Game Information

Game Title: Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma

Platforms:

  • PC (Jun 5, 2025)
  • Nintendo Switch (Jun 5, 2025)

Trailer:

Developer: Marvelous

Publisher: Marvelous USA

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 80 average - 74% recommended - 40 reviews

Critic Reviews

But Why Tho? - Kyle Foley - 9 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is perfect for anyone looking to enjoy a heartfelt adventure with meaningful relationships and creative opportunities.

COGconnected - Patrick Anderson - 90 / 100

It’s got the many-games-in-one content extravaganza that previous Rune Factory games have had. But unlike Rune Factory 5, this time it really works together and meshes into an addictive and immersive experience.

Capsule Computers - Travis Bruno - 9 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma takes bold gameplay risks with mostly positive results. Despite AI quirks and weaker combat, its engaging story and lovable cast make it a worthy time sink.

Checkpoint Gaming - Victor Tan - 8 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma perfectly blends the farming and combat experience with Japanese influences. The result is an immersive cultural experience that you don’t want to put down. You actually feel like you are rebuilding villages and restoring prosperity to the land instead of just being a landowner. While it isn’t perfect despite several improvements to the formula, it nevertheless delivers a fun experience that you won’t soon forget.

Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - 8 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a really cool spin-off for the Rune Factory series, and it’s an overall good game that’ll tide you over until the inevitable sixth numbered entry.

Cubed3 - Nayu - 9 / 10

It is clear that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma has been crafted with passion and love of the long-running series. The breathtaking scenery, emotion-filled cutscenes and new elements focusing on being an earth dancer takes the beloved adventure-filled world in an exciting new direction that holds hope for more innovation in future titles.

Digitally Downloaded - Matt Sainsbury - 4.5 / 5

This is the strongest entry in a beloved series, and made all the more special because, after the original developer of the series closed shop, it looked like the entire series was dead for several years. This is a pretty good statement that there’s still so much more that it can offer yet.

DualShockers - Austin Conrad - 7.5 / 10

For me, it’s a brilliant weekend RPG—a laid-back game that will keep you playing “just one more day” for hours. If Zelda plus Stardew Valley sounds fun, I recommend Guardians of Azuma. If that combo doesn’t excite you, give it a pass.

Fextralife - Unscored

I went into this playthrough blind and expected the game to take me roughly 10 hours to finish the main story, I was pleasantly surprised by the length and even more so by the story. Now that I’ve finished the story, the real endgame has begun.

Game Hype UK - Aaron Moger - 80 / 100

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a fresh take on the farming sim Rune Factory series providing players with a new and intuitive base building system whilst retaining farming, cooking and interacting with a new and varied cast of characters who all have their own charm which we’ve grown to love the series for. It has a battle system that is fair and engaging and the most in depth story to date making it feel in line with a more traditional JRPG.

Game8 - Lloyd Opalec - 94 / 100

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the series’ most ambitious entry yet. From its well-told story to its surprisingly deep village-building system, it’s a game that fully embraces the joy of planting turnips at dawn and saving guardian deities by night. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, Azuma is a harvest of everything Rune Factory can be when it dares to dream big.

GameBlast - Lucas Oliveira - Portuguese - 8.5 / 10

Combining classic farming simulation elements with a more fluid combat system, new customization options, an engaging narrative and a cast full of charismatic characters, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma stands out as a great game and marks a significant step forward for the franchise. Even though it doesn’t belong to the main numbered series, the title manages to generate plenty of excitement about the future of the series.

Gameliner - Jolien Mauritsz - Dutch - 4 / 5

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a surprisingly strong addition to the franchise, with an engaging story and meaningful town management mechanics—though occasionally overwhelming—solid performance despite some technical limitations, and strong visual and audio presentation, making it a must-play for farming RPG fans seeking more depth and responsibility.

Gamer Escape - Laura Borrayo - 6 / 10

The truth of it is, you’ll probably have more to do in this game than you’ve had in any previous Rune Factory title. But that comes with the understanding that the journey may not be as fun, and the scripted moments not as emotional. For die-hard fans like me, that can come with disappointment.

Gamer Social Club - Stephanie Richards - 8 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma feels like a great blend of cozy and grindy while still finding its narrative way. While there is definitely some experimentation going on with the streamling of certain areas from the general Rune Factory series, the game play loop is still very true to its origins. Those who enjoyed previous entries will mostly likely find themselves enjoying this as long as they don’t miss complex crafting. For those who want the in-depth crafting and complexity that required spreadsheets of data, yes, this will feel too simplistic to you. The complex crafting from Rune Factory 3 and beyond is removed for streamlined play and possibly a way to introduce new fans into the series. If you haven’t played a Rune Factory game, you can jump right into this entry and enjoy.

Gamersky - Chinese - 8.5 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma might just mark a fresh new beginning for the series. While it doesn’t break much new ground, it approaches farming, building, management, and romance with genuine care and delivers each of them as well as it possibly can.

Hardcore Gamer - Matthew Mendisana - 3.5 / 5

The Rune Factory series continues with more characters to befriend, more locations to farm and more monsters to fight in Guardians of Azuma.

Hobby Consolas - David Rodriguez - Spanish - 73 / 100

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma manages to make the sum of its parts evolve a series with several palpable problems. Some of those hurdles remain, but for those looking for a content-packed management and combat game, this is a worthy representative… as long as you can overlook the poor technical aspects.

LadiesGamers.com - Yvonne van Geloven - Mind-blown

Marvelous totally changed direction, and I can say I love it. They kept the essence of farming, exploring, and romance and put a new twist on all of it. Adding a management element into the mix by taking care of various villages and workers is brilliant; it takes away what can ultimately become a tedious chore. To me, the fighting is more difficult, but then I’m never a big fan of action fighting. But by adding story mode, it is very much doable.

