Monster Hunter Stories 3 review roundup – critics call it one of the best in the franchise

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launches March 13, 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch 2, and reviews are already in. The JRPG is sitting at an 85 average on OpenCritic, with 90% of critics recommending it. On Metacritic, it scores 86 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series, and 82 on Switch 2.

IGN and GameSpot both gave it 9/10. IGN's Casey DeFreitas called it "an incredible evolution of an already great series, featuring a finely-tuned loop of hunting, hatching, restoring, and upgrading that perfectly, joyfully feeds into itself every step of the way." GameSpot's Jake Dekker wrote that the game "easily stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best Monster Hunter games," praising how it translates the franchise's core loop into turn-based combat.

TheSixthAxis also awarded 9/10, with Dominic Leighton calling it the best entry in the spin-off series and adding: "I can't imagine a better gateway to the world of Monster Hunter than this."

Nintendo Life and DualShockers landed on 8/10. DualShockers made a pointed comparison, writing that Monster Hunter Stories 3 "is way better than Monster Hunter Wilds, and hopefully reflects a brighter future for the series." The review praised the story as the best in the franchise and highlighted improved monster companion mechanics, while flagging persistent issues with AI-controlled party members.

Nintendo Life echoed the praise for the world-building and mechanics, though noted the usual balancing issues and some performance hiccups.

The only real outlier is PC Gamer at 71/100. Reviewer Lincoln Carpenter felt that the deep build crafting and battle systems are "wasted on a war story that's barely there" – a clear minority view given how uniformly positive the rest of the coverage has been.

The game is set across two nations, Azuriya and Vermeil, both teetering on the edge of collapse. A single egg is discovered – belonging to a Rathalos, a species thought extinct – but it hatches into two, both bearing the mark of the Scissor-Horned, a symbol tied to a devastating war two centuries prior. A Rider and their Rathalos set out to uncover the truth as the natural world edges toward catastrophe.

TheGamer's Meg Pelliccio summed up the mood well: "You'll be perfecting your monstie team long after you've rolled the credits."