Baby Monsters. That’s the review. Alright fine. Baby monsters are what the player can look forward to when playing Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. Through this, an attachment can be formed with a wide variety of different creatures that will aid in players quest to save the world. Unlike its predecessor Monster Hunter Rise, this game seeks to show that the monsters of the world are not only there to be hunted, but to also tame and nurture their growth. Not only does the game let players raise and tame new monsters,  it also lets players engage in turn-based combat. This plays like a rudimentary Pokémon type game where players must match type advantage in order to stop excess damage from taking them out. 

Thrown into the thick of it with raptors and the promise of a fire breathing dragon, players are able to venture through the lands on the backs of these beasts after they grow up. Swimming through the rivers or dashing across the land feels fluid and fun and leads to moments where freedom takes over. This level of traversal is mandatory as the open world allows for these monsters to really stretch their legs and showcase what makes them great.  

A player can go about collecting these monsters by invading monster dens in order to acquire eggs that they take to town ranches. With each egg, players have a certain chance to get certain types of monsters depending on the egg title leaving things up to chance in the long run. This makes the necessity to farm out dens heavy if a player seeks out certain types of monsters. In the same vein as Pokémon as well, a player can acquire monsters in different types which will be more or less effective depending on the opposing monster. 

The graphics in this game are on the cartoony side however, it leans into this by making the details of the baby monsters extremely adorable. With this level of graphics, lower end machines should be able to run it just fine with minimal lag. While the graphics themselves are fine, the level of polish that goes into monster special attacks is heavy and contains a large number of particles. Blasts of snow and ice will fill the screen and cause lower end machines to lag as a result.  

 The resulting game is a strong addition to any players PC or Nintendo Switch library as the product is strong and allows for a high level of customization and playability. While the players can customize their own character, it’s the monsters that take the main stage as progress is made toward the ultimate end goal. By all accounts, the game is a fun exploration of what a game can achieve by breaking away from the standard set by predecessors of the franchise, plus you get adorable, baby monsters to collect.