In Animal Eye, the newest AI-controlled VR-RPG from Horizon Systems, Khin May and Jake sign on as testers for a game that lets them play as animal companions to human NPCs. In a world that seems Renaissance-era, with swords and muskets, strange beasts lurk in the wilderness, pressing their attacks harder into civilized lands, laughing maniacs that can’t be killed by ordinary means.
Khin May as a sassy crow named Ahva and Jake as Nagheed, a Nethanyan mountain shepherd, along with their humans, learn the history of the game world and set out to stop the twisted mastermind behind the attacks…
My Opinion: 400 pg ??, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is a fairly family friendly LitRPG story with gamers playing a new VRMMO where players can be animals instead of people. The multi narrative story has one player as a dog with the Protector class, another as a crow, and a bear companion. It's a fairly slice of life story, where you follow the characters as they play their animal characters, get quests and become immersed in the game world, and go on adventures. It's kinda like if the animals from that movie Homeward Bound went on an RPG adventure.
On the game mechanic side of things, the characters gain XP and level for learning their appropriate animal behaviors, solving quests like finding an owner, and problem solving using their limited animal skills and abilities. There are levels, skills, stats, HP, and all the normal stuff. There is also an interesting use of morale in the story. With the animals able to lower or raise a target's morale with growls or other actions. Morale impacts a target's behavior and their ability to fight effectively. There are also notifications and XP rewards based on what an animal would perceive or do. The story does a good job of gamifying what it would be like to play as an animal.
Overall, a decent read if you feel like reading about animal main characters or want something you can read with your kids.
Score: 7.1 out of 10