Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma on PlayStation 5 sees the release of the long-running farming and combat simulation game on Sony’s side of the fence, eight months after its release on PC and Nintendo hardware.
For the uninitiated, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the latest instalment in the Rune Factory series of games, with Guardians of Azuma in particular, bringing some new and exciting shifts to the beloved farming and simulation gameplay that fans have come to know and enjoy. Instead of a staunch focus on farming and relationship building, which are present in the game, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma expands on the tried and tested formula by introducing several distinct biomes to the mix.
Also, instead of a single large plot of land and farm, players instead have the opportunity to explore four unique settlements, which employ different seasonal themes, to give variety while ensuring a larger and more interconnected world that feels like an evolution for the series.
There is also a greater emphasis on recruiting villagers beyond the romanacable NPCs that have distinct character designs, which in-game, are used to assign various roles, allowing players to speed up aspects of their farm, such as mining, harvesting and the creation of weapons and gear. Of course, romancable NPCs are a big part of Rune Factory, and Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma includes an eclectic mix of both male and female characters, including Hina from Rune Factory 5.
Although not a significant shift or evolution from your typical romancing formula, in which players can engage in conversation or gift their NPC of choice with a variety of goods, which can either boost or decrease their standing with their sweetheart, Guardians of Azuma introduces distinct character-specific missions, which make the grind worthwhile and fun.
Those wanting to see all aspects of their relationships blossom can also take advantage of the Rewoven Fates mechanic. This lets players explore other marriage options with different characters without messing with the main timeline, making it easy to see all facets of the game without resorting to multiple saves.
“Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma expands on the tried and tested formula by introducing several distinct biomes to the mix.”
In terms of story, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma places players into the shoes of the Earth Dancer, tasked with stopping a cataclysmic event known as Celestital Collapse and restoring the land of Azuma to its former glory. As a man (or woman) endowed with spiritual powers granted by the guardian spirit, players can interact with the desiccated, dying flora of the game world, restoring it to life through a dance mechanic reminiscent of the celestial powers found in Capcom’s Okami.
The typical gameplay loop in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma tasks players with restoring prosperity to the villages, which translates to bolstering their farms and POIs that attract new NPCs, exploring the interconnected world to take on a slew of monsters and unique bosses, while also exploring treasure-filled sky islands that players can fly to via a dragon.
Combat in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma feels refined and as responsive as ever, with a rock steady high framerate on PlayStation 5 and instant loading times afforded by its fast SSD speeds. Players can expect parity with high-end PC performance on Sony’s hardware. Combat also includes a healthy variety of weapons, including both melee-focused builds and ranged attacks, such as bows and magic-based tailsman attacks, on top of a solid implementation of a perfect dodge system. In other words, fighting in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is fun and varied enough to feel engaging, despite it being a relatively straightforward affair.
The PlayStation 5 release of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma also features use of the DualSense haptics, although, in truth, they don’t add a whole lot to the experience, and in contrast to the mouse controls afforded by the Nintendo Switch 2 release, I would say that version is still the superior console release, as far as control options are concerned. Prospect PlayStation players who may have missed Guardians of Azuma on other platforms can also look forward to the various minor DLC updates the game has received, including some of the launch costume DLC, which is now included in the base experience.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a successful evolution of the series, one that continues to offer compelling and addictive gameplay that continues to thrive on PlayStation hardware, making it a great place to jump in for new players who may have missed its initial launch.
