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Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin will let us befriend Rathalos on Switch in 2021

In a strange twist, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is an upcoming RPG in which players will befriend Rathalos instead of chopping them into weapons and armor.

TJ Denzer

September 17, 2020 8:57 AM

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The Monster Hunter universe has never been kind to the monsters. It’s in the name after all, but a new spinoff game in the series will have us aiding at least one of the game’s long time and fan-favorite beasts. In Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, players will engage in a story-driven RPG that has them befriending and aiding at least a few Rathalos.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin was revealed during the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase on September 17, 2020. Currently slated for the Nintendo Switch sometime in Summer 2021, players will engage in the story of tribe of people who live in harmony with the often ferocious Rathalos wyverns. The protagonists will seemingly befriend a Rathalos and look after one of its eggs. Other monsters such as Rathian, Anjanath, Tigrex, and Legiana will also make appearances and it looks like we could be fighting them alongside the Rathalos.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is looking like an incredible spin on the usual Monster Hunter formula. Besides taking on a striking visual style that reminds of the likes of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Ni no Kuni, it will also align players with a monster for once instead of knocking it into bits and pieces to make armor and weapons from its flesh and bones. We’re not saying we’re against the latter (we have a library of Monster Hunter World guides about the most efficient ways to to do it), but kinship with wyverns in this story is rather interesting, especially if hunters show up in Wings of Ruin, which seems pretty likely.

Will we be fighting hunters or the Hunter’s Guild? We’ll have to wait to see more details as we approach the Summer of 2021 when Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin launches on Nintendo Switch.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.