The Nightmare Game System

A LitRPG Horror

By: Raymond Johnson

Narrated by: Tristan Kane, Anneliese Rennie, Steve Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A thief on a mission to save his sister. An ambitious demon masquerading as an artificial intelligence. A game designed to shatter the minds of the people who play it.  

When Ramzan steals from the Chechnyan Mafia to create a better life for his sister, he knows he’s pissing off the wrong people. They want their money, and they’ve created a diabolical method of extracting information from their enemies. Full Immersion Virtual Reality sounds great, until he learns the horrors this incredible technology can cook up. 

Now, he must keep his wits up and his sanity points high as he battles hordes of fearsome abominations on his quest to escape. Zombies, lycanthropes, slime monsters, and more stand in his way, controlled by a devious programmer that doesn’t play fair. 

Can Ramzan protect his secrets and maintain his sanity against this psychological onslaught? Will he succumb to the terror, and become the monster he set out destroy? He’s gotta stay sharp, and he’s gotta stay sane, if he has a hope of escaping....

The Nightmare Game System: the original MMORPG murder, mutilation, offensive, repulsive player game.

©2020 Raymond M. Johnson (P)2021 Spectrum Audiobooks

A perfectly cast 1st installment of a trilogy of horror

1st off I love horror. 2nd I Love LITRPG. This masterpiece is a combination of the both of them. I have listened to many multi narrator books, audio dramas etc. this is at the top of my list of any of them. You couldn’t ask for
Or Find a more perfectly cast audiobook. The role of Blair voiced by Anneliese Rennie is without a doubt in my mind her finest performance in a role written for her. Her vocal talents, her sassy personally and her live for the written word truly bring her role and the story to life in your mind. Combined with the talents of tristen and Steve you have a perfect storm of vocal talents raining the horrifying tale that Raymond Johnson has written for your ears. While the book is great, the audiobook is phenomenal. This was a story that was written for the ears to hear. The MC is a villain in his own right but you can’t help but root for him with what his intentions were. His soul bares its own dark marks and a dark history. He is in a game that has been modified to break him and anyone out in it so that the information needed can be extracted. What the one who modified doesn’t realize is that the AI he has “created” I’d far more than it seems (Blair/Anneliese). The realms of horror and the things the MC and others trapped in the game must face are familiar images to the fans of 80’s horror. You will see countless references and nods to the greats of the 80’s that are still relevant and classic to the genre today. Buckle up and get ready for an auditory experience like no other cast you’ve heard before. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

first journey into horror

this was my first journey into horror litrpg and I really enjoyed it I look forward to listening to more

Wow

I've read this book. I found the audiobook to be much more detailed even though it's the same story. I also think the choice for Blair was phenomenal. this was just a really great story put together extremely well. All the characters and situations were gripping. Well done!

great horror game!

the mechanics and systems behind the story and game is just brilliant!
the plot and story exciting and the characters believable.
If you want a well written and different litRPG this is a great book to pick up!

while all 3 of the narrators does an excellent job, you can just tell that Anneliese had a blast voicing this book, but then she did have the perfect character to voice for that to come across...
Blaine is life!

A great horror listen!!!

I read the e-book when it released. I'm a lover of horror and this fell right into my wheelhouse. While the story is great, the narration is top notch. The voice of Blair took the cake. I can tell is Anneliese or at least I believe so lol. The MC has to come up with creative ways to escape different scenarios and the game mechanics are well thought out. This story has the feeling of a horror movie set in the 80s or the early 90s. I can tell that Ray really loves horror. Well done. I can't wait for the next book!

An homage to horror with a candy coating of LitRPG

This has to be the most unique title I have listened to!!
It has all the elements a good LitRPG needs: anti-hero (my favorite), a sassy snarky AI that is extremely self-centered, and horror tropes abound, with callouts to some of the most famous films in the horror franchise.
All inside a game that has been modded into an insane testament to criminal minds gone completely amoral.

I read this will be a series, so am really looking forward to the rest. Narration is top notch. Narrators are mostly new to my ears. This is a straight narration without the sfx and music some books have.

Very dark story! A LitRPG that borders on torture

MC gets into trouble with what amounts to as the mob. He has something they want, and they are going to get it, whatever it takes. He is dumped into the nightmare game system, and the mob just has to wait now... he will give it up.. right? Not a pretty dungeon crawl... this one is dirty.

Original Content in the LITRPG Genre

It's not the most frightening horror novel I've ever read but it's almost one of a kind in the LITRPG genre. That alone makes it stand out. And while the monsters didn't do much to frighten me, the implications of the torture device was horrific enough for me and really made me think of the possible downsides of these trapped in a game novels. Really loved the narrators as well, each bringing their own distinct voices and flavors which helped it stand out against other audiobooks as well.

fun classic horror throwback

I enjoyed the horror/litrpg fusion. It started a little slow, but ramped up at the end. I look forward to the next in the series.

Not horrific horror

I like horror and the most horrific aspect of the book was the AI character and insanity system when the MC had visions implanted into his head. The rest was just more of a horror settings. In a litRPG system I find it hard to care for the survival of the MC. The area that fell short for me is that we had little not no connections with the victims. If we get another book in the series target peoples emotions more. The big positive about this book is the love for horror movies. It was much more of a fun ride down the history of horror cinema.

Audio and Performance:
Overall middle of the road with a few standout performances. I enjoyed all the most of the villains and the MCs voices and quality. The opening narrator had some odd sound issues either with modulation or sound proofing as I could not understand what was off with it.

Craft and quality:
Some of the transitions between the characters and scenes were fast and messy. I'm not sure if this was the writing or the audio team.

I do hope we get another one as this is a very underutilized sub genre of a sub genre. But litrpg / dungeon core horror books seem too need to work extra hard to push that horror factor. I give it 3 screams out of 10 but a 7 out of 10 in fun.

entertaining enough, nothing spectacular

I really wanted to enjoy this book but just couldn’t get fully into it for a few small gripes. None of the characters were particularly likeable, and the litRPG aspects (skills, inventory etc) ended up being repetitive in audiobook format. If you’re familiar with the genre then perhaps these won’t be as big an issue to you

Production wise there’s unfortunately a few issues too. One chapter is repeated again for example. Also the main narrator takes a noticeably loud breath before EVERY sentence and once you notice it’s hard to ignore.