Here’s what the critics had to say
- by Liam Doolan
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is almost here, and the reviews have now officially gone live.
If you haven’t already seen our own review here on Nintendo Life, we’ve given this latest entry in the series eight out of ten stars. While there are some performance wobbles, it’s likely to keep hunters busy for a long time on the Switch 2:
“A well-told story, an intriguing world and some excellent mechanics ultimately overshadow the usual (for this series) balancing issues and performance wobbles. If you want to collect ‘em all within a charming Monster Hunter setting, this game will keep you busy for a long time.”
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So, what did other sites have to say about the third title and the Switch 2 version? Here’s the round up:
Nintenduo – 87/100 “Monster Hunter Stories 3 is the definitive leap forward for the subseries: a more mature story, memorable characters, and a beautiful world that place it among the best JRPGs on Nintendo Switch 2. Its rock paper scissors combat system still holds back gameplay with a lot of potential, but its ambition, art direction, and storytelling make it an essential experience.”
Vooks – 4.5/5 “Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection sets a high bar for future adventure RPGs, offering a beautiful, stylised design, incredible storytelling, and combat that is approachable and satisfying without sacrificing tactical depth and complexity. It’s a fantastic evolution of the Stories formula, delivering a richer narrative, deeper world interaction, and more reasons to explore the Monster Hunter universe from a different perspective.”
Pocket Tactics – 8/10 “Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the most engaging game in the series so far, with great battles, a riveting narrative, and a fantastic new feature in the form of habitat restoration. Handheld performance on Nintendo Switch 2 has its iffy moments, and some of the side missions can muddy the pacing as you wait for the main plot to progress, but outside of that, this is an absolute beast of a game just waiting for you to take it on.”
Nintendo World Report – 6.5/10 “Monster Hunter Stories 3 tries to be an epic RPG, but it’s bogged down by so many systems and ideas that it starts to take on water as you progress deeper into it. The story wound up being a highlight, but even the streamlining of monster dens couldn’t solve the heavy-handedness of monster collection and enhancement.”
Siliconera – 8/10 “Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection feels like it prioritizes story, characters, and combat in a way that makes the game feel even more like a JRPG. It’s another strong entry in a series of great Monster Hunter spin-offs for certain.”
If you want to try out this game before it arrives, there’s also a demo you can download right now for the Switch 2 from the eShop. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launches on 13th March 2026. Will you be getting it? Let us know in the comments.
Liam is a news writer and reviewer on Nintendo Life. He’s been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters.
