Rune Factory 5

 Switch
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 86
  3. Negative: 29 out of 86
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  1. JustinIZHere
    Jun 7, 2022
    4
    RF5 is probably the starkest example of a downgrade to a franchise ever.

    Rune Factory has been a favorite series of mine for ages now, I've loved pretty much all of them from 2 to frontier to 4 on the 3DS and replaying 4 again on steam. However 5.....5 is just not a good game, it's not a good Rune Factory game, it's only a mediocre game in general. The combat is exactly the same as    RF5 is probably the starkest example of a downgrade to a franchise ever.

    Rune Factory has been a favorite series of mine for ages now, I've loved pretty much all of them from 2 to frontier to 4 on the 3DS and replaying 4 again on steam. However 5.....5 is just not a good game, it's not a good Rune Factory game, it's only a mediocre game in general.

    The combat is exactly the same as it's been forever so nothing new to try and innovate, the farming aspect feels so optional in RF5 that you can get by without ever doing it, and the characters just feel extremely uninspired. You can tell they intended to have far more characters be romanceable but a gigantic chunk of them got cut for no real discernable reason. The western localization team badgered the JP team to add same-sex marriages into the game, which is fine. However it completely broke the game and now you get random scenes with same sex characters you're not even romancing???

    Performance wise the game is a mess, with extremely long loading screens for seemingly no reason, the game looks and runs terrible (good luck getting over 15 FPS after a few weeks has passed ingame). You would think a game that got delayed for so long would be in a better state but it's obvious the game got delayed so they could cater to the demands of the localization team instead of fixing the games MANY problems.

    Do not buy this game, do not support Xseed, this game is unacceptable in its current state, I feel cheated out of my money quite frankly. i will never buy another product from Xseed if THIS is what they have devolved to which sucks Xseed used to be QUALITY. If you want a rune factory game go play 4 it's infinitely better.    … Expand
  2. CatBlade
    Apr 4, 2022
    4
    Rune Factory 4 was amazing. Rune Factory 5 is just.... okay. I can't help but compare the two. First off, RF5 is 3D, third person. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, except the wilderness combat areas are so vast and empty -- and the dungeons are extremely boring. Both require a lot of pointless running that seems to drag. Also, RF4 had far more focus on dungeons, puzzles, combatRune Factory 4 was amazing. Rune Factory 5 is just.... okay. I can't help but compare the two. First off, RF5 is 3D, third person. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, except the wilderness combat areas are so vast and empty -- and the dungeons are extremely boring. Both require a lot of pointless running that seems to drag. Also, RF4 had far more focus on dungeons, puzzles, combat efc. RF5 is farm sim heavy. The boss fights, dungeons, and combat are all so watered down. And the farming isn't that enjoyable either because of the frame rate issues. You need to wait a lot for texture pop for your fields. The screen often lags. Tossing items at storage is clunky.

    The dash doesn't do much either. There's definite input lag when you hit the dash button. Same goes for my special moves. There's a lag issue so you're not as quick/nimble with moves in this game.

    You also get far less dialogue options in cut scenes.

