Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin first launched on the Nintendo Switch and PC on July 9, 2021, garnering an even better reception than its predecessor and all but serving as a replacement for the first game — at least in the eyes of many of its fans. In a lot of ways, Monster Hunter Stories 2 is the "older, more sophisticated sibling" of its predecessor, boasting improved visuals and environments, a much more serious story, and increased difficulty. Now, the acclaimed sequel is releasing once again alongside a remastered version of the first game and headed straight for the PS4 console.

Game ZXC had the pleasure of giving the PS4 version of Monster Hunter Stories 2 a test drive in a hands-on preview, but it's worth noting we played it on the PS5. Fans who played the original version probably won't get anything different here, based on our time with the game, but it is still a noticeable upgrade all the same.

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The Story of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

Much of Monster Hunter Stories 2's story is very similar to the first game's. Once again, players are in control of a Rider, one who specializes in finding monster eggs, hatching them, and partnering with the "Monsties" that emerge from the eggs in exploration and combat. In the first Monster Hunter Stories, players were tasked with uncovering the mystery behind the Black Blight, a sickness that was driving monsters mad and making them extremely violent. In Monster Hunter Stories 2, players begin by looking into the mass disappearance of Rathalos, only to eventually encounter "rage-rayed" monsters who attack and destroy everything they see without prejudice. This isn't a particularly new trope for Monster Hunter, but it works just fine.

Perhaps even more so than the first game, Monster Hunter Stories 2's story is its priority. In fact, the story is much more serious this time around, with fewer "cartoony" characters who act far less silly than they did in the first Monster Hunter Stories. It's easy to get lost in Monster Hunter Stories 2's story quests, simply because advancing the narrative is the best way to get the most out of the game. Furthermore, it's fairly easy to make good progress in Monster Hunter Stories 2 without ever touching its side content.

Monster Hunter Stories 2's Monster-Catching Gameplay

Monster Hunter Stories 2's gameplay is almost identical to the first game, primarily centering around players exploring its open areas in search of Monster Dens where they can find eggs. This continues Monster Hunter Stories' Pokemon-like gameplay that the first game started; only players will be able to find and hatch even more Monsties this time. Also, in Monster Hunter Stories 2, it's much easier to determine whether an egg is rare or not, as a golden glow surrounds it when attempting to loot a nest.

There are also Everdens to be found around the world, which are so named on account of being permanent locations as opposed to random spawns like normal Monster Dens. Inside Everdens, players can find Bottle Caps that can be traded for special gear and items. These special dens are "one-and-done" locations, so once players clear them out, they serve no purpose anymore. Of course, this is all in addition to the main story, which is arguably the game's main appeal.

Side quests return in Monster Hunter Stories 2, though not necessarily as an evolution of the formula from the first game. They are still simple fetch-and-kill quests, but this is pretty typical of the Monster Hunter franchise. If anything, they serve as a great excuse for exploring more of the game's world, as the story quests generally keep things fairly linear. As before in the first game, players can unlock new ways to traverse Monster Hunter Stories 2's landscapes by acquiring Monsties with the traversal skills necessary to do so. This helps encourage players off the beaten path every once in a while to explore Monster Dens, which are much more environmentally varied than they were in the first game.

One way Monster Hunter Stories 2 feels a bit more like traditional Monster Hunter is in its occasional use of Scoutflies to track monsters. Players can also now select whether they want to explore during the day or at night, much like they can in most mainline Monster Hunter games. As such, Monster Hunter Stories is more likely to appeal to fans of Monster Hunter than the first game will.

The Field Team Leader, Commander, and Huntsman in the first meeting from Monster Hunter World
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Monster Hunter Stories 2's Turn-Based Combat

Not much has changed combat-wise in Monster Hunter Stories 2 since the first game, though fights prove to be a bit more predictable and less reliant on chance this time. The three basic attack types — Power, Speed, and Technical — are still there, with each one being strong and weak against another. Monster Hunter Stories 2 also still has turn-based combat, and if players can guess which type of attack their opponent will be using, they can potentially square off with them in a Head-to-Head. Winning a Head-to-Head requires either the player or their Monstie to use an attack that is strong against their opponent's attack type, and this will allow them to deal more damage and take less damage.

Monsters are far more predictable in Monster Hunter Stories 2 than they were in the first game, as each monster now uses the same attack types in each of their "phases." This makes for an experience more akin to traditional Monster Hunter, since its combat largely revolves around familiarizing oneself with each monster's attack patterns. Still, Monster Hunter Stories 2's combat feels a bit more demanding than the first game's, as if it longs to be taken more seriously.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 still uses the first game's Kinship system as well, which sees a player's Kinship Charge building over time as they perform actions in conjunction with their Monstie. Once the player's Kinship Charge is full, they can mount their Monstie in combat, which not only refills both the player's and the Monstie's health but also allows for powerful Kinship attacks. Additionally, players can often count on Battle Buddies to join them in battle, who consist of various characters they will meet throughout the story. Using a Kinship attack at the same time as a Battle Buddy will result in a powerful double Kinship attack, so timing is everything here.

Monster Hunter Stories 2's Gear and Monstie Progression

Once again, players can upgrade their gear in Monster Hunter Stories 2, though it is also, once again, hugely simplified in comparison to traditional Monster Hunter games. Whereas players could do Forge Quests in Monster Hunter Stories to forge new gear, they can simply forge new gear right from the Smithy in Monster Hunter Stories 2, so long as they have the materials. The Forge Quests from the first game might have been a more accessible way for players to forge gear, since it held their hand a bit more, but this works just fine.

The Rite of Channeling is also back in Monster Hunter Stories 2, which allows players to transfer genes from one Monstie to another and awaken a new power in the Monstie who receives those genes. Of course, whatever Monstie is used to channel new genes to another will disappear, but it can all be worth the loss in the end. The Rite of Channeling is one of the primary motivators behind finding more Monsties, so it also acts as one of the game's main forms of progression.

Our time with Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin took us to around the halfway point in its story, and it seems it allowed us to cover most of the game's ground. It's doubtful there is much more that is new beyond where our preview ended, but it will be interesting to see how the rest of the game plays out. At the very least, this gave a pretty good idea of what Monster Hunter Stories 2 is, and it seems like it could be an adequate improvement visually, while presenting polished gameplay mechanics too.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin releases on PS4 on June 14, 2024.