Rune Factory 5 Reviews
Rune Factory 5 is a good fit for longtime fans of the Rune Factory series and could be a fun way for slice-of-life gamers to combine enjoyable combat with the relaxation of farming.
Long-time fans of the series might be disappointed, but it is at least check the same boxes that all of the other titles in this niche genre do. More casual players will probably just want to pass on this entirely, as the pros won’t outweigh the cons.
Rune Factory 5 is more of the familiar, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It makes enough small improvements that it does feel newer, but if you are looking for something leaps and bounds different from the last game, you will be disappointed. The game has a lot of charm and love put into it, but the abysmal frame rate does make it hard to recommend, even though I thoroughly enjoyed it. With some future patches addressing the game’s framerate issues and input delay, Rune Factory 5 could easily turn into a wonderful game.
Rune Factory 5 is an endlessly charming, technically messy farm-life RPG that will delight series fans for a while.
Rune Factory 5 is loaded with fun, long-lasting content, and is difficult to put down even after the credits have rolled.
Rune Factory 5 doesn’t break the mould but it's still definitely worth your time, for returning fans and potential new ones.
Rune Factory 5 does a few things differently that'll interest long-time fans of the series. The jank and slight annoyances with farming will turn most newcomers away though.
Rune Factory 5 is a good game for series fans, but we'd recommend the last entry over it. We found that game was easier to control and preferred the top-down view. But, of course, you can still pass all manner of fun time with this sometimes slow (often choppy) installment.
While not wholly deviod of quality, that Marvelous released Rune Factory 5 in it's current state, is pretty shameful.
There was probably no need to fix something that was never broken in the first place, and so we think that Rune Factory 4 Special is still a better game, but nonetheless this fifth episode marks the beginning of a new era of games on Nintendo Switch. Let's just hope that the hard edges of the new graphical engine will be softened out soon.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rune Factory 5 feels exactly like what it set out to be: more Rune Factory for fans to enjoy.
For non-series fans, it's like many classic retro series, and while it still retains its old style, it's a bit of a hit in this era.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
The change to 3D and other changes introduced in Rune Factory 5 are well intentioned but poorly executed. Asides from some new quality of life features, I’d only recommend this game if you’re a fan who’s already exhausted all the content of Rune Factory 4 and just wants more Rune Factory, and if you haven’t played the fourth one already then you definitely should.
Rune Factory 5 is a technically perfect game that meets all of its goals. Unfortunately for the player, the goals met are either not very impressive or downright uncomfortable.
A solid continuation of the agricultural-jRPG series of games, this time in 3D, but without major changes in the gameplay system and for a limited group of players. However, if in the morning you like to sow turnips, and in the evening pick up maidens (or bachelors), Rune Factory 5 properly dosed brings quite a lot of fun, especially since you can still have them at hand.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Overall, Rune Factory 5 plays things pretty conservatively, and it’s the better for it. It’s a comfort food kind of experience, and while this might cost it on store shelves given that it has been released at the tail end of so many excellent, intelligent, innovative, and big RPGs, it’s a game of simple delights and pleasant experiences. Sometimes, that’s enough.
Rune Factory 5 has one of the best casts and writing in the series, but a batch of performance and presentation issues spoil the crop.
The occasionally enjoyable combat cannot make up for the unreliable farming controls, repetitive music, poor performance, ugly visuals, and lifeless world. One or two of these shortcomings could have been forgiven if Rigbarth was a world worth soaking in, but it's simply not. The mountain of issues amounts to Rune Factory 5 being lesser than the sum of its faults and one of the year's biggest disappointments so far.
Rune Factory 5 is about as safe and unambitious of a sequel as you can get. It feels and plays a lot like Rune Factory 4, with a different camera angle and new characters. It still contains all of the fun, addictive farming-and-fighting action that the franchise is known for. It's a solid and enjoyable game, and it absolutely scratches the Story of Seasons itch in a very satisfying way. But don't expect Rune Factory 5 to be anything more than a new Rune Factory game.
Rune Factory 5 delivers an addictive mix of farming and dungeon crawling. Although it doesn't leave a great first impression, if you stick with it then you'll spend hours exploring memorable dungeons, befriending lively villagers, and growing your crops all year round.