Everything has a price. Pangea Online is no different.
Esil has spent the past year toiling in the mines of Pangea while the more wealthy traverse its myriad of gameworlds. His luck changes forever when he stumbles upon a legendary Developer's Chest, containing an invaluable Worldpass, which grants him unlimited travel to all gameworlds.
Now, Esil isn’t just stuck watching as others explore Pangea. He can finally level up.
But his in-game actions have real world consequences and failure online threatens everything he holds dear.
My Opinion: 255 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
The main character breaks free from his daily grind at the mine after he unearths a rare developer’s chest that gives him an item that lets him travel through the multiverse of Pangea Online. He visits fantasy worlds, steampunk worlds, paranormal world and more. I When his friends mom gets sick he decides to try and win the big contest that will give him just enough money to pay for her medical treatment. The story contest that has a definite Ready Player One vibe, minus the 80s nostalgia.
From the 30% mark, the main character (MC) gets a series of riddles he must solve to find the worlds and beat the quests to win the contest. Thankfully he has friends and allies to help him along the way.
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The game mechanics in the story are solid. When the characters gain a level they can assign one stat point. Characters can purchase abilities, weapon proficiencies, and spellbooks to learn magic. Additionally, equipment from different worlds give special abilities. However, besides descriptive effects combat is free of numbers and health is given as a percentage.
Overall, the story is fun and the relationships that develop because of the contest and game are interesting. The story does have a heavy Ready Player One vibe in regards to the contest but that’s not necessarily bad, it just spoils the contest end if you’ve read that story.
Score: 7 out of 10