The English version of Rune Factory 5 has arrived in the US, but I’ve managed to get my hands on it much earlier for this review. Having beaten Rune Factory 4 and made babies with Forte, I set forth into Rune Factory 5 with similar goals in mind.

For those who are unfamiliar, the Rune Factory series is a spin-off of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons. It features farming simulator gameplay as well as RPG combat and mechanics. Having put over 40 hours into it, I can confidently say that I’ve seen pretty much all the good and ugly of the game. 

Let’s get right into this review of Rune Factory 5.

Story and Characters

The game kicks off with the Rune Factory tradition of the player having lost his or her memory, depending on the gender you pick. You end up in the town of Rigbarth and quickly  join the peacekeeping organisation, SEED. From handling dangerous monsters to completing menial requests like giving someone cold medicine, SEED does everything. Well, just you, that is, since SEED is understaffed.

For fans of the Rune Factory series, you’ll feel right at home at Rigbarth. It’s a small sleepy town with a vibrant cast of characters. For those who’ve never played a Rune Factory game before, the villagers are kinda similar to what you’ll find in almost any farming sim like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing (not looks-wise, of course). They’re not the most complex characters in the world, but many of them are charming in their own way.

As for the story itself, the plot progresses at your own pace. It starts out rather slow, with you having to take on major SEED assignments, but the story gradually unravels into a large overarching plot. There is no deadline to clear a story quest like in Persona 5—you can even choose to ignore the main quest and just focus on farming and romancing the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes of Rigbarth. Of course, there are characters and content locked behind the story, but the joy of the game is to enjoy the slow life of living in a relaxing fantasy town.

Gameplay

“It’s Rune Factory 4, but in 3D” pretty much sums up what Rune Factory 5 is all about. It’s not a bad thing. Rune Factory 4 is the best-selling game of the franchise, and since the formula isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Farming, fishing, fighting, crafting—there is a lot to do in the game. Pretty much every single activity that you perform in this game has a skill level associated with it. Eating, sleeping, walking—if you do it, the game will reward you for it with a nice “Level Up” notification. It’s simple, but it’s incredibly addictive. I always found myself wanting to do more within each day in Rune Factory 5, making the game very hard to put down.

Besides your day-to-day routine, there’s always something interesting happening in Rigbarth. Whether it’s fun festivals that you, the player, organise or wholesome cutscenes involving the villagers, Rune Factory 5 never feels boring. 

Those who come from Rune Factory 4 will definitely notice some of the quality of life improvements. Changes like being able to swap between an equipped tool and weapon without opening a menu and having the option to put all wood and stone into the lumber box at once are great additions. Unlike Rune Factory 4, fast travel is available from the start of the game and you can even teleport between spots within Rigbarth itself. 

Because of the 3D graphics and movable camera, the game also feels bigger than previous titles in the series. This is most apparent when you compare combat between Rune Factory 4 and 5. Maps are a lot more open in Rune Factory 5, and you have a lot more room to run around. Since bosses and their attacks no longer take up half of the screen, combat is less frustrating as well. 

There is just so much to do in Rune Factory 5. You can easily spend upwards of a hundred hours just to unlock everything or see hidden events. From building the perfect house to becoming a monster tamer who lets all your creatures handle the farm work, if I have to list down every single feature or activity you can do in this Rune Factory 5 review, there’ll be no end in sight.

Marriage

This deserves a special section in this review, because for the first time in the series, Rune Factory 5 allows same-sex marriages! This is a new addition to the English port of the game and will be patched into the Japanese version later in the future.

LGBTQ Representation aside, this is huge in terms of gameplay. No longer do we need to start a completely new game as a different gender just to experience romance options that were locked in a previous playthrough. As a gamer, I see this as an absolute win.

Also, you don’t need to worry about children if you’re married to the same sex! While you or your partner won’t be giving birth, there will be a special event that will provide you with your child. You can have up to 3 children in the game instead of just 1. Honestly, the ability and flexibility to build a family in Rune Factory 5 is more than any other farming sim or RPG I can think of.

Graphics and Performance

I’ve been praising Rune Factory 5 for the whole review so far, but this is where it ends. As a game that’s releasing in 2022 (2021 if you count that Japanese release), Rune Factory 5 definitely feels a bit dated graphically. Textures can be pretty low quality in a lot of the areas while some of the maps can look pretty bland. 

While I don’t mind the graphics that much, the frame rate is poor. The game struggles to hit 30 FPS at times and you can feel the sluggishness, especially if you compare it side by side with Rune Factory 4 Special. The frame rate drops horribly right after a loading screen, so much so that when I enter a command, I only hear the sound effect for it a few seconds later. 

Also, the loading screens for the game averages between 5 – 10 seconds. While it’s not ungodly long like other games out there, the difference between this and Rune Factory 4 Special is like night and day. These loading screens feel the most frustrating when you leave a building, but then you remembered that you have to do something inside again, so you go in just to have another long loading screen.

Closing Thoughts

Despite the graphics and performance issues, I still had immense enjoyment from playing Rune Factory 5. It’s fun, it’s charming and it’s addictive. While it’s not perfect by any means, this is a worthy entry in the franchise and is well worth the decade-long wait.

For more information on the game, visit its website. You can also check out our easy money guide to learn how to get rich early in Rune Factory 5.