in a regular monster.

For those that aren’t monster-minded, imagine you could introduce specific Pokémon to a route, allowing them to intermingle and create super powerful children that you can then enslave befriend and do battle with. At this juncture you can also leverage the game’s closest analogue to a gear system for your animal buddies, where you can actually swap the equipped genes of your different monster master to craft a genetically incredible super beast. Hatch a guy with a super cool fireball attack? Pinch it and give it to your party-standard Rathalos. Equip three themed genes in a row? Bingo baby, it’s a candy-crush style match-three bonus.

The most magnificent part of this rich system is how it is deeply respectful of your time. Being an RPG, my initial reaction to the Habitat Restoration screen was trepidation – I was firmly ready to discover it was a massive side-grind. Imagine my surprise a short play session had me S-Ranking the local Rathian population, giving rise to a unique Dreadqueen Rathian mutation that I could immediately hatch into a terrifying 7-star ranked monster marvel. It inspired me to approach every new habitat with a similar level of discovery, because the investment felt so damn worthwhile.

An eggs-cellent haul

This is supported brilliantly by a game world that is vast enough, but never egregious. A biome is sectioned off into individual parts you can play mad eco-god over, with these areas oft having a variety of explorable elements that yearn for you to poke your nose into them. It never grows old to see a random nook from a distance, then gliding your way to it to discover that an entirely new monster was lurking inside. The game also has a very signposted method of narrative delivery, meaning you are always afforded the luxury of digging around at your leisure.

Riding your monster pals allows you all the locomotive efforts you’d ever hope for, be it sprinting, swimming, gliding or even scampering up a rockface. This does prompt a bit of choice on your part, because you will only forget a swimming monstie the one time. Initially I did wonder if it was a bit rail-roady to force people to keep a ready answer to the various methods of travel, but over the journey I never felt like I was forced to forsake any particular egg-friend. A minor level of consternation does need to be leveraged at how flying is presented in the game, if only for the fact that it is entirely gliding. For a creature like Tobi-Kadachi, which basically glides like a squirrel, sure. But Rathalos? King of the skies? Why can’t I flap my wings to ascend Capcom!?

It is quick to forgive however, given the extensive roster of monsters within the game. In my preview, I made mention of how some newer lads were quick to appear within the game – but what I did not expect was some of the faces that start to turn up as early as the second chapter. I have always felt that ‘title’ monsters have a very specific level of respect within games, and you might be lucky to catch a glimpse of one here and there. Twisted Reflection is happy to flaunt this a little, almost like a treat for fans, sprinkling in some absolute legends at key moments. Top shelf stuff, zero notes.

I just realised this dude made his Pukei-Pukei a matching pair of goggles

The one thing within the game that left me baffled however, was the underutilisation of the game’s incredible internal help systems. The game is very tutorial-heavy, on account of the unique systems at play, and I was pleased to see I could recall information seemingly at will when my aging brain struggled to remember what I needed to do to get a desired battle interaction. This rich tapestry of user-driven help falls completely flat however when you are trying to call up details relating to a current objective however, where you will either get vague information – or infuriatingly, in some side missions – not a damn thing. One of my earliest moments of feeling stuck was when I needed to retrieve ingredients for the envoy of Vermeil, as she wishes to cook me a dish from her homeland. I had objectives on the map, but it turned out that I needed unique interactions to get the damn things. Within my quest log, nary a hint could be found. I could however backtrack all the way to her chilling out at the castle, where she’d casually remind me of what I needed but not how I’d get it. She would only tell me that little nugget when we were in a battle together. Sure. Whatever. It was a dampener on a simple, silly mission (with a great payoff) for no reason I can ascertain.

Unless there is some button I am missing that equates to “you are supposed to be doing this, idiot.”

Final Thoughts

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection represents a significant evolution for the series, surpassing its predecessors in both scope and execution. The narrative is grander and more immersive, complemented by high-fidelity visuals and a diverse cast of characters that each come with compelling backstories. From its meticulously detailed environments to the introduction of formidable new monsters, the game offers a heightened sense of adventure and higher stakes when you get down to some ol’ fashioned monster biffo. As the definitive entry in the trilogy, Twisted Reflection delivers a polished and memorable experience that will absolutely stand as a high point for the franchise. I think I absolutely am a Monster Hunter Stories guy now.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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