Note: This post was originally published on Audible.com.
I’m going to guess you’re here for one of two reasons: 1.) You liked the cool headline and wanted to know what LitRPG means. 2.) You know what a LitRPG is and are here to be dazzled. Good news—either way, you clicked for the right reason! Before we dive in, let me answer a few of your potential questions.
What is LitRPG?
Spelled out, LitRPG means Literary Role Playing Game. Simply put, it’s the book version of watching someone play a video game, usually one that’s set up like an MMO (massively multiplayer online) RPG. It’s a blend of sci-fi and fantasy, depending on how it comes to be that our main character ends up living inside a virtual reality. Sometimes we are far into the future. Sometimes it turns out that all humans have been abducted by an alien race. However you cut it, the point of LitRPG is not how we get there, but that we get to be in this virtual reality period, living life as a badass video-game character. Most LitRPGs even include game stats as the main character progresses through the challenges.
How do I know if LitRPG is right for me?
First off, do you like playing video games or have you ever been drawn to one? If yes, then this genre is meant for you. Do you find satisfaction in watching and/or reading about training montages? If yes, it’s for you. Do you like when the underdog wins? If that's a yes, then here you go! LitRPG is immensely satisfying to those of us who like watching our character level up—without having to do the grinding work ourselves.
Where do I start?
Good question. May I present to you this very fine list of options below? If you’re a noob to the genre, I’d suggest starting with the most popular titles and the entry-level listens in the beginner level, and then moving on from there.
Help! I think I’ve listened to all the LitRPGs in existence!
Wow! Good for you! More good news—you are absolutely wrong, because new titles are coming out all the time. Scroll to the advanced level and check out some old classics that became the first LitRPGs as well as a few hidden gems and newer releases.
Level: Beginner
If you're new to the world of LItRPGs, this is the perfect place to start. Though He Who Fights Monsters was first published as a popular serial novel on Royal Road, listeners can now enjoy Heath Miller's expert narration. And trust us—you haven't heard fantasy voice work until you've heard Heath Miller's take on monsters, wizards, and more. The story follows the charming but decidedly unprepared Jason, who is suddenly thrust from his life as the manager of an office supplies store into a world of interdimensional travel and adventure. He knows the point of all this adventuring is to come out on top as a lion heart of sorts, but as it turns out, heroism is a lot easier said than done.
This hit progression fantasy series, written by Zogarth and performed by BookTok sensation Travis Baldree, is another excellent starting point for beginners to the genre. The series follows Jake, a seemingly average lowly office worker who finds himself thrust into a vast multiverse filled with monsters and dangers—a place where power is the only thing you can rely on. This classic apocalypse LitRPG series, with levels, classes, professions, skills, and more, tracks Jake’s progression from a typical drudge to a true apex hunter.
Being named Audible's Customer Favorite of the Year in 2018, The Land is, unsurprising, an adventure fit for both the enthusiastic beginner and advanced listener. Created by bestselling author Aleron Kong and performed by Nick Podehl, this is one of those LitRPGs where an alien race abducts humans and inserts them into a game. My favorite part is the sound effects that go along with every status update. With eight books and counting in this series, there’s quite a lot of leveling-up in store for Richter and his friends.
This cozy fantasy adventure is another great introduction to the genre. It includes many elements that LitRPG fans know and love, but it's not as heavy on the gaming stats you may hear in other titles. Erin Solstice is on the run from goblins—and, well, just about everything else she encounters. She thought magical worlds would be a little more fun and a lot less treacherous, but so far, this one is chock-full of danger. So when she comes across an inn, she settles in and declares herself innkeeper. But even serving drinks is more hazardous than she imagined—which is bound to happen when your clientele is mostly monsters.
This is a soft entry with LitRPG-like elements. Not every LitRPG concerns itself with the outside world. In fact, many only give it a passing acknowledgement as they speed up to the good bits, aka the gaming. But Off to Be the Wizard grapples with the philosophical question, "What if we found out our world was a virtual reality?" Okay, maybe it doesn’t go deep into the big questions, but they’re there. And they make the story just that much more fun. There are five more books in Scott Meyer's Magic 2.0 series, and Luke Daniels narrates them all with the perfect mix of wonder and drama.
This LitRPG has a lot of fun playing with a classic premise. Naomi is a cheerful teenager who wakes up one day in total darkness, severed from the world she knew. She soon discovers she's been reborn as some kind of creature, and she's stuck in a game that is terrifyingly real. Queen in the Mud is a gem, alive with countless creative monsters, settings, characters, and magic systems. And the stakes are high enough that it'll be hard to hit pause once you've started listening.
