Rune Factory 5
Plot. A hero loses their memory and ends up joining SEED, a group of rangers operating in the small town of Rigbarth. The hero is encouraged to tend the land and complete tasks for the townspeople, as well as battle monsters in order to maintain the peace. Players control a male or female hero with the default names of either Ares or Alice, respectively. Gameplay. As with previous games in the series, gameplay features the ability to farm and tame monsters. Players can also form social connections with the game's townfolks, including ones with bachelors or  bachelorettes leading to marriage. Development. Following the success of "Rune Factory 4", series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto commented that the development of a sequel was expected. However, after "Rune Factory" developer Neverland Co. declared bankruptcy in 2013, the future of the series was left uncertain. In 2014, Marvelous AQL stated that they had hired former "Rune Factory" developers, including Hashimoto, to develop "". Hashimoto left his executive officer role in 2018 and opened a new studio under Marvelous called Hakama, where he went to work on "Rune Factory 4 Special" and "Rune Factory 5". The game was announced in February 2019 and  was planned to be released in 2020 before being delayed. It was released in Japan on May 20, 2021, in North America on March 22, 2022, and in Europe three days later. For the first time in the series, players can marry characters of the same sex. This feature was not available in the original Japanese version of the game and was added for the global release, although it was patched into the Japanese version later. Reception. "Rune Factory 5" received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. It was praised for its combat system and gameplay, but  criticized for its graphics and a lack of innovation to the series' formula. It was also criticized for frame drops although the characters and wide variety of activities were received favorably. Sales. In Japan, the game debuted first with 102,853 copies sold.