When we were invited to Capcom to check out their Tokyo Game Show 2025 lineup, we were able to be one of the first people to get our hands on a demo for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and it already feels like a full and polished experience.
When the game was unveiled to kickoff the latest Nintendo Switch Partner Direct, its art style definitely turned heads, giving people the idea that it was something related to Zelda or Fire Emblem. Capcom has had their hands on several Zelda games, so it wasn’t impossible. Of course, the Monster Hunter Stories spinoff isn’t the most popular thing to come out of Capcom, but it’s one that’s steadily grown both critically and with its fans.
The game was available to play on both the Switch 2 and PlayStation 5, and they were both the same demo. To stay consistent with its unveiling, we elected to play the Switch 2 version. It’s also worth noting that while I do dabble in Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter Stories is something I’m far less familiar with, though I’ve played them all. I’ve just never seen any of them through to the end.
Rudy doesn’t look happy.
From the 20-30 minutes we spent on the demo, we don’t have much to report on story. The demo was pretty much designed to give players a feel for both the exploration component and the turn-based battles. It’s worth nothing that every cutscene and conversation was fully voiced, and as with most anime-inspired productions in 2025, it was all quite solid.
With some cutscenes sprinkled here and there, we explored a well-lit pastuer. Traversal is actually very much like that of the other Monster Hunter games where you can walk and run by foot or mounted on a “monstie.” For the record, I’m completely assuming that a monstie is just a “good” or tamed monster. Monsties in your possession can be summoned using a variation of a weapon wheel, as each monstie has different kinds of abilities that’ll help you outside of combat. The red monster we had out first, the Yian Kut-Ku had the ability to fly or glide short distances. Another monstie in our possession, Kagachi, could also be used to climb really steep hills.
There was one instance where we ran into a pig and could’ve collected it, but I couldn’t figure out how to get to where it was standing. I used the climbing monstie, but it just didn’t work out.
Flying around on your monstie is a pretty cool way to get around.
After climbing a lookout, looking through a telescope, and gliding to the area where the pig was, it was time for a big fight. Aside from fights with smaller monsters here and there, we eventually got into a battle with a Paolumu, one of the more popular monsters in the series that looks like a rat in a cotton ball with bat wings.
If you haven’t played a Monster Hunter Stories game before, the battles are turn-based, and Monster Hunter Stories 3 tries its best to really give you that sense of Monster Hunter action with a rock-paper-scissors like system called the Synchro Rush using speed, power, and technical attacks, on top of the ability to target certain body parts. After beating the Paolumu, things got a little more tough when we went against a feral monster.
The monster in question had a bunch of suspicious crystals lining its back. Everyt ime we attacked the crystal, it became more aggressive, causing it to try to deal with its limbs instead. Eventually, we got to a point where we could hit the crystalized body without worrying about a counter attack, and it was lather, rinse, and repeat until the battle was over.
You can pretend all you want, Paolumu. You ain’t cute.
As stated earlier, this demo will be one of the mainstays at the Capcom booth during TGS 2025, so if you’re in Japan, you should definitely give it a try. The game is scheduled for a worldwide release on March 13, 2026 on the Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC.
When we were invited to Capcom to check out their Tokyo Game Show 2025 lineup, we were able to be one of the first people to get our hands on a demo for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and…
When we were invited to Capcom to check out their Tokyo Game Show 2025 lineup, we were able to be one of the first people to get our hands on a demo for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and it already feels like a full and polished experience.
When the game was unveiled to kickoff the latest Nintendo Switch Partner Direct, its art style definitely turned heads, giving people the idea that it was something related to Zelda or Fire Emblem. Capcom has had their hands on several Zelda games, so it wasn’t impossible. Of course, the Monster Hunter Stories spinoff isn’t the most popular thing to come out of Capcom, but it’s one that’s steadily grown both critically and with its fans.
The game was available to play on both the Switch 2 and PlayStation 5, and they were both the same demo. To stay consistent with its unveiling, we elected to play the Switch 2 version. It’s also worth noting that while I do dabble in Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter Stories is something I’m far less familiar with, though I’ve played them all. I’ve just never seen any of them through to the end.
Rudy doesn’t look happy.
From the 20-30 minutes we spent on the demo, we don’t have much to report on story. The demo was pretty much designed to give players a feel for both the exploration component and the turn-based battles. It’s worth nothing that every cutscene and conversation was fully voiced, and as with most anime-inspired productions in 2025, it was all quite solid.
With some cutscenes sprinkled here and there, we explored a well-lit pastuer. Traversal is actually very much like that of the other Monster Hunter games where you can walk and run by foot or mounted on a “monstie.” For the record, I’m completely assuming that a monstie is just a “good” or tamed monster. Monsties in your possession can be summoned using a variation of a weapon wheel, as each monstie has different kinds of abilities that’ll help you outside of combat. The red monster we had out first, the Yian Kut-Ku had the ability to fly or glide short distances. Another monstie in our possession, Kagachi, could also be used to climb really steep hills.
There was one instance where we ran into a pig and could’ve collected it, but I couldn’t figure out how to get to where it was standing. I used the climbing monstie, but it just didn’t work out.
Flying around on your monstie is a pretty cool way to get around.
After climbing a lookout, looking through a telescope, and gliding to the area where the pig was, it was time for a big fight. Aside from fights with smaller monsters here and there, we eventually got into a battle with a Paolumu, one of the more popular monsters in the series that looks like a rat in a cotton ball with bat wings.
If you haven’t played a Monster Hunter Stories game before, the battles are turn-based, and Monster Hunter Stories 3 tries its best to really give you that sense of Monster Hunter action with a rock-paper-scissors like system called the Synchro Rush using speed, power, and technical attacks, on top of the ability to target certain body parts. After beating the Paolumu, things got a little more tough when we went against a feral monster.
The monster in question had a bunch of suspicious crystals lining its back. Everyt ime we attacked the crystal, it became more aggressive, causing it to try to deal with its limbs instead. Eventually, we got to a point where we could hit the crystalized body without worrying about a counter attack, and it was lather, rinse, and repeat until the battle was over.
You can pretend all you want, Paolumu. You ain’t cute.
As stated earlier, this demo will be one of the mainstays at the Capcom booth during TGS 2025, so if you’re in Japan, you should definitely give it a try. The game is scheduled for a worldwide release on March 13, 2026 on the Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC.
by Danreb Victorio
