Monster Hunter has gone ballistic with Tokyo Game Show 2025 announcements.
More info has been revealed for Monster Hunter Wilds' upcoming crossover with Final Fantasy XIV, an extended version of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection's Nintendo Direct September 2025 trailer was shown, and we now know the first two entries in the Monster Hunter Stories franchise are finally coming to Xbox consoles!
However, the announcements aren't over yet as GameSpot has uploaded an exclusive 18-minute gameplay preview for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection.
This video gives us our first detailed look at this upcoming Xbox JRPG's turn-based combat and exploration, which is a nice change since the trailers have mostly consisted of cinematics with brief snippets of gameplay.
Does it retain the gameplay formula of its predecessors? Let's dive into this gameplay preview to find out.
The preview begins with our protagonist, the crowned prince (or princess, as you can decide their appearance and gender during character creation) of Azuria, exploring the woods with their companions, Simon and Thea.
Right off the bat, we can see Twisted Reflection will retain the same exploration gameplay as past Monster Hunter Stories titles, but on a much bigger scale.
The level design of the dungeons and open-world regions that connect them are gigantic compared to Monster Hunter Stories 1 and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin's smaller maps.
Plus, the new regions are littered with all kinds of platforming segments that will require the help of your Monsties (monsters that can be tamed by the player so they become party members) to traverse and discover hidden pathways that contain secret items and collectibles like Poogies.
Two things I noticed that are different from previous games are that you can now switch which Monsties you're riding without having to dismount, and that Rathalos, the series mascot, is now your starting Monstie.
These very welcome changes I appreciate because they save time having to change Monsties on the fly while exploring, and you can pull some sweet platforming tricks by switching Monsties in mid-air.
Also, I am so glad you don't have to wait until near the end of the game anymore before you get your hands on a Rathalos, because one of the greatest joys of this series is soaring through the sky using a Monstie's Fly ability, taking in the glorious, colorful environments.
However, gameplay in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection isn't just a nature hike, as you routinely come into contact with hostile monsters that want to eat you.
We quickly find this out with battles that show off the game's turn-based combat, which is confirmed to follow the structure of previous titles.
Turn-based battles in Twisted Reflection have the player character, their Monstie, and secondary guest allies take turns whacking enemies with deadly weapons and abilities.
However, battles in Monster Hunter Stories are somewhat unique compared to other JRPGs, as they have a Rock-Paper-Scissors element to them.
Each character can perform Power, Technique, or Speed-type moves in battles. When a character attacks their chosen target and the defender is planning to fight back against the attacker (as presented by a glowing bar between them), they can engage in a Head-to-Head.
If a character's attack type beats out the other's (Power > Technique, Technique > Speed, Speed > Power), they win and inflict extra damage to their enemy, but if they both use the same attack type, it's a draw and they deal neutral damage to each other.
If a party member and their Monstie both use an attack type that beats out their opponent's, they cancel the enemy's attacks and perform a Double-team, dealing twice as much damage as their regular attacks.
After getting into fights with smaller monsters and finding the frozen remains of a Khezu, killed by a mysterious phenomenon called Crystal Encroachment, the protagonist gets into a fight with a bat-like monster called Paolumu.
During this battle, we get an introduction to the concept of switching weapons in battle to exploit an enemy's weakness (elemental and weapon types). It also shows how breaking an enemy's parts or depleting their Wyvernsoul Gauge through regular damage can knock an enemy out of their transformed states to save your team from devastating attacks.
We also get a glimpse of one of Twisted Reflection's new gameplay mechanics, the Synchro Rush. When you topple a monster through various means, a Quick-Time-Event will pop up on-screen that, when pressed, will enable your entire party to dogpile on the helpless enemy with a barrage of lethal attacks.
It's a cool mechanic and a fun incentive for players to find out optimal ways to knock an enemy down for big damage cash-outs.
The player then proceeds to finish off the Paolumu by mounting their Monstie after they fill their Kinship gauge (by dealing damage or winning Head-to-Heads) and unleashing a cinematic super move called a Kinship Skill.
At one point in the trailer, an unexpected challenger appears in the form of Chatacabra from Monster Hunter Wilds, but there's something strange going on with it. It's infected by Crystal Encroachment, resulting in the beast becoming insane and widely attacking everything in sight.
This is where we get possibly the biggest new gameplay addition of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection – Feral Monsters.
Feral Monsters are dangerous variants of regular monsters that have gained increased strength and health, and new Feral Attacks to use in battle that their normal counterparts don't have. For instance, the Feral Chatacabra's Feral Attack has it shoot Great Thunderbugs from the crystals on its body to shock and paralyse party members.
To stop a Feral monster's Feral Attacks, you will need to destroy their crystallized body parts, but they'll automatically counterattack if you try, so you will need to find a safe opening to attack them.
Fortunately for our heroes, that opportunity comes when the player depletes the Feral Chatacabra's Wyvernsoul Gauge, which staggers it and triggers its transformed state.
In this state, the enemy monster won't counterattack if you go after its crystallized body parts, but you will be in danger of suffering the monster's increased attack power while it's in its transformed state.
This creates an interesting strategic dilemma where you have to decide which body part to go after.
You could attack a Feral Monster's crystal body parts, so you won't have to worry about Feral Attacks later on in the fight. Alternatively, you could try to knock it out of its transformed state immediately because you fear your party won't survive the enemy's heightened attack power for long.
This is only the beginning of Monster Hunter Stories 3, and I can't wait to learn more
Thankfully, our heroes manage to overcome this monster with careful, strategic strikes that destroyed the crystal body parts before finishing it off with Rathalos' signature Kinship Skill, the Sky-High Dive, concluding the gameplay preview.
As a fan of Monster Hunter Stories, I'm loving what I'm seeing so far of this game. It's like the series is finally getting the chance to evolve now that it's no longer constrained to just mobile game platforms and being developed for next-gen, home consoles in mind.
The stylised anime graphics look gorgeous while retaining some of the detailed fidelity of mainline titles. Meanwhile, the combat looks more fun and involved than ever, with the concept of Feral Monsters sounding enjoyable and challenging.
I can't wait to see what new monster-hunting adventures await us and what new Monsties we can tame when Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launches on March 13, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam.
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