LitRPG, almost like living in a video game:

Do you like video games? Do you wish life was a bit more like a video game? A new genre of fiction has entered the public eye over the last few years, LitRPG. LitRPG is a genre of novel focused around a single common idea; what would it be like to live inside a video game?

My introduction to the LitRPG genre was similar to a lot of people in recent times, through Ready Player One. This book has had mixed reviews but is undoubtedly a very successful and engaging story. Recently made in to a movie by Steven Spielberg, Ready Player One follows the character Parzival as he quests through the Oasis. I shan’t go into detail about Ready Player One as there has been huge amounts of publicity for the movie covering all the main concepts.

After being entranced by the concept and potentials of a life lived in a video game I quickly searched the shelves for other stories in the genre.

My next adventure was into the world of Barleona with Shaman Mahan in the Way of the Shaman series. This is one of my all-time favourite series, most likely due to the fantastic narration by Johnathan Yen.

Mahan is a normal guy who is wrongfully imprisoned due to a misunderstanding. The state has managed to solve the issue of housing and keeping prisoners by placing them in full emersion capsules and importing them in the highly popular game of Barleona. A large number of the population live in the Barleona, conducting business and competing for fame. The prisoners are forced to work in mines, collecting resources for the state to sell to players. The Way of the Shaman series really captures what MMO games are like. Levelling and the grind. With a brilliant amount of humour I would recommend you check this one out. There are currently 7 books, 6 of which have been made into audiobooks by Yen.

Life Reset was my next step into the LitRPG genre. Life Reset follows Oren, one of the leading players in New Era Online. Oren gets betrayed and ends up stuck in the game as a level 1 goblin. This book focuses on an area of gaming that I love. If you enjoy playing games like factorio, TTD, Tekkit or similar then you will love this book. Life Rest is all about automation and efficiency. Oren must rebuild his life and using his in-depth knowledge of in game mechanics to plan and execute a progressive building plan.

My next series was Everybody loves chests by Neven Lliev. I was a bit dubious about this series but gave it a try due to the high reviews. It was a bit crude in places but has a large amount of humour and the story is well thought out. The plot follows a low level mob who slowly levels up and begins to have bigger and greater goals. This series is just a bit of fun but can be a good read or listen if you’re not too sensitive.

My final book on the list is Super Sales on Super Heroes. Though not technically set in a game, due to the presence of superhero powers, the story is very similar to a LitRPG. The author, William Arand, has actually written other LitRPG stories previously. This book is another story that focuses on slow building and improvement. The plot follows Feliz, a guy with a pointless and low level superpower. Things quickly change when he finds a way of boosting his power and he begins his mission to build and improve.

A final notable series is the Bobiverse trilogy. These are in no way set in a game but have similar plot lines and a large amount of it takes place in VR.

Let me know your favourite LitRPG novels and anything plot ideas that you haven’t read but would like in a litRPG novel.