With the Screamers held hostage out in the real world, it’s up to Noah to save them.
After years of believing Chloe’s brother was dead, a clue leads them to believe he’s alive and in need of a rescue. It’s a chance for everyone to finally make things right after the failed beta tests. Unlike the Ghost of the Dream State who controls them, Noah believes the former beta testers have a chance to live outside the game once more. But only if he can find them and free them from the Ghost.
This mission is personal for everyone: Chloe’s brother, Siena’s long lost high school friend, Keri’s boyfriend, Brock’s coworkers. Everyone has lost someone to the Screamers.
To save the lost Screamers, Noah and his friends must team up and venture into the real world. But the Ghost is willing to kill in order to keep the Screamers captive. Can Noah and his friends survive a quest outside of the game?
My Opinion: 335 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
I'd honestly thought the series was done. The characters at the end of book 3 had reached a peak in power and resolved their big story arc.
This latest entry feels like a cyberpunk add on for end game content for an MMO.The first 20% the story really just recaps the last story arc and explains why the main character (MC) and his team are still working for the company. There's also an added cheat ability that projects an enemies intention, which while cool gives the story more of a cyberpunk feel since it bypasses the normal game system. There are also several other places where a dev overrides or bypasses normal gameplay elements.
Story wise, things are pretty good but there are places where the plot feels forced in a particular direction. Characters act a bit odd and do things that feel out of place to further the plot in a particular direction.
On the game mechanics side the story is definitely more GameLit now. All the game mechanics from the previous books exist. All the virtual threats. However, there's little progression in terms of spell levels, or getting skill points for new powers, or anything since the characters hit a power cap in the last arc. It really feels like level capped players running around exploring the world, doing PvP, and refining their gameplay in small ways just for something to do. Or in this case to solve an issue affecting people IRL.
Overall, an entertaining story. Definitely more cyberpunk gamelit now. Which is fine. Story doesn't ever claim to be anything else. But I missed the RPG progression.
Score: 7.3 out of 10