CAPCOM JUST KEEPS HITTING SO HARD

Reviewed By: Sabber & Aziz

Published On: 24 Apr 2026

Capcom has been quietly delivering massive wins over the past few years. With many successful revivals of old IPs like Mega Man, and great new installments in existing franchises like Resident Evil. As well as announced future projects like Onimusha.

Just this year alone, so far, they have had Resident Evil Requiem in February, Monster Hunter Stories 3 in March, and Pragmata in April! A three-month streak of well-made and well-received games.

Monster Hunter Stories is a spin-off JRPG
sub-series for Capcom’s own Monster Hunter franchise. Unlike the games of the main series, Monster Hunter Stories is a turn-based combat game.

So what does the Monster Hunter formula look like in this game? And how well did Capcom handle its third entry in the sub-series?

GAME INFO

GENRE

Adventure, RPG

PLATFORM

Switch 2, PS5, XBOX, PC

DEVELOPER

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

RELEASE DATE

13 March, 2026

RATINGS

STORY

COMBAT

VISUALS

PERFORMANCE

IT'S HARD TOCARE ENOUGH

Monster Hunter Stories 3’s story is okay,
for as far as we have reached in the game.
It doesn’t attempt to do something grandiose; instead it presents a narrative equal in weight
to its presentation.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a game that tries to cater to younger audiences, as well as a mature audience. So it doesn’t deal with any heavy
topics or complex plots in the story.

However, pacing could be improved when it comes to narrative. The story also doesn’t go into enough depth with side characters to be able to truly care about them.

You mainly explore their backgrounds through side quests exclusive to each character. But it feels more like information dumping than actual development or character exploration
when it happens.

TICKLES THE I CAN DO BETTER BONE

Gameplay is fairly enjoyable, and combat can be very exciting. You play in a semi-open world map, split into different loadable areas. Fast travel exists between different areas and different points within the same area. Certain monsties are able to traverse different terrain, like air, water, and cliffs.
Combat is fairly technical and strategical with
a decent level of depth to it. There’s a rock, paper, scissors-like power system, alongside elemental affinities.

Character gear plays a big part in battle outcome, and consumables can shift the tide of battle.
There is a degree of trial and error in the game.
At certain points, you need to level up or improve your gear to overcome an enemy in order to progress. Both your character stats and monstie loadout play an equally significant part strategically during battles. It was always exciting crafting new gear to try a different technical approach.

FANTASTICALLY DESIGNED FANTASTICAL WORLD

Monster Hunter Stories 3’s graphical presentation and art style are very beautiful. It is a very vibrant game in color, with anime-style cell-shaded graphics. It does a good job in balancing cutesy design with that of intimidating Monsties. Characters look unique, and armors look insane with some very extravagant over-the-top designs.

The same with weapons. Lots of attention and care has gone into the visuals of the game and gear design. UI elements are simplistic-ish but fit
the overall aesthetic well. Performance was great in our experience, where we met no technical issues at all.

A BRIDGE FOR SOME FANS

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a genuinely fun game for turn-based combat enthusiasts. While the story is just okay, based on how far we have reached
in the game, it is not terrible. You might not get enough to make you fully care about characters,
but the gameplay is fun and engaging enough to keep you returning. The world is visually vibrant, with detailed monstie and gear designs.

There are anime-style special attack cutscenes
in fights which are always impressive to watch. While I imagine this sub-series to be very
different from the main series in gameplay
and presentation at least, fans of turn-based JRPGs who like the Monster Hunter formula
will likely find their fix in Monster Hunter
Stories 3.