Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Switch Performance Impressions, Steam Deck Recommended Settings, and More

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In just a few days, the game titled “Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma” is set to release on platforms such as Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. To get a feel for how this latest Rune Factory installment performs on handheld devices and on Nintendo Switch specifically, I’ve been diving into both the Steam and Nintendo Switch versions prior to its launch. I’m also eager to explore any platform-specific features that the PC port offers. The trailers for “Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma” have always seemed quite ambitious, so I’m excited to see how it plays on the original Nintendo Switch, given the recent buzz surrounding the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2. At this moment, I don’t own a copy of the game on Nintendo Switch 2, but I will update my review once I get to test it extensively after gaining access to it.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Nintendo Switch impressions

To discuss the performance and experiences on the Nintendo Switch for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, I decided to review its performance first, before delving into details about the PC port and Steam Deck. Rune Factory 5 was plagued with technical issues on the Nintendo Switch, leading me to worry that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, as a cross-generation release, might not offer an optimal experience on the original system. Fortunately, despite some adjustments designed to improve performance compared to the Steam version, it remains quite playable.

As a dedicated fan, I must say that one striking difference I noticed between the Steam version and the Switch edition is the Level of Detail (LOD) being significantly closer to me as a player on the Nintendo Switch. This impact is evident in the movements of NPCs, distant enemies, shadows, quality of foliage, and even the grass. It seems that they’ve had to adjust many visual aspects to settings lower than the Steam’s lowest preset for optimal performance on the Switch. This is quite noticeable as you explore the main hub, running around the field and near the Dragon Shrine during the first hour of gameplay.

After a few hours of gameplay, I grew accustomed to the LOD (Level of Detail), but it’s quite noticeable in every region. However, the good thing is that the game’s performance isn’t as poor as Rune Factory 5. It aims for a steady 30fps, and although there are occasional hiccups during movement, the main issue with this version’s performance is longer load times compared to the Steam release.










One unexpected absence is the lack of motion controls or gyroscope support while aiming with a bow. I had anticipated that such features would be standard in Switch games or ports. The omission in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, which is exclusive to Nintendo consoles, is unfortunate and leaves me hoping for an update to include this feature.

Since Marvelous USA is planning a physical release for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma on Nintendo Switch that allows save data compatibility between the original Switch and its upcoming successor, it’s worth considering picking up this game now, despite some visual and performance issues. Although the game may perform better on the Switch 2, you’ll have the option to upgrade later on while preserving your current progress, which is a significant advantage over other publishers’ handling of similar situations.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma PC graphics options and port features

Upon starting Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma for the first time, I was impressed by its visual appeal, yet taken aback by its performance requirements, which were more demanding than anticipated. However, the inclusion of newer PC features made up for this unexpected challenge.

Before diving into the gameplay, it’s worth noting that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma allows you to customize most controller and keyboard inputs, adjust mouse sensitivity, switch the confirm/cancel button, and even modify camera movement sensitivity when using a controller.

Initially, it appeared to only support Xbox button prompts, but upon relaunching the game with my DualSense controller, it displayed PlayStation 5 button prompts correctly. Unfortunately, there’s no manual option to force specific button prompt settings; instead, it automatically detects and adjusts accordingly.




As a gamer, I found myself delving into the graphical preferences of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, where I stumbled upon the usual suspects like resolution (from 720p to 4k), screen modes (fullscreen, windowed, borderless fullscreen, and borderless windowed), frame rate cap (ranging from 30 to 240 frames per second), and graphics presets (low, medium, high, or custom). What really caught my eye, though, were the additional features such as anti-aliasing and super resolution (AA/SR) along with Frame Generation.










Absolutely! Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma offers compatibility with Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA), Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA), Advanced Microcontroller’s Frame Scaling (FSR 3), Unreal Engine’s Temporal Super Resolution (TSR), and Deep Learning Supersampling (DLSS). I didn’t have the chance to test DLSS on ROG Ally or Steam Deck, but it is mentioned in the game’s license menu. On the Frame Generation side, AMD FSR Frame Generation was an available option for me on my portable devices.

Clearly, the PC version of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma offers an impressive array of features, marking a significant leap forward compared to previous entries in the series on PC.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Steam Deck impressions

As a dedicated fan, I shared that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma was quite challenging to achieve a stable 60fps on Steam Deck without relying heavily on upscaling. However, a helpful pre-release patch has significantly improved the situation! Just remember, certain gameplay UI elements like objective markers, location entrances, and even some icons outside of the main UI can be affected by heavy upscaling, leading to a blurry or distorted appearance if you opt for settings like Ultra Performance.














