Gotta hatch ‘em all
As someone who enjoyed Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 I had really high hopes for the third entry. As good as the prior games were they both felt very ‘kiddy’ in nature for different reasons, I am happy to confirm that the third entry is much more mature in story and gameplay. Monster Hunter Stories 3 feels like the leap the turn-based games needed to attract a larger audience.
MHS3 has borrowed from some of the best stories, bits of Game of Thrones weave its way into a grand tale about warring kingdoms, betrayals and lots of plot twists and turns. There are times when the story drags a but one of the major highlights for me was the fact that unlike previous games, players won’t have to wait long to ‘get to the good stuff’. Players will begin MHS3 with a grown Rathalos with the ability to glide around the open-world. This is amazing, because players can start engaging in creature battles almost from the very start. Oh, and if this happens to be your first Monster Hunter Story game, fret not as this is a standalone experience.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99
In MHS3 the gameplay loop is a straightforward and simple one; players will create their character who is a young ruler and also a ranger in the kingdom. As such they are able to explore new areas, hatch eggs, and more. There is a ton to do this time around in the game, in addition to the many areas that players can explore there is also side missions this time around. These will allow players to spend time with the different characters, of which there is no shortage of fun choices. As players explore the map they will come across various types and rarities of Monster Dens. These dens are where players will find eggs that can be taken back and hatched into a new Monstie for the team.
The large amount of side activities in MHS3 was a Godsend and really helped keep me from getting bored with the game. Players will be able to explore zones and work on habitats in each of them. You see, in MHS3 players can mutate their monsties, not only will this change their looks but also their stats and abilities. Usually, to generate these mutations players will have to release certain monsties into a specific ecosystem. All of these systems will naturally feed into building your ultimate monstie team and it helped make each activity feel meaningful and not just like checking boxes off a list.
Combat in Monster Hunter Stories 3 works with the tried-and-true rock-paper-scissor system. Just like in the other Hunter games, players will need to stagger and break off parts of monsters in order to craft and upgrade new weapons and armor. There are a lot of weapons to choose from, but they boil down three types blunt, ranged and bladed. There is a lot more depth to the combat system here than players will find in other games in the genre like Pokémon but thankfully the developers will ease you in.
Monster Hunter Stories 3 is an amazing upgrade for the series. Between improvements to the narrative and all the new mechanics this finally feels like a series that has come into its own. While it is not going to appeal to everyone, for fans of the monster taming genre; Monster Hunter Stories 3 has the chops to stand with the big dogs and shouldn’t be missed.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
