Etrian Odyssey V Beyond the Myth on 3DS with four new playable races. The most elaborate class system in the saga. Dive into Yggdrasil with deep customisation. For fans who want the quintessence of dungeon RPG.
Your verdict
Category
RPG1 player12+
Description
Adventurers from four distinct races unite to climb the mythical Yggdrasil and reach the legendary god enthroned at its summit. Published by NIS America, released in Europe in October 2017. Four races with exclusive classes, in-depth manual mapping, developed skill trees, demanding turn-based combat. European version in English.
Etrian Odyssey V - Beyond the Myth review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
The drawing this time starts from the body. Four peoples with distinct morphologies serve as the base, long ears, horns, fur, heavy build, and every profession is now only a clothing variation laid over one of those templates. The result gives visually contrasted parties from the very first screen, where allies can be told apart by silhouette alone before their class is even read.
Faithful to his genius, Yuzo Koshiro signs a score where electric prog-rock and broad strings escort the ascent of the Yggdrasil. Each stratum of the labyrinth has its own theme, between hushed tension and heroic exaltation. This melodic intensity, the saga's hallmark, galvanises exploration all the way to the summit.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"Mild"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Choosing your race and specializations, then plunging into a labyrinth you draw yourself sets up an exploration where each mapped floor beckons the next. Fine-tuning skills and outwitting the F.O.E. rewards careful planning. The structure stays familiar, but the freedom to shape your guild and the satisfaction of the map keep their pull for the long haul.
Difficulty
"Punishing"
Race selection and deep class customization put thinking before action: a poorly built party soon hits a wall. Between threatening FOEs, demanding cartography and bosses that punish any sloppiness, exploration must be earned. Spare and rigorous, it offers that patient climb in skill which earned the saga its reputation among dungeon-crawler fans.
Lifespan
"Massive"
Climbing Yggdrasil with adventurers of four races with distinct aptitudes opens a long ascent of mapping and tactical battles. Building your party, drawing each floor and outwitting FOEs rewards patient planning. That depth of exploration, the series' mark, earns the title a lifespan dungeon-RPG fans savour.
Etrian Odyssey V is the penultimate entry of the main series on 3DS, and the PAL version is among the hardest to find owing to a very short Deep Silver print. Its collector value is doubled by the recognised quality of this entry, often cited as the best balance between tradition and accessibility in the sub-series. A central piece on any Etrian shelf, already noticeably rarer than the Untold games second-hand.
An underrated gem
A return to pure dungeon-crawling, this fifth volume leans on four races and deep class customization rather than story. Quiet and demanding, it won over only a circle of initiates. Fans of meticulous mapmaking and tactical combat will find one of the series' high points here, unjustly tucked away.
Is Etrian Odyssey V - Beyond the Myth still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2016 in Japan then 2017 in the West on 3DS, Atlus' project returns to the fundamentals of the first person dungeon crawler, where the cautious exploration of a great labyrinthine tree comes with a map to draw yourself. The introduction of races with distinct aptitudes and a very flexible class customisation system enriches party composition and strategy. The demanding turn based combat and the satisfaction of completing your map remain at the heart of the experience. The austerity and the difficulty target an informed audience. An excellent dungeon crawler, recommended for fans of methodical exploration and optimisation.
