On its face, Monster Hunter Stories 3 doesn't sound like much of an 'escape' from today's fraught geopolitical climate. It opens with top advisors fanning the flames of war between two neighboring regions. The land of Vermeil desperately seeks answers to an unprecedented climate crisis that has laid waste to its soil and food reserves, leaving its people on the brink of starvation. As its rulers put increasing pressure on Azuria to help, you, the daughter of the Azurian King, are told to prepare to join the fight, with the near-extinct Rathalos who serves as your trusted partner considered a valuable weapon in the conflict to come.