Product Info

Platform

Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC

Publisher

Capcom

Developer

Capcom

Series

Monster Hunter Stories

Genre

Action, Adventure, RPG

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

29.3 GB

Release Date (NA)

Mar 13, 2026

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the latest installment in the Monster Hunter Stories series. Capcom invited us for a brief hands-on experience with Monster Hunter Stories 3 to preview the upcoming role-playing game (RPG) during New York Comic Con. Here are our detailed thoughts on our initial impressions of the game.

Learning the Ropes

During the demo, Stories 3 offers a step-by-step process on how to not only ride your dragon companion but also the fundamentals of navigating and battling. In this demo, your party has a couple of dragons to switch to, each one with their own set of skills such as climbing and flying. Swapping between them is easy and quick with a press of a button on the controller. 

In battle, the process is easy to understand but comes with a challenge to master. You play a rock-paper-scissors style combat with attack styles: power, technique, and speed. Like the simple hand game, power beats technique, technique beats speed, and speed beats power.

If the enemy and your character target each other during a turn, you’ll enter a Head-to-Head combat. Choosing the correct attack type can deal extra damage to your foe. If it’s a tie, the impact is lower. If you choose the incorrect attack type, you will receive the damage.

When deciding, you won’t be fully aware of what the enemy chooses, making matches more intense, especially during boss battles. Boss battles are more engaging and take a process to take down. For example, you’ll focus on a part of the monster’s body to lower its stats and then focus on other areas. Players will want to focus on initiating “Breaking Points.” Breaking Points is a durability gauge where when it is depleted, it can stop monsters from initiating moves and obtain rare materials. These are initiated from specific monster parts such as wings and legs. This can also create other effects such as the potential to stun the foe.

There is also another gauge called the “Wyvernsoul Gauge” that staggers the enemy, this gauge is where most players will pay attention. Just like the Breaking Points gauge, deplete it to make it easy to dodge their attacks. This also allows players to utilize the “Synchro Rush,” a powerful attack that unleashes large amounts of damage. Using this also fills the “Kinship Gauge” where it builds up and players can unleash special attacks with the monster (monstie) your fighter is riding on during battle.

The amount of time to process the mechanics in battle did have some learning curve to understand, despite the mechanics being straightforward. Players should look forward to diving into the combat system whether they are familiar with the Stories series or new to it.

Towards the end of the game’s demo, players not only had to fight one boss but another right after. If you didn’t take the first battle seriously, then you were in for this new boss. The cutscene between was a fun experience to watch.

Bigger to Explore

Monster Hunter Stories 3 feels larger and visually smoother. The textures, vibrant colors, and cel-shaded graphic style all look fantastic. Playing it on the PlayStation 5’s specs really makes it stand out. During the demo, there were noticeable frame rate drops, but we can expect these to be addressed before its release in 2026. While there are some linear paths to follow, you are free to roam around before reaching your destination.

Controlling your character and riding on your companion feels great as well. Gliding may take some effort to master, but it is not frustrating or stressful to learn. Collecting bugs, stones, and other items while traveling will help you exchange for other items and earn small experience points. More details on this were not available in the demo. Players can also use their dragon friend to initiate attacks, such as using fire to grab items or launching preemptive attacks on foes.

More Monsters Await

After a brief playthrough, our hands-on experience with Monster Hunter Stories 3 left us impressed and with a few mechanics to master. There were some minor performance hiccups during the demo on the PlayStation 5, but we assume Capcom is aware of and addressing these before launch.

We are grateful to Capcom for inviting us to experience Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. The game is scheduled to release on the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 13, 2026. Fans can visit the official website for more information and purchasing options.