With the two-tone keycaps and a single-color LED for the HERMES M5, GAMDIAS tried something different, and it would have been a nice buy for $60 had it not been for those unsatisfying switches and stabilizers compared to what you can find on the market for around the same price. Full-size keyboards are extremely popular to both produce and purchase, so the competition is tougher than ever before. With the HERMES E3, the company has tweaked a lot of things, which works in favor of the keyboard.

There is still no software support from GAMDIAS, however, which is arguably worse on the 60% form factor here, where customization helps fine-tune the user experience to get the smaller number of keys set up as one would prefer. Instead, we have to rely on what GAMDIAS has done for the layers, which are laid out pretty logically. Fn keys with the number key row make for as universal a programming as any on these smaller form factor keyboards, and using WASD for the arrow keys is certainly a gamer move given the HERMES E3 targets gamers. With the combination of the dedicated 61-keys on this US ANSI layout and the layered functions, we end up with most functions from a TKL keyboard. The choice to have Fn1 for the layers and Fn2 for the other functions also makes it easy to distinguish between integral and aesthetic functions, with the latter set dedicated to backlighting.

The HERMES E3 goes back to per-key RGB lighting, which has become a gaming keyboard trait. There are 19 effects to choose from, but missing is unfortunately the per-key lighting option, as well as the game genre-specific presets the Hermes M5 had. You can't choose the specific color you want either, so compromises have certainly been made. At $54, however, it is quite easy to shrug these off. The 60% keyboard market is also only just being populated, so there is not much competition in this price range. GAMDIAS choosing to go with Outemu switches and better stabilizers also tips the scales in favor of the Hermes E3 to where it's a good budget gamepad or even a potentially more ergonomic typing solution than the HERMES M5 should you be content with QWERTY and the assigned layout of the HERMES E3.