Occasionally, townsfolk appeared to phase out of existence, which tarnished the sense of involvement encouraged by a 3D world. Even attempting to speak with an NPC during a festival overburdened the Switch’s hardware. When swapping your watering can for a sword, fights with bosses were inundated by slowdown. Framerates sputtered when exiting a structure or whenever performing a dash to evade a monster. Upon its release last March, the Nintendo Switch struggled with running Rune Factory 5. But this time out, Rune Factory 5 rendered its rustic tranquility in three dimensions, which produced quite a few changes. Employing key members from Neverland’s former staff, the upstart has maintained the time-honored blend of farming, fighting, and finding a life-partner. Longtime series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto established a new studio named Hakama in 2018. And while the farming sim had a small but dedicated following in 2012, games like Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, Summer in Mara have propelled the genre into mainstream popularity.īut like a perennial plant, Rune Factory has blossomed once more.

Series developer Neverland ( Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, Record of Lodoss War) ceased operations in 2013, putting the future of Rune Factory in jeopardy.

Hardware has advanced considerably, and platforms like the Steam Deck have provided unprecedented capabilities for a portable product. Across the last ten years, the world has changed significantly. It’s been a decade since the last mainline entry in the Rune Factory franchise was released for the Nintendo 3DS. Price: $59.99 via Steam, $50.99 launch price

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