Also narrated by Luke Daniels, Ascend Online is set far into the future where immersive gaming is the main form of entertainment. Marcus is gaming with his friends online when the unexpected happens—always the dreaded goblins!—and he needs to help rebuild a village. Hearing it grow from the ground up as the series progresses is so satisfying, along with getting to know Marcus’s friends, who are the coolest MMORPG bunch ever.
Are you looking for an adventure full of cute, cozy fun and gentle humor? Then this is the listen for you. This game's world is in desperate need of someone to eradicate an ancient evil, and there's no one better suited than Broccoli Bunch— professional cleaner, gardener extraordinaire, ghost hunter, and, most importantly, cinnamon bun to the core. This is a silly, absolutely adorable adventure story that's lower in stakes but never, ever boring. Reba Buhr narrates with the perfect mix of wonder and charm.
Another genre-bending entry point for those curious about the RPG world, Sufficiently Advanced Magic has some of the most fun elements of gamer’s fiction—puzzles, rewards, and level-ups. It’s not quite a LitRPG because it’s set in a fantasy world, and the trials the main character Corin goes through are not virtual. But he is awarded magic powers upon completion and undergoes rigorous training, which makes it a pretty addictive listen. Nick Podehl lends his skillful voice to the action.
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself alone in a world full of unfriendly (and hungry!) creatures while trapped in the body of an eight-year-old boy? This is the reality faced by Eight, who was on his way home from work one moment, and then, in the next, was being turned away from a city wall by a mysterious gate guard in an unfamiliar world. Fans of wildcrafting and survival stories will love this listen, as Eight's very life depends on his ability to do things like light fires and make spears.
Level: Intermediate
LitRPG should also be known for its colorful and character-filled narration. (Did you see the stacked list of narrators in the beginner level?) It takes a badass narrator to masterfully voice the entirety of a game world and all the fantasy characters within it, and then on top of that, to read us game stats in a compelling way. Vikas Adam tangos with the best of narrators, and he pulls you into the world of the Ritualist as Joe (best fantasy character name ever) learns the delicate balance between having both immense powers and immense handicaps.
A man prepared to end his life is given a surprising chance to start over in a Medieval-style video game. He's newly christened as Montana, and he faces a whole slew of challenges, all of them a far cry from what he left behind. Narrator Neil Hellegers does a wonderful job guiding listeners through all the ins and outs of Montana's bizarre new reality. One More Last Time is only the first in the series, but many more hours of adventuring await in further books.
In Jack’s real world, there’s an unavoidable asteroid hurtling toward Earth, about to destroy the population. What better place to be, then, than in the game universe of Viridian Gate Online? Turns out that loading your consciousness into a game system doesn’t solve all your problems. Money is power in all the lands, and Jack's new main goal is to get by without being tied to "eternal serfdom," as one reviewer called it. And it's just the start of a whole series packed with adventure and danger, performed by Armen Taylor.
There's nothing quite so satisfying as watching underdogs and sidekicks triumph, and Stuff and Nonsense is a fantastic addition to the underdog hero subgenre. Threadbare is only 12 inches tall. He's not very good at typical hero stuff, but he's a fast learner, and he's determined to survive. He was created by a mysterious animator, cast aside as an experiment gone wrong, and rescued by a girl with her own challenges. Together, they're going to face down their enemies, and with any luck, maybe even win.
At first, Gunnar’s goal in the world of Eden’s Gate is to find his girlfriend—and to find a way to stop playing the game, as there appears to be no exit. But before long, he’s caught up in the quests and the adventures like the other players. His progression through the levels doesn’t happen mind-bogglingly fast though, which is a refreshing take compared to many RPGs. Plus, he’s got a cool head and thinks before he acts. Pavi Proczko narrates all seven books in the series, keeping the tension mounting and the threats coming.
In the real world of this LitRPG, Dominion of Blades is a wildly popular online role-playing game, and for over three decades, players all over the world have plugged themselves into its interface to battle dragons, experience epic sword fights, and become heroes. But after several players die in real life, the technology that makes the game feel so lifelike is banned. That's when Jonah wakes up inside the game, with no understanding of how he got there. And the only way out is through. This is a classic adventure LitRPG, perfect for listeners familiar with the genre looking for something that will nonetheless entertain and surprise.