There really is so much to tell about Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, I could fill many pages detailing all there is to do in the game. For now, though, I’ll add my verdict to this review.

Loot Level Chill - Lyle Pendle - 8.5 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a farming game with very little farming, but the combat and exploration more than make up for it.

Marooners’ Rock - Alexandra Campbell - 9.2 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is one of the most ambitious games in the franchise, offering a solid farming sim and action RPG experience with meaningful improvements and customization.

MonsterVine - Frank Wood - 4.5 / 5

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma absolutely smashed my expectations, delivering one of the most robust and feature-rich games in the farming/cozy/life sim genre while also being no slouch at its action RPG elements either. This game puts its best foot forward when it starts its sprint and doesn’t slow down anytime soon. I am still locked in and can’t wait to play even more of this gem, it stands shoulder to shoulder with some of my favorite similar games like Harvestella. Fans of the series and first timers, this is not a game to miss out on.

Nintendo Life - Jess Elizabeth Reed - 9 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma manages to reinvent itself while still maintaining the bones that make the Rune Factory series feel like itself. It takes bold new strides in unexpected directions that thankfully pay off. Guardians of Azuma is a must-play for Rune Factory fans and would be well-enjoyed by newcomers to the series as well.

NintendoBoy - Marcos Vinícius - Portuguese - 9.5 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the evolution to the franchise that I expected for the transition from handhelds to consoles, but Rune Factory 5 failed to do it.

NintendoWorldReport - Jordan Rudek - 8.5 / 10

The farming and construction mechanics are designed for expedience and ease of use, exchanging realism for simplicity, a real bargain given the satisfying main story and likeable characters. Even the helper/partner Woolby ended up growing on me by the time I had rolled credits. Guardians of Azuma may do as much to spoil farming games as invite players to earlier Rune Factory entries, but it’s a worthwhile dance that marches to the beat of its own, confident drum, and I’m hopeful we’ll see more like it.

NookGaming - Thomas Knight - 9 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the most fun I’ve had with a Rune Factory title yet. It’s certainly not perfect with quite a few little issues holding it back, but the core experience is so fun that it didn’t stop me from enjoying every moment. There’s just so much to enjoy here that it makes it easy to recommend.

PC Gamer - Maddi Chilton - 82 / 100

Once it finds its footing, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is an engaging romp through a charming and dynamic world.

Pizza Fria - Matheus Jenevain - Portuguese - 8.5 / 10

It’s a commendable endeavor, indeed, and I really enjoy seeing franchises trying new things, both in their mechanics and their overall aesthetics.

Pure Nintendo - Kirk Hiner - 9 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma’s greatest accomplishment is its ability to pile so many gameplay elements into one big adventure, and to make all of them feel integral and organic. Whether you’re farming, fighting, exploring, or romancing, every task-like the game itself-feels like it’s worth completing.

RPG Fan - Niki Fakhoori - 94 / 100

Rune Factory keeps getting better, making Guardians of Azuma the best series entry yet.

RPG Site - Junior Miyai - 6 / 10

The journey through Azuma is a journey packed with a mish-mash of boring dungeons and weak RPG progression tools, supported by a fun cast of characters and decent story.

Rectify Gaming - Will “FncWill” Hogeweide - 6.5 / 10

Guardians of Azuma is a solid Rune Factory game that does most things right on a basic level – it’s not broken, it’s cute, and it’s plenty approachable – but it doesn’t stand out in any big way. It’s more like a pleasant afternoon chat with old friends than a fireworks show. So while I’d still recommend it to folks who adore farming sims and want a new cozy world to chill in, I’ll be honest: it’s definitely not the peak of the series for me. The villagers and the concept of dancing to heal the world are fun, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this installment just played it a bit too safe. If you’re wondering why it’s my least favorite Rune Factory to date, it boils down to that lack of spark and depth compared to earlier entries. It’s a “fine” game with nice moments, but my nostalgia was left wanting a bit more of the old Rune Factory magic.

Restart.run - Robin Bea - 4 / 5

The best life sims make it fun to hang around in their worlds long after your main objectives are done, and while I can’t say for sure this one will pass that test just yet, Guardians of Azuma is easily the best game of its kind I’ve played in years. I can see myself passing time in its vibrant world for a long time to come.

Siliconera - Jenni Lada - 8 / 10

Rune Factory 4 is my favorite entry in the series, and Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma feels close to being its equal in some ways.

TechRaptor - Isaac Todd - 6 / 10

Despite character events being the best they’ve ever been, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma fails to offer much depth after its opening hours.

TheSixthAxis - Miguel Moran - 9 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is packed full of exciting content, memorable characters, and unforgettable adventures.

Video Chums - Mary Billington - 8.4 / 10

As a long-time fan of Rune Factory, I was pleasantly surprised by Guardians of Azuma’s additions. The beautiful traditional Japanese setting, engrossing village-building mechanics, and increased transparency around relationships all come together to make for a great time. 🌸

WellPlayed - Jade Stevenson - 7 / 10

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma does a little bit of everything, and thanks to some very complementary core gameplay components, the whole is remarkably cohesive and a good deal of fun. There are plenty of aspects requiring a bit more polish, though, so don’t go into it expecting a masterpiece.

Worth Playing - Chris “Atom” DeAngelus - 7.8 / 10

Overall, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a very solid spin-off of the franchise. It does a good job of capturing what makes the Rune Factory games enjoyable while throwing enough twists and turns into the mix that it doesn’t just feel like Rune Factory 6. The town building is engaging enough that I worry that a Rune Factory without it might feel lacking now. The combat is solid but simple, and the cast is likable but not super special. Only the general poor performance drags down the game somewhat, but fans of the Rune Factory franchise should find a lot to like.