A lot of us wish that we could step into our video games for real and play like there’s no tomorrow; but how many of us would actually survive? Aside from survival, it’d be a tough world. That’s exactly what Ryouta in Btooom!’s situation is. He was playing his favorite violent video game and suddenly finds himself transported on an island with some equipment. A day’s worth of provisions, a bag of bombs, and a crystal embedded into his hand. The next person he sees, instead of answering his questions, tries to kill him! It captures more of the fighting and tactical side of Overlord, as well as the deeper undertones. As it turns out, he is in real life Btooom! with 7 other players who are all fighting for survival. They must kill until there’s only one left standing. Being a top player, Ryouta would normally have no problem but playing in real life is a little bit different when you don’t have any resets on life.

If we’re talking about a world of games then we can’t go without mentioning No Game No Life. Sora and Shiro are famous NEET shut ins who are the source of famous legends on the internet. There is no game they can’t beat and one day are summoned to a world where war is forbidden and in its place everything is decided by games. In this world, Humanity is being pushed into a corner by other races and it’s up to the brother and sister duo to save this world’s humanity! Although completely opposite in colors, disposition and violence level from Overlord, there’s no mistaking the similarities. Everything is at stake here and it’s no game (ha, ha). Both must fight, in their own ways as well as causing the viewer to laugh themselves to tears.

Surely there isn’t anyone who hasn’t heard of the famous Sword Art Online by now! With fame comes some hate because nothing can please everybody but really, this series came pretty darn close. It answered fans’ wishes to turn a video game into reality with a little less bloody violence than Btooom! and incorporates some of the humor in Overlord. Kirito, a nobody in real life, goes into the game and becomes a somebody. He becomes the most powerful player in the game, due to his dual sword skill that no one’s ever heard of, and literally beats the game, saving everybody in the process. Well, everyone that was left anyway. But he sure got the girl in the process!

.hack//Sign is basically where it all began. It was one of the first successful anime centered around a virtual reality MMO and spawned many sequels and spinoffs. Enter in Tsukasa, a wavemaster who wakes up in The World. He is unaware of why he can’t logout, like Momonga, but also doesn’t remember who he is. He eventually meets Subaru, the leader of the Crimson Knights, who helps him find out why he can’t log out. A tale of adventure, mystery, and a wonderful cast, watch this series as it started the era of video game themed anime of years to come.

Bell Cranel is a beginner adventurer who really, really desperately wants to become a legend with his Goddess Hestia, who supports him wonderfully. After an embarrassing fail in the dungeons and being saved by Aiz Wallenstein, a famous adventurer, he develops a unique trait that he’s able to grow extremely quickly because of his desire to catch up to Aiz. With a heart of gold, his familia grows and the adventures continue. This wonderfully longed titled series, which can be shortened to DanMachi, got a lot of attention as soon as it came out. Whether that’s because of Hestia’s appearance or the actual plot is beside the point but it’s a big hit amongst video game fans. Although it is not specifically about a game, it incorporates a lot of the typical gaming points, ie. magic, leveling up, items, etc. There’s definitely some similarities between the main girls of Overlord and DanMachi, being head over heels for their heroes!

A lot of video game themed anime start with it being 20-50 years in the future due to the lack of virtual reality technology of today. Accel World is no exception as it starts with Haruyuki Arita in the year 2046. As he struggles with being at the end of the social ladder, he spends most of his time in virtual games. One day, the most popular girl in school introduces him to new a new virtual reality game and the adventures start from there. Action, romance, humor, what doesn’t it have? Accel World was a big hit and, like Overlord, has a really in-depth, thought-provoking virtual world.