Rune Factory 5 is the long-awaited sequel to Rune Factory 4, released way back in 2012. Developed by Hakama and authored by Xseed Games, Rune Factory 5 is a component farming simulator and part role-playing game.
Rune Factory 5 does not have any direct ties to Rune Factory 4, which is fairly usual for long-running RPG series. The story follows the main character, either man or woman, as chosen through the player, within the capital of scotland- Rigbarth in the Kingdom of Norad. The primary character doesn't have memory of the past. Despite their amnesia, they're quickly enlisted into Seed. Seed is really a number of peacekeeping rangers tasked with keeping the dominion of Norad from collapsing into chaos. You will find dungeons to explore and boss battles to win, which are positioned up through the daily actions of your character. The setup for the story will feel relatively familiar for fans of Japanese RPGs, particularly the concept of the primary character having amnesia and aiming to save the planet. The story’s familiarity does help bring new players along with relative ease though, which can be a big plus.
While the main plotline is certainly not to create home about, the interactions with characters really matter in Rune Factory 5. The storyline takes place on the daily cycle, with every day’s actions influencing what will happen the next day. Interacting with different characters allows the option to have them join you when certain story events like boss battles or dungeon explorations are triggered. Additionally, interacting with characters and taking advantage of your everyday time to go on adventures together will raise the quantity of things you can earn and upgrade and enhance your relationships with the other characters.
Similar to games like Stardew Valley, several non-playable characters can be found as romanceable options. In addition, there are many men and women characters to romance, which helps give lots of variety with regards to the direction players choose to go. Also, the very first time in the Rune Factory series, players have the option to enter same-sex marriages with NPCs. It's a welcomed addition that contributes even more variety towards the game, to be locked out based on gender really limits the possibility to explore more of the characters in depth.
The gameplay for Rune Factory 5 concentrates on two primary genres: farming simulator and RPG. The farming simulator aspect was quite honestly my personal favorite part of my knowledge about the game. Typical farming simulator features like watering plants and clearing debris can be found, but an amazing mechanic called Soil Levels piqued my interest. Soil Levels are relatively straightforward but play an important role in improving the quality of the farm. You gain levels the soil by simply planting and harvesting crops, but the upgrades can help enhance the speed where crops grow and also the quality of crops produced. The farming systems feel layered and also have some depth to them, but never get too tricky once you get the hang of it. I really enjoyed the mixture of strategy and straightforward, relaxed farming.
The RPG facet of Rune Factory 5, whilst not my favorite part of the game, continues to be exceptionally congratulations. There are lots of areas to understand more about and dungeons to clear, and the hack-and-slash combat is extremely satisfying. Your weapons level up the greater you fight, unlocking additional skills that can be used during more difficult combat in later areas in the game. My only real problem with the RPG sections of the game is how bare most of the locations feel. Visually, Rune Factory 5 feels almost just like Rune Factory 4, a 10-year-old game released on the Nintendo 3DS. Some advancements regarding location density could have been nice, especially when areas such as the capital of scotland- Rigbarth feel almost entirely empty.
I could be remiss if I did not mention some serious performance issues that I encountered during my time with Rune Factory 5. Frame rates feel incredibly inconsistent, and entering new locations caused some severe stuttering. You will see each day one patch that should hopefully fix a few of the issues, however it did severely impact my enjoyment when the game felt enjoy it was struggling just to chug along. Loading times are quick, though, which helps alleviate some of the frustration brought on by the problems with unstable frame rates.
Rune Factory 5 is really a refreshing farming role-playing game which should really attract fans from the niche genre. There are plenty of choices for growing your farm, and also the non-playable characters along the way are actually interesting to have interaction with. While some serious performance issues held the sport back at times, time with Rune Factory 5 was still enjoyable. It may not be an ideal or highly innovative game, but Rune Factory 5 is definitely well worth the time spent playing.
Rune Factory 5 releases on March 22nd, 2023, on the Nintendo Switch.
