At Tokyo Game Show 2025, I played Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection for about 30–40 minutes on a PS5 Pro. The demo highlighted new visuals, exploration upgrades, and combat changes that push the series forward.

The first thing I noticed was the size and detail of the monsties. Riding Rathalos or Tobi-Kadachi felt grander than in past titles. You can also swap between monsties on the fly—whether gliding, walking, or attacking—without opening menus. My demo team included Rathalos, Tobi-Kadachi, and Yian-Kutku as a tech-focused ally.

Core Gameplay

Combat still uses the classic rock-paper-scissors system: Power beats Tech, Tech beats Speed, and Speed beats Power. Each monstie leans toward one type, and winning clashes builds kinship energy. That energy fuels riding and ultimate skills.

The big change comes with a new stamina bar for Rangers. Earlier games forced both rider abilities and monstie skills to share the kinship gauge. Now stamina powers rider attacks, while kinship builds separately. The system feels smoother and encourages using more abilities without slowing kinship growth.

Capcom also added Synchro Rush. After toppling a monster, you can trigger this move for heavy damage and fast kinship gain. The ability rewards good timing and helps create big momentum swings in battle.

Exploration

Exploration feels more active than before. Monsties now have unique overworld skills you can use before fights. Rathalos shoots fireballs with R2 or strikes with O. Tobi-Kadachi relies on melee. These abilities replace the old system where you only needed to hit monsters from behind. To gain an advantage now, you must land a hit without being noticed.

This makes choosing your lead monstie more strategic. Their skills matter both in the field and at the start of combat.

First Impression

My short session with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection left me impressed. Larger monstie models add scale, while the stamina bar makes battles flow better. Synchro Rush creates exciting payoffs when you topple enemies.

I couldn’t test the long sword in this demo, which was disappointing, but the changes I saw already make this entry feel ambitious. If the full release keeps this level of polish, Twisted Reflection could become one of Capcom’s strongest RPGs yet.