Monster Hunter Stories 2 Wings Of Ruin Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published June 18, 2024 · Updated July 23, 2024

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Wings Of Ruin Review, A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Become a Rider and form bonds with friendly monsters known as Monsties to fight alongside them as you take part in an epic story.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Wings Of Ruin Review Pros:

Beautiful cartoon-like graphics.
25.17GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Japanese and English voice choice.
3 save slots.
Camera settings – Invert axis and sensitivity slider, camera tracking can be set to off/slow or fast.
Other settings menu – vibration, minimap orientation, attack type rotation, part selection rotation, autosave, and show head armor.
Cutscene options – advance messages on/off, and cutscene subtitles on/off.
You can remap the buttons for use in menus/battles, fields, and messages.
Rider card settings – card sharing (automatically/always ask/don’t send), receive Rider cards (take all/friends/reject all).
Riding settings – confirm change (turn prompt on/off), Invert axis and sensitivity sliders along with camera tracking (off/slow/fast).
Character creator – male and female avatars, hairstyle and color, voice, name, eyes, makeup, and skin color.
In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
Awesome soundtrack using some very familiar tracks and sound effects.
Auto-advance text and character interactions option.
Save points are Catavan stands and your bed.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
A full 3D world with 360-degree camera control.
Handy camera center button.
Clear mission markers, the map populated points of interest, etc.
Open world with free roam.
Combat is turn-based and uses Power, Technical, and Speed attack types which works on the rock-paper-scissors theory. (power beats technical, technical beats speed, and speed beats power).
Mountie is what they call your captured/tamed monsters and in the world, you can ride them, or if not in them you can whistle them over.
During combat you put in your action and so does your opponent then you enter a head-to-head and the actions play out. A double attack is triggered when you and your monstie do damage with the same attack type and this does large amounts of damage.
Combat the game speed button.
End of a battle, a breakdown of any items found, earned money, a rank, and exp earned for you and exp earned for any used monsties.
Kinship charges are earned from battles and are used to give orders to your monstie and use skills.
Your monstie will automatically pick and use an attack unless you use kinship orders.
Each monstie has a unique skill in the open world like flying, climbing, and jumping.
Really hard to put down.
Materials and resources can be gathered in the world and it’s just a button press and can be done when riding.
Still uses all the Monster Hunter mechanics like breaking enemy parts for bonus rewards.
You can change weapons in the fight as different weapons do different attacks and styles.
Feels like a Monster Hunter game but very simplified and streamlined.
Riding your monstie in battle increase your bond. You can get knocked however if you take too much damage.
You see enemies roaming the world and hit them to trigger a battle. Behind attacks give you an advantage.
The game is all presented like a cartoon playing out.
Memorable characters.
Surprisingly easy to get into.
The prayer pot in the hub allows you to use charms to get a timed buff, the more you use it the more you level it up and allow better buffs.
Tsukinos Lunar Luck is a once-a-day event where you get a random reward.
Rider card- Fully customizable with background, unlocked titles, poses, and a welcome note.
Earn EXP level up yourself for HP and your Monsties for HP and learn new moves.
Stables- Here is where you can store up to 200 Monsties and 12 eggs.
Has a strong Pokemon vibe to it with the need to collect all Monsties.
Monsterpedia- Fills up as you discover/fight Monsties. Filling it up grants rewards.
Fast travel can be unlocked and used to save as well.
Play how you want and explore how you see fit.
Every Monstie plays and handles differently.
Addictive collecting and building up your Monsties.
Constant feeling of encouragement.
You can rename any unhatched Monsties.
Party management is where you can take a couple of Monsties with you and all party members get EXP.
The mini-map can be zoomed in and out.
New menu choices unlock as you progress through the story.
Combine materials to make new materials.
Main quests and optional sub quests, you have full control in assigning markers and objectives.
Scout flies will help you track monsters.
Trial quests are special events where you can get unique rewards for completing them, it usually comes down to how quickly you can kill an enemy.
When leaving the hub you set the departure time to afternoon or evening.
It all gets very addictive.
You get all your health back when you level up.
Monster dens are like dungeons with each offering a unique challenge and reward.
Loot chests can be found and opened for Rewards.
When in the actual nest you can keep scavenging to pick the egg you want.
There is more verticality to the locations.
Monster den- Spawns randomly and come in many forms like common or rare. Go in here to get an egg.
Clash mini-game can trigger in combat and frantically pressing the button can have you winning the clash and doing major damage.
Enraged is where the enemy monster gets mad and does different attacks and attack types.
The smell and weight of the egg (which you get told) gives an indication on how good or rare the hatch could be.
Markets let you buy and sell items.
Icons above people’s heads show if they have something new to say, something important, or they are a mission turn-in or mission giver.
Hearts act like lives and every time you hit zero health you use a heart, all 3 gone and it’s game over.
Battle buddies allow you to take an AI partner with you into the world.
With your chest at home, you can edit your appearance and the appearance of your Meowster companion.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Wings Of Ruin Review Cons:

Some may find the game too simple.
A lot of black loading screens.
Materials and enemies spawn back very quickly.
Combat takes a bit of adjustment as you learn the tells.
The Camera can go a bit crazy in tight spots.
Full of fetch quests but that’s always been the case.
Feedback on combat is not always great.
Doesn’t offer a quick combat option.
I kind of wish once you learn a monster’s weakness that it shows in new encounters.
On the 3DS version, you can have some say in the hatching and stats by tapping the egg but this game doesn’t offer anything like that.
Picking up materials sometimes requires too much precision.
The camera just never feels right.
Invisible walls around the place and they are not obvious.
Monster dens are like dungeons with each offering a unique challenge and reward.
Eggs choice should be easier.
The opening is slow as you tell you all the tutorials and mechanics which is fine for new players but returning players will find it tedious.
Your character doesn’t speak and it’s a real shame.

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