    I do like the characters. They're basically comparable to RF4 characters. But that's really about it.    … Expand
  3. Razor7557
    May 13, 2022
    2
    Sad case of a game ruined by bugs, bad optimization, and publisher meddling. I love Rune Factory series, but this game is easily the worst of it so far. It already had a troubled launch in Japan with many bugs, and bad optimization, which were not fixed at all undoubtedly thanks to XSEED, the publisher, forcing the devs to make politically-motivated changes to all versions of the game, andSad case of a game ruined by bugs, bad optimization, and publisher meddling. I love Rune Factory series, but this game is easily the worst of it so far. It already had a troubled launch in Japan with many bugs, and bad optimization, which were not fixed at all undoubtedly thanks to XSEED, the publisher, forcing the devs to make politically-motivated changes to all versions of the game, and scrap planned DLC bachelorettes... thus by rushed schedules, and American meddling, the game is barely working parody of what it could have been.… Expand
  4. blitzkrieg2121
    Mar 27, 2022
    2
    How a game can be allowed to release in this state is… is beyond me. Horrible, jarring input lag was the cherry on the performance disaster pie this game is. I REALLY hope there is a performance patch soon… but given how long this game has been out before getting western localization, I am not holding my breath. I tried to look past the performance issues, I was very excited for this gameHow a game can be allowed to release in this state is… is beyond me. Horrible, jarring input lag was the cherry on the performance disaster pie this game is. I REALLY hope there is a performance patch soon… but given how long this game has been out before getting western localization, I am not holding my breath. I tried to look past the performance issues, I was very excited for this game but man, it’s just embarrassing and nearly impossible to play. Very disappointing and feels like a crime to charge $60 for this.… Expand
  5. Zavarius
    Mar 27, 2022
    1
    Its nearly unplayable. Constant frame drops between 10-15FPS and a rly bad graphic/texture. Its not their first 3D game and its already 1Y+ released in Japan. You can find FPS and Graphic tests at every corner.
  6. Tinheuce
    Mar 23, 2022
    4
    You would think after several delays you would get a more polished game. Sadly, this is not what we got.
    Town is bland and lifeless. The animals don’t even make sounds. Characters are boring and repeat themselves.
    And the game performance. Graphic are horrible even for a game on switch. Even frame rates dip in and outside of combat.
  7. MegaArcon
    Mar 27, 2022
    3
    I've put 10-15 hours into it now, and it's become completely unplayable and unenjoyable due to the abysmal performance. It breaks my heart, because it's a great game under the hood. I love the Rune Factory series, and even sprang for the special edition because I was so excited. However, the frame drops are so terrible that simple activities are frustrating and combat in larger areas isI've put 10-15 hours into it now, and it's become completely unplayable and unenjoyable due to the abysmal performance. It breaks my heart, because it's a great game under the hood. I love the Rune Factory series, and even sprang for the special edition because I was so excited. However, the frame drops are so terrible that simple activities are frustrating and combat in larger areas is nigh impossible. I should have listened to reviews and I hope my review saves someone their money. Do not buy in it's current state.… Expand
  8. ZephGrey
    Mar 27, 2022
    3
    Dated graphics, bad writing, poor performance, and sloppy design. If this is what professional studios are putting out in the farm/life sim category, it's no wonder that Stardew Valley and it's indie kin have taken the world by storm. This game is just sad. Character design is good, but that's all it has going for it.
  9. Lonewolftee
    Mar 25, 2022
    3
    Anyone that can defend this game at $60 price tag should be ashamed of themselves. I love these type of games but optimization is so bad that it makes the game suffer in every way. The combat is trash and every action is delayed when you press the attack button. It's not fully voiced and most conversations only have a few voiced lines in each one. I get that the switch isn't very powerfulAnyone that can defend this game at $60 price tag should be ashamed of themselves. I love these type of games but optimization is so bad that it makes the game suffer in every way. The combat is trash and every action is delayed when you press the attack button. It's not fully voiced and most conversations only have a few voiced lines in each one. I get that the switch isn't very powerful but the graphics are garbage, the character models even suffer from it. I really wanted to love this game but I just can't with everything going on with it. None of my points are subjective, everything I said is objective. Anyone who defends this game at $60 is the reason that this game exists the way that it does now.
    TLDR: Everything feels cheap and this game is not worth $60    … Expand
  10. TsukasaHiiragi
    Mar 25, 2022
    2
    Pro's

    Cute characters Great anime opening sequence Con's Horrendous performance issues often running at 15FPS or worse Severely outdated graphics and visuals Lacking a lot of quality of life improvements Bad camera and PoV issues Messy auto-targeting system Iffy controls made worst by graphical stuttering Major con's Makes switch overheat! Rune Factory 5 is a    Pro's

    Cute characters
    Great anime opening sequence

    Con's

    Horrendous performance issues often running at 15FPS or worse
    Severely outdated graphics and visuals
    Lacking a lot of quality of life improvements
    Bad camera and PoV issues
    Messy auto-targeting system
    Iffy controls made worst by graphical stuttering

    Major con's

    Makes switch overheat!

    Rune Factory 5 is a disaster, people fully know well all the issues from the original JP release which was heavily slammed for it's huge array of problems most notable it's severe performance issues which are so bad, the game often stutters and runs more or less at 15 frames per second and often worse, this heavily impacts gameplay negatively. It is difficult to write a review for a franchise that I love and have enjoyed for the best part of nearly two decades, Rune Factory 5 feels amateurish at best and at worst, downright broken. This in partly due to the developers using the unity engine which doesn't work too well on the switch, and is notorious for performance issues which adds another problem, this game makes the switch heat up pretty significantly.

    Graphics and visuals are extremely dated, by comparison Rune Factory Frontier was released back in 2008 and Rune Factory 5 somehow is worse all across the board, the ground and grass looks like N64 era with no texture mapping, just colored ground and any grass assets appear sporadically and also suffer from pop in issues too, the town looks very crude, the best part is the anime opening sequences but they really shouldn't count. Camera and PoV are also a problem, especially later in the game where it is more likely to be insta-killed by an enemy off-screen where you can't easily see it, and add into stuttering becomes more frustrating than fun.

    Sound effects, music and voice overs are all passable, the voices are fine but some voices have strange volume issues and sound barely audible at times, the voice lines are only really prominent in story related content, outside of that it is just text.

    Lacking a lot of quality of life improvements to make the game a better experience, sometimes changing tools isn't as intuitive as it should be, all the way to a lack of any grid snapping when placing down furniture in your house becomes an annoyance. Controls are not nearly as intuitive as they could be either, often requiring more button presses than you really should to navigate menus.