If you haven’t noticed yet, it’s probable that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will soon receive Steam Deck verification, given its smooth performance and various compatible features. It boasts an on-screen keyboard for text input, Steam Cloud support, Suspend Resume cloud support, and accurate button prompts. The only adjustment needed is to customize the game’s performance according to your preference. However, it only supports 16:9 resolutions, but this hasn’t historically prevented Valve from verifying a game or not.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Steam Deck recommended settings

To optimize the performance settings for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma on Steam Deck, I chose a target frame rate of 40fps on LCD screens and 45fps on OLED displays, aiming to achieve 60fps on both types when possible. After playing the game for approximately 15 hours, I found that this setting provided a good balance between performance and visual quality.

To attain 60fps, I recommend adjusting textures to medium, shadows to low, mesh quality to medium, while leaving other options up to your personal preference. Keep in mind that SNN, Depth of Field, and SSAO should be enabled for an optimal gaming experience. To ensure a smooth 60fps experience with minimal drops, consider using TSR Balanced (or FSR Balanced if you prefer) as your resolution scaling method.

As a gamer, I suggest cranking up the in-game frame rate to its max (unlimited) and taking advantage of the Steam Deck’s OLED quick access menu to cap it at 60fps, running at 60hz. No need to adjust anything on the LCD model. The significant dips below 60, around the mid 50s, seem to primarily occur in the village hub – this could be a CPU-related issue, as it persists even with Performance upscaling enabled. If you’re considering Ultra Performance, I’d advise against it due to the visual degradation. For an enhanced visual quality experience that targets 40 and 45fps, try using the TSR Native and TSR Quality options respectively on the OLED Deck.

Switching to the Steam Deck’s LCD version, I chose to wait before starting the game until updates were available to check the default graphics settings. When I first launched the game, it automatically set a 30fps limit, high settings, and FSR performance scaling. On these settings, it looks satisfactory and maintains the 30fps target during early boss fights, but it’s not the optimal way to enjoy Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma on your Steam Deck LCD screen. To achieve a smoother gaming experience, try using FSR Quality or TSR Quality upscaling and limiting the Steam Deck LCD screen to 40fps at 40hz via the quick access menu for a target frame rate of 40fps.

To maximize precision when aiming with a bow in games on Steam Deck, consider using the trackpad as a mouse instead of the right stick. Although you can still use the stick, utilizing the trackpad will significantly improve your aim. To make this change, navigate to the controller settings, select “Edit Layout” for the default configuration. This is also where you can assign functions to the back buttons if you prefer. Personally, I set one of them to take screenshots as I often capture many while playing.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma ROG Ally impressions

During my trials on the ROG Ally handheld device, I experimented with its 25W turbo mode and configured the graphics to utilize 5GB of memory. I was intrigued to discover how far I could take the game beyond what the Steam Deck can manage in this context. To accomplish this, I conducted tests at both 1080p and 720p resolutions in search of optimal settings for high frame rates.

As a gamer, if you’re playing at 1080p resolution and aim for a smooth 60fps experience, I found that using Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) or Fidelity Super Resolution (FSR), both set to performance mode, works best. Lower the texture settings to medium, reduce shadows to low, and adjust mesh quality to low as well. For additional effects like Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO), depth of field, and Screen Space Reflections (SNN), feel free to keep them according to your preference. I personally left them on, but shadows being set to low is crucial for maintaining a consistent 60fps, especially in the main hub where it often dropped below 60 with shadows at medium or higher settings.






To optimize my gameplay at 720p resolution, I was curious to see how high I could boost the graphics for a smooth 60fps performance, and also find out the frame rate I could achieve using the lowest possible settings and upscaling. Initially, I turned on Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) and FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) at their quality settings, kept everything else in-game at high except for shadows at low. This setup provided a satisfying 60fps gaming experience. Since this is an action-RPG, I advise against using Frame Generation, but if you choose to use it, expect frame rates of 100fps or more with these settings.

When experimenting with 720p resolution using TSR or FST Ultra Performance scaling and keeping all other settings at low, you achieved approximately 100-110 frames per second (fps), with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) significantly improving the performance on your screen. If you’re gaming on ROG Ally, I advise playing at 1080p resolution and utilizing the performance upscaling, or opting for 720p resolution and quality upscaling while sticking to the settings mentioned above for the best experience.

Once I obtain the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, I’ll work on enhancing this feature by comparing it with the gameplay on its initial release. Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is set to debut on June 5 for Nintendo Switch, the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, and PC (Steam).

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2025-06-03 13:57