Sean Christian, twenty-two years old, with an unassuming appearance and an ordinary family background, was a typical college student you could find in nearly every corner of the world. However, beneath this ordinary façade, he had another identity — an identity that set him apart from the masses; he was a famous game critic specializing primarily in virtual reality games.
As the popularity of virtual reality games and headsets surged at the beginning of the decade, Sean jumped on the bandwagon. He launched a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing his experiences and insights. Inspired by the VR novels and comics that had captured his imagination since childhood, he felt an irresistible pull toward reviewing and exploring a wide array of VR games. Coupled with his verbal eloquence and good sense of humor, his channel had grown to have hundreds of thousands of subscribers and was rising fast. Reaching one million was a sure thing.
Yet, amidst his growing success, Sean remained unfulfilled. Despite his efforts to delve into a multitude of VR games, he never encountered that elusive experience — a game that would transport him to another world, a game that would genuinely astound him. No matter how much high-end hardware he acquired to enhance his immersion, he consistently found limitations and constraints that left him wanting more.
“Was I born too early to experience a game like that…?” Sean’s gaze wandered from his collection of VR hardware, filled with longing, and eventually settled on his computer screen.
He often felt trapped in the confines of this mundane world, performing everyday tasks just like any ordinary person… Only through video games could he escape, which was why he yearned for a truly immersive VR game. Sadly, the era was still in its infancy when it came to VRMMORPGs, with only a handful entering the market.
Even then, each passing year saw the release of numerous new VR games; however, each and every one of them inevitably fell short of his expectations. This, in turn, earned him a somewhat notorious nickname in the VR community: “The Merciless Criticizer,” who specialized in dissecting the flaws of various VR games by leaving somewhat negative reviews on a lot of gaming sites.
Sean was an outlier among many, and this was the key to his success. He rose to fame by providing valuable insights into what VR games should aspire to be, often assisting developers in enhancing their creations. Moreover, he had a knack for uncovering bugs and quirks in games, capitalizing on them to entertain his audience and garner their laughter.
Slurping the cup of now-soggy instant noodles while sighing, Sean opened a video game recommendation page on an e-commerce gaming platform.
“I need to find a fresh target for the new episode of ‘Adventure Seeker and Critics’ soon,” he muttered, skimming over the ads with a rather bored expression.
The first game he saw stumbled upon a fantasy VR game, complete with monsters and adorable NPC girls.
“Another SAO rip-off? They don’t even have the necessary technology, and the graphics look terrible. I bet anyone trying to play it will end up feeling queasy.”
The concept seemed rather unoriginal, with a twenty-floor tower that players had to climb to finish the game. It was not exactly an online multiplayer game, but it supported small servers for friends to play together.
The second option was more promising. It was an FPS game playable with or without VR. However, Sean quickly dismissed it, thinking there were already plenty of excellent titles in that category he had reviewed in the past.
Then he stumbled upon the third option…
“A dating simulator game? And you can customize the female characters to your liking? Hehehe… This is perfect! I can bring my waifu to life and do all sorts of ‘scenarios’— No, I don’t want to risk demonetization or even getting banned just yet.”
He finally let out a long sigh after nearly an hour of scrolling down with no exciting results. It wasn’t that there weren’t any other new and interesting games; it was just that they all seemed like copies of each other and reviewing them had become a tedious and repetitive task.
After all, Sean had tried a wide range of VR games, experimenting with new emerging technologies like haptic feedback devices and VR treadmills. He had even dabbled in indie games that utilized unique supplementary hardware to provide artificial scents. Well, he couldn’t expect to review big-budget AAA+ games every time on a platform that rarely produced such titles.
“Guess I have to make do with whatever looks even remotely interesting. Otherwise, my viewers will start complaining about the lack of new content.”
At last, he opened the site that was the center of his career: YouTube. Perhaps there would be some interesting things he could find here, such as upcoming game releases or insider information.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, his hand froze, and the mouse pointer came to a halt as he spotted a trending video titled “Magus Academy Online New Event Battle — No, This Isn’t CGI.” The one who posted it was relatively unknown, and the video had an unremarkable thumbnail, as if it was made with digital art taken from the real world rather than using the stereotypical flashy art cover commonly associated with game-related content. Still…
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“…Magus Academy Online?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, he clicked on the video. As the video played out, his mood, which had been at rock bottom, began to improve, and soon, he found himself unable to suppress a broad smile of excitement and thrill. The battle that unfolded from the moment the arachnid horde attacked the academy until the final showdown between the headmaster NPC and the queen spider…
From the fantastical and thrilling surroundings along with otherworldly magic being thrown left and right and exciting background music playing in the background. Everything made him feel as if he was personally there, and words alone couldn’t describe what he had seen.
