Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 77 | 44 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 95% | 89 | 427 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 6 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 17 reviews sampled · 13 total reviews in window · weighted 12.7 up / 0 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (35)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Rune Factory 3 Special is a life/farming simulation game originally released for the DS in 2009. Remade, it's now playable on the Switch. Fight monsters, grow and harvest crops, sell loot, cook, fish, and raise your relationship levels with the villagers in this very interactive and fun game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Rune Factory 3 Special is a great port of an already great game and I am glad that we are getting more of this series on PC.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The real draw here is simply the ability to play Rune Factory 3 on a console that doesn't have 'DS' in its name-about 90% of the experience is exactly the same as the original, and that remaining 10% doesn't exactly cover a whole lot. Luckily, Rune Factory 3 is and always was a great farm sim/RPG hybrid, and it's something that we can still easily recommend to new and returning players alike. That said, if you fall into the latter group, we'd encourage you to consider carefully how much you want to shell out to replay this on modern hardware. It's a great game, but it's effectively the same thing as your DS copy. Still, it's good to see a return to form after the rather uneven Rune Factory 5. If you're looking for another very solid farm sim to add to your Switch library-and you haven't played it before-this is definitely one to consider.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“All the charm and the excellence of the original game shines through, with only a couple of decade-old gameplay elements sticking out. The game offers a great jumping on point for those not experienced with the series while staying quite accessible to those used to the gameplay of later entries. It is an easily recommended blend of life-sim and RPG that many RPGamers can find enjoyment with.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Rune Factory 3 Special is a solid remaster of an older Rune Factory title from the Nintendo DS years. It’s been modernized and the core gameplay loop of farming, crafting and dungeon crawling holds up very well. In fact, this same core gameplay look features in a lot of games these days with Cult of the Lamb springing to mind immediately.”
read full review ↗ - 76
“Wonderfully pleasant, but also quite predictable, the strength here is in the characters you’ll be working to build relationships with”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Marvelous have absolutely succeeded in making Rune Factory 3 Special endearing to newer fans despite some obvious differences compared with the newer Rune Factory titles. It remains a great blend of RPG farming and fighting, the latter can be focused on for farming aficionados, holding off main story progression until it is desired. The comprehensive post-game content that is not conditional on various requirements only adds to the experience. Let's hope Rune Factory 1 and 2 receive similar treatments in the future!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“If you love the entire package of story, farming, combat, exploration, and characters, you could spend 50 to 70 hours playing the main game before even getting to the 11 Newlywed Mode chapters.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Rune Factory 3 Special may lack quality of life features found in recent entries but offers perhaps the best cast of characters in the series with crisp visuals and an addictive gameplay loop.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Rune Factory 3 Special isn't going to be for every farming game fan and won't dethrone Stardew Valley as the most popular farming game, but its charming characters and setting make for a very enjoyable experience. I was surprisingly pleased at the quality of the writing and the depth of some of the crafting systems, and those propelled Rune Factory 3 Special forward to make it both relaxing and engaging. This is a worthy addition to the Switch library, and one I might return to in the future, if only to spend some time with some of my new favorite characters.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Rune Factory 3 Special is as enjoyable game as Rune Factory 3, only now it's on more platforms so a larger audience can appreciate it.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The core issue with Rune Factory 3 Special is that Rune Factory 4 Special is already out, and without any significant improvements, there isn't a ton to recommend Rune Factory 3 Special overits sequel. There's more structure to the storyline and more freedom to break the game early on, but beyond that, it's basically the same experience that is a step backward. Rune Factory 3 is still fun, but it feels like it's missing things so soon after Rune Factory 4 Special because, well, it is. On the DS, Rune Factory 3 was a huge improvement over the previous game, but when you're going in reverse, it loses a lot of its luster. Short of having burned yourself out on Rune Factory 4 Special while still hankering for roughly the same gameplay, there's no huge reason to grab this over its sequel.”
read full review ↗
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Worth Playing…and 23 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch Notes - Dec. 12, 2025Dec 12, 2025
- Version 1.0.4 Patch NotesOct 19, 2023