Etrian Odyssey HD

In the town of Etria, you form a guild of explorers and descend into the mysterious Yggdrasil Labyrinth, seeking its hidden depths and secrets. You create a party of up to five characters, choosing from different classes.

Explore the labyrinth in first person, moving across a grid through layered floors with different environments and hazards. Record routes and points of interest on your map as you go, while navigating traps, shortcuts, and powerful roaming enemies.

Combat is turn-based, with party formation and class skills shaping how you handle monsters and bosses. Return to town to take quests, sell monster materials to unlock equipment, and prepare for further expeditions; difficulty settings let you adjust the challenge.

Players who enjoy methodical dungeon crawlers often praise the satisfaction of filling in maps and the tactical choices involved in building a party and allocating skills. Challenging encounters, exploration, and the soundtrack also stand out for some. Others find the repeated battles and grinding tiring, and the game’s sparse story and old-school friction are not to everyone’s taste.