Rune Factory 5 Reviews
I have a love-hate relationship with Rune Factory 5. I love the relaxing atmosphere and simple daily life activities, straightforward combat, and the Rigbarth citizens. My experience was unfortunately muddied by questionable enemy design, an absurd difficulty spike, and numerous issues and bugs that found their way into the final product. I think if you’re a longtime Rune Factory fan you might find something to like. However, if you’re a newcomer, I cannot recommend buying the game at its $59.99 retail price until they fix some of the issues I mentioned earlier. If the game is on sale, and the game is updated, I say knock yourself out. The best way to play the game is on PC, and I guarantee you’ll at least love the characters and simple farming life.
Rune Factory 5 marks the first new chapter of the simulation RPG series after a long hiatus and this new arrival on the Nintendo Switch brings very appealing characters, a good combat system and some interesting gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately its biggest weaknesses are difficult to overlook, namely when it comes to its performance and poor graphics, as well as to repetitive spaces to explore. While it is possible to get used to these shortcomings, they remain impossible to understand and in several cases make the experience less enjoyable than it should be.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Although somewhat fun when not disturbed by the problems described above, Rune Factory 5 is the first fully 3D title in the franchise and a step in the right direction for the saga (if sequels exist after the developers' bankruptcy). The already traditional Rune Factory systems such as combat, farming, and the famous interpersonal relationships are intact to some extent, but it is sad to see that the visuals come across as too simplistic for such a large-scale transition. With the controls making life difficult for players, I recommend first acquiring Rune Factory 4 Special and, if you like it, moving on to this fifth iteration.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Rune Factory 5 is an excellent addition to the series, with plenty of wonderful stuff to enjoy, but its lack of polish limits its potential.
I had never played a Rune Factory game before – not even that but any game of this genre. If you want a good idea of what Rune Factory is, it is like Stardew Valley where you harvest yourself a field of crops, go on adventures, interact with the town people, and so on and so forth. This brings us to Rune Factory 5. How was it? Was it a great harvest from start to finish? Was it a great game to be introduced into the harvest genre? Let’s find out!
There are some sizable issues and oddities present in Rune Factory 5 that make it difficult to appreciate all the genuinely good things it has to offer.
"A sword in one hand, a hoe in the other."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Rune Factory 5 is another good addition to the franchise that mixes farm life simulator with RPG and is very worthwhile especially for fans of the series. The expectation is that the next games will be able to go beyond what was presented here in all aspects.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Most of Rune Factory 5 is fine. There are minor issues with everything from the story to the graphics to the gameplay, but only a few of these issues will negatively impact the experience in a meaningful way. The bigger problem is simply that so little about Rune Factory 5 stands out. So many of the minor issues present here could have been overlooked if the core experience was exceptional and really moved the series forward, but instead, the development team spent nine years making a new Rune Factory, only to put out a game that feels like a minor step forward at best and in some ways feels like a step back. If you’re a massive fan of the series and need more of it, you’ll have a fun enough time with Rune Factory 5, but everyone else should proceed with caution.
I can imagine somebody else looking at this game and considering it middling, subpar even. Action mechanics that are lower than top of the line, the graphics are outdated, and those allergic to anything remotely “Anime” would scoff. But Rune Factory isn’t trying to be anything it’s not. It’s a game where you can grow a radish, forge that radish into a long sword, and use it to murder sheep monsters while calling your gay partner affectionate nicknames. And do I personally want anything else from a video game? Not without becoming greedy. After a long slumber, the reawakening of this sub-franchise is much beloved, and I sincerely hope to see a Rune Factory 6 sooner than nine years from now.
Rune Factory 5 offers an improved fantasy RPG/farming blend with a satisfying story and great cast of characters that is dragged down heavily by constant performance issues.
Rune Factory 5 is extremely addictive and fun to play. With a great graphic change with respect to the rest of the installments of the saga, they have even managed to improve the formula they had. But the performance errors worsen what in itself would be an outstanding game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Rune Factory 5 may have one of the franchise's most involved storylines, but its overly ambitious graphics overshadow that effort with ease. By giving the game a 3D makeover, the franchise's customary charms are harder to make out in this new release. Still, at its core, Rune Factory 5 excels at the everyday tasks it asks characters to complete. From farming to fighting, everything is much the same here as it was in previous games. This time, though, Rune Factory's stale mechanics are easier to notice thanks to its flimsy visuals. Fans new and old will be left wondering where the series' allure snuck off to.
If you're a follower of the series, Rune Factory 5 is a solid choice. In terms of gameplay, it's an excellent choice for individuals who want to unwind in peaceful, cheerful, and vivid surroundings and those who like being swept up in a deluge of content. However, despite its potential and the story's intriguing premise, Rune Factory 5 falls short compared to comparable titles.
The Rune Factory is back. But much quicker than it should.
Review in Greek | Read full review
It boasts an invigorating sense of player agency, a clearly-defined framework of rules in which to make your fun, and a carefully-calibrated concoction of farming, role-playing, and life simulation designed to keep things interesting.
Rune Factory 5 takes a big step going all 3D, but it stumbles a bit with framerate issues and uninspiring textures. However, the game’s cast of characters, inclusion of same-sex marriages, and barnful of gameplay value mean players shouldn’t pass this up. The farming life is a decent life, indeed.
Rune Factory 5 is a solid revival of a franchise without a new entry for the best part of ten years. It pushes the formula forwards thanks to its 3D perspective, and nails the gameplay that made the series such a hit in the first place.
Overall Rune Factory 5 was fantastic once you put the small issues like frame rates and furniture placement aside. Whether spending just a bit of time to clear a day out of your in-game calendar or sitting down and clearing out a day of your real world calendar, there’s just something magical about the farming simulation of both these and the Story of Seasons series. Want to do something more than farming? Rune Factory has you covered with plenty to explore and challenge yourself while out in the field against the local monsters and eventual boss fights!
Rune Factory 5 manages to deliver a lot of content, offering a barrage of classic elements, but delivering them along with a collection of mistakes and oversights. Performance issues, structural game design flaws and lack of politeness end up ruining the potential of this long-awaited continuation of the classic franchise.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review