The games were provided by SEGA/ATLUS for review. Thank you! This review encompasses all 3 games.
The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a group of 3 JRPG classics all remastered for this generation. As the leader of a guild, you will create, build, upgrade, and customize a team of adventurers to map out dungeons. As you explore, you will find rare treasures and secrets, partake in turn-based combat, and get materials to sell and get better equipment. Think strategically to put your team together, accept missions and quests, and get dive into a dungeon-crawling experience you can't put down.
The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a bundle that brings the first 3 games in the series, originally released on the DS, into one group. You can purchase all 3 individually for $40 each or the collection for $80, which is a bit hefty, but the sheer amount of content can justify it to some degree. Each game has a remastered soundtrack and visuals, as well as some quality of life improvements like a difficulty selection and save slots.
Personally, I love games like this. You select a class, with each having weapons they work best with and a special skill tree, choose a portrait and name, and get out on your adventure. I like the formation system and the way some classes can really complement each other. Leveling up takes a bit since all party members share whatever XP is given after battles, but along with the skill and equipment system, there is a nice level of customization.
The gameplay loop of each game is pretty much the same: Form your party, get equipment, go into a dungeon to complete missions/quests, come back, sell and get new equipment, and go again. I personally don't mind the loop myself, but it can feel repetitive at times. There are different locations and classes, which makes each game feel more unique, but they all largely play out similarly. I also wish I could more easily see some information, like when forming a party and knowing which character is which class instead of needing to go to each character's detailed screen, but it is still very possible to play easily.
Overall, Etrian Odyssey is an awesome set of games and seeing them come to Steam is just fantastic. The gameplay is right up my alley, though there isn't as many Quality of Life changes as I would have liked. The game is not only still playable, but still very enjoyable. The price is a bit harsh, being $80 for all 3 games, but the sheer amount of content can justify it to some degree. Thankfully, all 3 of these games deserve their Verified badge thanks to how well they run on the Steam Deck!
While I didn't have many doubts, it is still fantastic to see the collection running flawlessly on the Steam Deck without any changes. All 3 games run at 60 FPS with no compromises to quality or battery, which drains at a 6W - 8W rate. This leaves a 6.5 - 7 hour battery life and it feels fantastic with a controller!
The games don't support 16:10 resolutions, so you will have the black bars, but it does have both full controller support and cloud saves! The screen when running around a dungeon can look a little jarring at first too since half the screen will be the labyrinth and the other half will be the map you can draw on, but the press of a button can make the map minimize (and this goes away during battles).
Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is an amazing set of games that I truly love. Dungeon-crawling at its finest, this collection of the first 3 games of the series boasts a monumental amount of content and addicting gameplay. I do wish there were some more Quality of Life inclusions, like being able to see classes at party formation easier (or seeing if they are best in front or back), but its still fantastic. And with it playing so well on the Steam Deck, this will definitely be the best way to enjoy the games!
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The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a fantastic set of games with so much content and, thankfully, it runs beautifully on the Steam Deck!
