Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin takes the world of the Monster Hunter series and turns it inside out: here the player isn't a hunter, but a Rider, someone who doesn't fight monsters but raises them from eggs and rides them. The story follows the descendant of a legendary Rider who takes in a mysterious egg and, together with a girl named Ena, faces a prophecy of ruin tied to Rathalos dragons. The narrative is noticeably friendlier and more colorful than in the main series, has a clear adventurous throughline, and suits younger players well without feeling childish.

Battles are turn-based and rest on a simple yet surprisingly deep foundation: three attack types — power, technical, and speed — beat each other like rock, paper, and scissors, and the player has to guess what type the monster will choose that round. Guessing correctly triggers an advantage and greater damage. On top of that comes the management of your own monsters, which inherit genes determining elemental affinity and abilities, plus an intricate breeding system inside the so-called Ritual Chamber. Outside of combat, players explore sprawling areas, search for nests full of eggs, and complete hunting quests, with monsters also serving as a means of movement — some swim, others climb walls or fly.

On Switch the game runs reasonably well, even though it isn't a technical showcase for the platform; resolution is lower and loading times occasionally longer, but gameplay doesn't suffer for it, and the monsters are modeled with great care and instantly recognizable. The music picks up the main series' celebratory orchestral tone, and the battle themes are memorable. Reception was good, and the game earned a reputation as a surprisingly substantial title that offers an extensive postgame after completion. Today it's an excellent bridge between the world of Monster Hunter and classic Japanese creature-collecting RPGs. Anyone who's always wanted to saddle up a dragon but was put off by the main series' difficulty will find exactly what they're looking for here — and it'll keep them busy for dozens of hours.