    The story is fairly cliché but is fairly passable, the usual Rune Factory aspects quickly come into play such as the affection and romance system that eventually leads to marriage, the only update to this is more gender inclusion by adding in gay and lesbian options which is a step forward. One welcome improvement is the ability of issue town directives such as scheduling festivals in the players hands, but overall it is still quite limited scope.

    Quest information and general information for tasks is extremely lacking as well as general information that is important but never really tells the player what/why/where prime examples are some of the tasks, like go kill x monsters but never tells you the location so you could kill two orcs in one location but doesn't count because its the wrong location and that information isn't given, or how about how to hunt wanted monsters? The game gives you very limited information and once again, this becomes par for the entire game - it just feels so rushed all over the place.

    In closing, Rune Factory 5 is pretty dire and one of Xseeds worst releases in a long time, the entire game feels worse than some indie titles, suffers from severe performance issues and looks exceptionally dated for a 2021(22) release, even for die-hard RF fans like myself, its really really difficult to recommend this.    … Expand
  11. RedMage79
    Mar 31, 2022
    4
    If the frame drops weren't near constant when outdoors, this would probably be a great Rune Factory game!
  12. drewezbreezee
    Sep 17, 2022
    1
    I pre ordered rune factory 5 not because of same gender based marriage (I see others wanted that but that wasn't why I bought it or am into) but because I wanted a dungeon crawling, rpg, lite farming sim to waste time on. I may have played one many many years ago I don't really remember. I'm just now clearing out my backlog and wanted to load this up and see if I had missed anything. II pre ordered rune factory 5 not because of same gender based marriage (I see others wanted that but that wasn't why I bought it or am into) but because I wanted a dungeon crawling, rpg, lite farming sim to waste time on. I may have played one many many years ago I don't really remember. I'm just now clearing out my backlog and wanted to load this up and see if I had missed anything. I have to say that I don't like it very much. To many systems to miss, mechanics that are confusing, and tutorials that go on forever but still don't explain enough. It's more confusing than it needs to be. And at times I felt overwhelmed by ALL I needed to learn and remember. I have other games I'm playing and things I have to remember, thank you very much. Going to the internet daily to tell me what the game should have but didn't kills the experience and like others have said, bad framerate, terrible, repetitive music, poor graphics, and unused areas that don't need to exist don't help at all, along with a stupid generic story, dumb dialogue and visuals that made my head hurt after a few hours.. The menus are badly designed, and juggling all the games items is poor. This game is only for people who have played other games in the series and now want the latest one. And those willing to just overlook all it's many flaws in order to court somebody of the same sex in a video game. Everybody else should avoid. Color me not impressed. I will not be buying another one. 65 dollars just wasted on a chore simulator… Expand
  13. Orokushi
    Jul 17, 2022
    0
    The game is unfinished. Some parts of the dialogue are dubbed, other parts arent. The dub goes on and off from one sentence to the other, and it drives me nuts. Its a shame, the voice acting is good.
    The game also feels empty at many places. For example in the town, there is a lot of empty space. If they just made the town 30% smaller by putting the locations closer together, it wouldnt    The game is unfinished. Some parts of the dialogue are dubbed, other parts arent. The dub goes on and off from one sentence to the other, and it drives me nuts. Its a shame, the voice acting is good.
    The game also feels empty at many places. For example in the town, there is a lot of empty space. If they just made the town 30% smaller by putting the locations closer together, it wouldnt feel so empty and running from one place to the other wouldnt be such a chore.
    It could have been a good game, but its potential was wasted when they decided to publish the game unfinished.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 58
  3. Negative: 2 out of 58
  1. Cubed3
    Oct 29, 2024
    80
    As a relaxing life sim Rune Factory 5 certainly has a cozy home on Nintendo Switch. The dozens of hours of gameplay extend beyond finishing the main story, with levels to be maxed out, new equipment forged and even a new dungeon to explore, making the occasional lack of clarity of next steps a minor issue in the deservedly popular farming title.
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  2. Starbit
    Jan 5, 2023
    60
    Featuring a cast of captivating characters, decent combat system and some interesting gameplay mechanics, there's enough here to appeal to long-running fans. However Rune Factory 5 disappoints when it comes to its visual performance, even to the point of harming the gameplay experience, while its exploration can quickly become repetitive. The result is a game that could have been much more enjoyable had these elements been treated differently.
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  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Jun 28, 2022
    75
    I enjoyed my time with Rune Factory 5 and I'm hopeful that its shortcomings will result in an even better entry in the future if we get one. (And hopefully sooner than a decade away, too.) Rune Factory 5 captures what matters most in a farming sim: a charming world and cast, and a cozy experience that will keep you coming back whenever you want to take it easy. [Issue #59 – May/June 2022, p. 76]
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