The player character is a God Eater who can absorb energy from monsters to unleash "Burst Arts", special attacks that deal a lot of damage to enemies.

To make matters worse, a calamity has caused outbreaks of an ash-like substance that corrodes anything it touches, and has spread across Europe, leaving vast stretches of uninhabitable area called the Ashlands which continue to grow over time and are crawling with Aragami.

The only human habitations that remain in the sea of ash around HQ are underground facilities called "Ports," built in the ruins of Fenrir satellite bases.

The protagonist and their friends mechanic Keith, close-quarters fighter Zeke, and their leader Hugo, serve out their contract to Port Pennywort hunting Aragami.

The group carries out work for Hilda clearing a safe route through the Ashlands for a cut of royalties, with Hugo planning to buy their freedom and establish their own Port.

The Aragami attacks only increase, suspected to be drawn to Phym's presence, but with her help and the protagonist's Resonance powers the group manages to kill an Ashborn, a feat previously unheard of.

Defeating the monster, they convince the organization's leader, Governor General Abraham Gadolin, that Phym, revealed to be a highly-prized humanoid Aragami specimen, is safest in their hands as only they can kill the Ashborn who are constantly drawn to her.

In exchange, they are requested to spearhead an operation to take back Fenrir HQ and Odin, a superweapon capable of eliminating the Ash threat.

Investigating a mole in Gleipnir, Hilda and the group discover that Inukai is the traitor, planning to sell Phym to the Crimson Queen, led by Gadolin's son Werner, with the technology to trigger Ash Storms (at the cost of an AGE's life).

Forced to traverse a forbidden mountain route to escape, the group defeats a deadly "AGE Eater" Aragami, saving Zeke's lost brother Neal.

In the final voiceover, Ein, actually Soma Schicksal from the previous games under an alias, ponders the possible future for the world and sets out to travel to the Far East.

[18] On IGN, David Jagnaeux praised the game for its combat calling it: "An exciting take on the Monster Hunter formula, even if its lackluster story and somewhat unvaried content keep it from being the best it could be".

[20] In Japan, approximately 20,960 physical copies for Switch were sold during its launch week, becoming the number two selling game of any format in the country's retail market.