The action RPG Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma has been released:

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - Launch Trailer

Welcome to the eastern nation of Azuma! In this fresh take on Rune Factory, use your powers as an Earth Dancer to restore the land, its people, and even its gods. Along the way, battle corrupted monsters, rebuild seasonal farms and villages, and form bonds with the colorful locals.

RPGFan reviewed Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma:

Review: Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma

There is so much to love about Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, from its improvements to farming to its lovable cast and how its story calls back to previous Rune Factory plot elements. The game clearly loves its heritage just as much as it loves Japan, so it’s easy to love it back. Guardians of Azuma is by far the greatest Rune Factory game yet, thanks to its forward strides in farming and player expression. And while there are still some minor limitations to overcome, Rune Factory 6 has some massive shoes to fill. The best simulation games keep you coming back to maintain your personalized worlds, and Guardians of Azuma does just that, with flying colors of all the seasons.

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Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma isn’t “Rune Factory 6,” nor is it even the sixth Rune Factory game thanks to the similarly unnumbered Rune Factory Frontier and Tides of Destiny. Without the heavy mantle of a numbered title to weigh it down, Guardians of Azuma is free to be less strict with its approach to Rune Factory tropes and traditions. Although the game doesn’t disregard its roots entirely, this RPG-plus-farming game takes some fresh new steps forward and emerges as the strongest title in the series, complete with features that make it a game with longevity, worth coming back to again and again.

With a single glance, it’s clear how Guardians of Azuma begins to deviate from its Rune Factory predecessors: the game is deeply inspired by traditional Japanese culture and landscapes as opposed to the “generic Western fantasy” approach that the series typically leans into. But some of the game’s unique attributes aren’t noticeable immediately. The Rune Factory series is notorious for having levels for everything. You gain levels for each weapon type, cooking, mixing potions, and even activities like walking and sleeping. Some of these have clear benefits as they increase, such as learning new combat moves or being able to cook better recipes. The benefits to some others, like sleep, are less clear.

Score: 94/100

Thanks Couchpotato!

RPGFan checked out Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma:

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Hands-On: A Tale of Two Genres

When Marvelous announced Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, I liked the idea of the Eastern-inspired setting. The more we saw, the more it felt like the game may be primarily an action RPG with sim elements on the side, for better or worse (depending on what you want out of Rune Factory). But after our social media editor Lucy and I spent some time with it at PAX East, I have realized two overarching things about the game: First, the action RPG elements are robust, and there seems to be a lot to explore in the fields and variety in combat. Second, there is so much depth to the sim components that there will be plenty to dig into, no matter which aspect of Rune Factory is your favorite.

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Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma:

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - Launch Date Trailer

Experience Rune Factory reimagined when Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma launches on the 30th May 2025.