I love this series and each book is better than the previous! Very different than the Land, Awaken Online, Ascend Online or most other traditional favorites of the genre. But…an all time top 3 LitRPG series for me. Mature language but extremely funny. The humor is irreverent and sometimes vulgar in the “Wedding Crashers jokes” kind of way. There is some reference to pop culture but the humor doesn’t use it as a crutch. It’s a strong balance. The AI is by far the best of any series I’ve read and contributes hilarious comic relief in most chapters. I’m constantly waiting for the “NEWWWW ACHIEVEMENT” indication to see what the AI is going to say next. This becomes especially true in the later books when the achievements are far fewer and the jokes are far funnier. The cat is also one of the best companions in any series as well although it takes her some time to really come into her own as a character (she starts out a bit annoying but grows very quickly into a beloved part of the story). Her character development is great and she also provides comic relief, especially in the later books.
I would describe the plot as an RPG dungeon crawl meets The Running Man meets a violent version of Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. The RPG elements consist of leveling, skill and class building, and “character build design”. This happens more organically and is lighter than in The Land and does not include recaps after every chapter. It is quite a bit lighter but still prevalent enough. There is no world building in the traditional LitRPG sense, but each new setting is a complicated new world with different themes, rules and MOBs.
If you are even half way entertained through the first 30 minutes of this book then you will end up loving the series. Each book is better than the last and the writer seems to be growing in his craft. It never gets boring or stagnant (through the first 3 so far).
Lastly, the performance by the narrator, Jeff Hays, is one of his best. I was already a fan. I would recommend searching this book on youtube and watching Jeff and his team perform a chapter. It is fascinating and funny to watch them mess up and start laughing at each other.
Do yourself a favor and use a credit. I don’t think you will regret it.