In a world where your mind can suddenly get sucked into any game you’re playing by chance, you’d think people would maybe stop dabbling in that online roulette. But to players with a debilitating injury or illness like Max, who has terminal cancer, it’s a shot at escaping their fate. He rolls that dice and melds into a fantasy MMORPG. In AlterWorld, Max is playing to live. Translated from Russian, this new LitRPG classic is classic fun.
In Temple of Sorrow, a professional gamer discovers that life inside the hottest new game, Relic Online, is as fun as she was expecting. With a shiny new implant that turns virtual reality into something akin to real life, Devon Walker falls into the world of Relic Online with one mission—to push the game's AI as far as it will go. But the game has some plans of it own. Narrators Annie Ellicott and Jeff Hays bring this adventure to life, with fantastic character voices that make you feel like you've been transported into the story's realm.
Reality television meets video games meets the apocalypse in this thrilling LitRPG set in the wake of a global catastrophe. Humans suddenly find civilization destroyed, and in its place, a massive labyrinth encircling the planet. The only way to survive its deadly traps and alien monsters is to build up a following and put on a show for the wealthy spectators, who view events safely from the other side of the galaxy and bestow life-saving favors on those they find the most entertaining. Fans of darker games will appreciate the intensity, pacing, and sense of humor woven throughout Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Level: Advanced
Prepare to be knocked off your feet by this doozy. The stakes are high here, as Chris has opted in for the Death March mode of Euphoria Online’s gameplay. In this futuristic dystopia that means Chris has only one life in the game, and if he loses it, then he dies in real life. But it's a risk he has to take in order to gain a pardon for his brother, who’s been sentenced to death (yikes!). The amazing Vikas Adam narrates every spine-tingling, nerve-racking twist in this immersive LitRPG drama.
This complex, exciting LitRPG might have a familiar conceit, but you never know where it’s headed. Full of twists and turns, enlivened by Travis Baldree's immersive narration, Shadeslinger is an excellent choice for any LitRPG fanatic. Ned Altimer longs to leave his boring life behind, so, of course, he throws himself into Earthblood Online, a new VRMMO that no one can stop talking about. He's accompanied by a talking axe named Frank, who's charming, violent, and a little bit secretive. Frank might be able to help Ned achieve success and accomplish his wildest dreams—but only if the two of them don't get killed first.
Queue this up and add it to your list because it’s a rager, judging by the cover alone. Fellow Audible Editor Scott J. called it "Ready Player One meets Lord of the Rings." Personally, I’m intrigued to hear a LitRPG story from the perspective of a troll, a character typically detested in the RPG world. Add the fact that it’s narrated by Nick Podehl, and Rogue Dungeon is an easy yesss!
An asteroid is heading for Earth, the founder of a massively popular game may be trying to become the world's most powerful despotic ruler, and a woman named Abby may have found some secret hacked code in the game that could mean life or death for the whole planet. To say the stakes are high would be an understatement. Follow along as Abby dives into the bowels of the game, teaming up with its AI in her desperate search for answers. This is the first entry in a new series set in the Viridian Gate Online universe, and it's full of propulsive energy that will keep you listening nonstop.
Originally published in 2004, Epic is among the first in the LitRPG genre. It’s set in a place called New Earth (the planet humans migrated to after they destroyed Earth 1), where society is decidedly low-tech except for the fantasy MMORPG that connects everyone. When Erik witnesses this system's injustice to his parents, he decides that he isn’t going to play by the rules anymore. Naturally, adventure ensues.
A virtual world full of magical creatures and epic quests, Barliona is a gamer's dream. It's so popular, in fact, that many players choose to remain in the world of the game for months at at time. But there is one category of players for whom Barliona isn't a virtual paradise—criminals sent there to live out their sentences. For them, Barliona is a living hell, and they're just trying to survive. Jonathan Yen's dramatic narration adds to the heart-pounding tension of this adventure, delivering the perfect listen for LitRPG fans looking for something with a little bite.
Not quite an LitRPG but a forerunner to the genre, this techno-crime thriller from Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross brings some serious tech into the realm of the police procedural. Jack Reed, a programmer, is tasked with solving an international crime that’s committed from inside the gamers’ universe. Turns out, what was initially thought to be just a virtual hangout for misfits and outcasts had the potential all along to cause ramifications much more real than anyone suspected. Set amidst an infowar among China, India, and the USA, Halting State is chilling and hard to pause.
