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Rune Factory 5 Review Thread

Bullet Club

Banned
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Platforms:
  • Nintendo Switch (Mar 22, 2022)








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IGN - Rebekah Valentine - 6 / 10

Rune Factory 5 is entertainingly chewable fodder thanks to the soil fertilized by its predecessors, but its attempted leap to a 3D world leaves it struggling with lots of frustrating technical issues.


Nintendo Life - Mitch Vogel - 7 / 10

Is Rune Factory 5 for you? Well, that depends. Do you like RPGs or farm sims? If you answered yes to either or both, then you're sure to find something you'll love in this release. Even so, it might be worth waiting for a modest sale before you take the plunge. The relaxing pace, RPG elements, and charming aesthetic make this a compelling experience, but issues with poor performance, disappointing visuals, and sometimes clunky gameplay hold Rune Factory 5 back from greatness. If 3D visuals aren't a dealbreaker for you, we'd recommend you pick up Rune Factory 4 Special first, as it's cheaper and oddly feels more modern in some respects. Despite flawed execution, we'd still give Rune Factory 5 a recommendation - if its precise and unique genre blend really clicks with you, you'll forgive many a flaw. Just know that it doesn't truly excel in any area.


RPG Fan - Niki Fakhoori - 90%

Rune Factory 5 is loaded with fun, long-lasting content, and is difficult to put down even after the credits have rolled.


RPG Site - Andrea Kasparian - 7 / 10

Rune Factory 5 is an endlessly charming, technically messy farm-life RPG that will delight series fans for a while.

RPGamer - Matt Masem - 3.5 / 5

Rune Factory has always been a chill experience with some light action RPG elements to it, and that’s exactly what the newest title delivers.

Screen Rant - Laura Gray - 3 / 5

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.

Siliconera - Jenni Lada - 5 / 10

If you need a farming-and-fighting fix, Rune Factory 5 is an option. It just isn’t the best one out there. It’s living in the shadow of its far superior siblings. Even if patches fix all of the technical issues, it would still feel uneven.

TheSixthAxis - Miguel Moran - 7 / 10

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.


Twinfinite - Andrew McMahon - 3 / 5

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.


Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 8 / 10

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.

Digital Trends - Jess Reyes - 3.5 / 5

Rune Factory 5 should satisfy fans and cozy game enthusiasts, but its not quite as friendly for newcomers.

Hardcore Gamer - Kirstin Swalley - 4 / 5

Rune Factory 5 feels exactly like what it set out to be: more Rune Factory for fans to enjoy.










 

Faust

Perpetually Tired
I have had the JPN import for a while now. It’s an amazing time for those interested in these styles of games and can look past some technical hiccups.
 
I have never gone so drastically from hype to letdown than I have with this game. I can’t do it, and it pains me to pass on what has been one of my all-time favorite series.

The visuals are outright pathetic. Now I’m typically not a big stickler for graphics, but when you combine how piss-poor this looks with how poorly it runs, and how atrocious the loading times are, it’s a major turn off. Before some clown thinks this is an opportunity to come make some stupid comment about the Switch’s horsepower, that’s not the cause here. Frontier (2008) and Oceans (2011) in a lot of ways look and perform better, 10+ year old games running on drastically weaker hardware.

Then icing on the cake is XSEED having the audacity to change the games content. I don’t want the games I am interested in to have to pass through someone else’s filter of “too sexy, too violent, too offensive, not inclusive enough, too difficult”, and then hacked up to fit their vision. I was already on the fence about purchasing RF5 because of how bad it looked, but if XSEED feels it's ok to modify what they publish and act like they do, then they don't deserve my money.

Rune Factory died with Neverland.
 
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