Rune Factory 5 Reviews
When comparing it to its predecessors, the game feels like a sorely needed update. Yes, it treads old ground, with the same crops, monsters, items, and mechanics to deal with, but you can’t really mess with a winning formula, and the game has plenty of worthwhile additions of its own. To sum it up, playing Rune Factory 5 is a compelling, joyous experience that its fans will devour heartily as if it were a plate full of Supreme Curry.
With tried-and-true farming gameplay and a beautiful art style, Rune Factory 5 is a satisfying experience with some significant performance issues.
Rune Factory 5 takes a few missteps, for sure - the clunky framerate and a lifeless town being the biggest of them – but it's the kind of fantasy farming experience I've been clamouring for ever since the last game came out. The routine of tending your farm, clobbering some goblins, and giving your spouse a bunch of gifts is as addictive as ever. Even if this isn't the most polished entry in the series, it's absolutely a welcome return for the series that fans will eat up.
Lacking in innovation and technical prowness, Rune Factory 5 compensates with a solid and faceted experience that could eat a good chunk of your spare time if you get entangled in its intricate web of different mechanics.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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 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.
Though far from perfect, Rune Factory 5 offers a ton of fun and varied gameplay options supported by a cast of colorful characters and satisfying progression that's deceptively easy to get lost in.
Fortunately, despite adding a great deal of customization, Rune Factory 5 keeps the simple joy of getting to know a community separate from you.
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.
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
Look, I feel like I’ve been spending a lot of time here bashing Rune Factory 5, and maybe I have. But let me emphasize that I still had a lot of fun with it, and I think other players will too. I might be even a bit addicted to it, honestly. There’s just too much here to not like on many levels. But it’s just missing some finish to its technical aspects, especially the visuals and menus. And it needs some follow-through on all its great ideas to make it coalesce into one great experience. Yes, Rune Factory 5 is many games in one, for better or worse. And if you’re ok with that, you’ll have a lot of fun with it. Now, let’s just hope they fix that menu.
Rune Factory 5 delivers everything you would expect from a Rune Factory game, though it does so without adding anything new. It moves from a rather rough start into an enjoyable experience which combines quirky characters, a story wrapped in a bit of mystery, farming, fighting and taming monsters, crafting, and consuming unhealthy amounts of Recipe Bread. Fans of the series will enjoy their time in Rigbarth, though the series and its formula are starting to show their age.
Rune Factory 5 is rough around the edges, but I still loved my time with it. Something about how all the parts work together keeps pulling me to it. Even after completing the main story, I’m still playing, as I have recipes I haven’t unlocked, a romantic journey I’m embarking on, and many upgrades I can still do to the town. It has its flaws, but Rune Factory 5’s enchanting loop of constant progression and discovery helps mitigate a lot of these annoyances, so they don’t sting so much.
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 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
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
There is a lot to do in Rune Factory 5, and players have the freedom to live out their ideal fantasy life at their own pace. Although there are a hefty amount of performance issues, Rune Factory 5 is still a charming experience that can be taken with you on the go, and is worth the wait for fans of the series. If you’re looking for a game to settle down with in the evenings, then Rune Factory 5 might be worth the investment.
There is no wrong way to enjoy a Rune Factory game. That was true in 2006 and it especially holds true today. Endless discoveries make for an endlessly enjoyable take on the farm sim genre. Although it is a clumsier game than its predecessor due to technical issues, Rune Factory 5 upholds the ever-heartwarming and ever-rewarding legacy of the series.
For the most part, Marvelous sowed some pretty good SEEDs (hah, get it?). Obviously, I’m not completely satisfied with everything—the relationship mechanics are essentially a gamble, now, and we’re straight-up chugga-chugga-choo-chooin’ through certain loading zones, but there’s a reason that I played 130 hours of this game. At the end of the day, Rune Factory 5 is a fresh and enjoyable new entry to the series, and I really think that fans will come to love it just as much as they have every other title.