It was absolutely exhilarating!
“Why have I never heard of this game before?” he wondered.
No, wait… I did hear something about it, didn't I? One of my patrons sent me a mysterious link to a game a week ago and claimed that it was a fully immersive VR game. I mean, there’s no way it was true, right? Sean thought, now feeling a tinge of regret for not investigating further at the time.
Nevertheless, his sense of wonder and novelty got the better of him, so he set out to scour the internet high and low for information about the game. Luckily, he didn’t need to look too hard; there was a URL link to the game in the video’s description box.
Upon being redirected to a new tab in his browser, Sean couldn’t help but voice his admiration, “Wow, not bad.”
It was worth noting that the website of a game, particularly the cover art on its front page, served as the face of the game itself. No game developers would neglect the importance of an attractive cover, but the gaming world was filled with instances where the cover didn’t accurately represent the actual gameplay.
While he had grown accustomed to seeing high-budget art covers, it was a rare sight to come across a website as comprehensive and ambitious as this, except in multi-billion-dollar projects. Especially the iconic, picturesque pair of a handsome wizard and an enchanting witch on the front page. It was an ideal representation of the game’s theme and bound to captivate the attention of any visitor.
The only thing he found lacking was a promotional trailer video to entice potential players… Oops, my habit is at play again. I suppose the one on YouTube should suffice for now.
Setting aside his pedantic personality, he scrolled down the webpage, meticulously reading every detail, delving deep into the game’s lore, and even exploring its extensive wiki and forum briefly.
“The game’s plot is quite interesting and unique; it’s as if this is more than just a game but a reality itself,” Sean exclaimed in admiration. “Plus, this slogan…”
A Limitless Open World
Roam through different realms, each with its own charm and mystery, and let the unfolding tale accompany your every move.
Do you dare enter this fully immersive VR game, even if it might well take over your life?
“Fully immersive, you say…” He chewed these words.
What audacity.
Not even the most impudent and daring game developers would dare to claim that they have created a fully immersive VR game. Unless they were a genius like “Kayaba Akihiko” — who was a fictional character — then crafting such a game with the existing technology was nothing short of a grandiose dream.
If it weren’t for the video he watched earlier and the reviews of other people, he would have made a review video right there and then, but now he wanted to know who was behind this game. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find what company was responsible for it. Nonetheless, Sean’s curiosity only intensified as he eagerly scrolled toward the registration page.
Magus Academy Online
Unleash the Magic Within, Rise as an Acolyte, and Shape Your Destiny in Magus Academy Online: The Ultimate VRMMORPG Adventure Begins!
Currently in Closed-Alpha Stage
[Join Now]
“Heh, typical for an MMORPG…” Sean clicked the “Join Now” button, which directed him to the registration page. There, he began filling in the required data and email, including putting his username as “KuroUsagi” there — at least it didn’t request any critical and sensitive information that was usual of a scam—
“Hold on, what kind of questions are these?” As he proceeded to the next page, he was greeted by an array of unusually specific queries: “How much free time can you commit?” “What’s your experience with similar games?” “What’s your profession?” and a variety of similarly unconventional questions, with the last one being the most that stood out:
“Our game seeks to perfectly mimic real life; there are no crafting shortcuts, or menu cheats you couldn’t use if you were there in person. The Academy is still being built by the players in-game and also defended by them. Do you possess any special real-life skills that could be of assistance? Examples: martial arts training, bow hunting, carpentry or masonry training, real world survival skills, blacksmithing skills, or something we haven’t listed.”
Is this an interview for a job or a registration page for a game? Sean creased his eyebrows. Being a student in his final semester, he was well-versed in job interviews, but these questions were out of place for a game application.
Even though the game was in the closed-alpha stage and there was a need to screen applicants, these inquiries deviated from the usual registration process in most games. Regardless, he didn’t dwell on it for long and clicked the “Register” button. His information and responses were submitted, and the page quickly transitioned to display the total number of applications.
Total Applicants: 14,621
That’s not a small number for a game in its early phase, considering that the most recent version mentioned that only about one hundred people are qualified so far. While he didn’t know precisely when he would receive the qualification, he was confident that it would arrive soon. His detailed responses would undoubtedly stand out among the rest.
Still, it was in this moment of heightened confidence that Sean suddenly realized something crucial…
“Wait! This doesn’t solve my problem of finding a game to review!”