Years ago, I started reading the ‘Let’s Play’ webtoon, but for some reason, I had to take a break, and in the end, I didn’t finish it and completely forgot about it. Until one day, I saw it had been adapted into live-action by OLM. I found it on Crunchyroll and decided to give it a try.
Plot
Samara “Sam” Young, a 22-year-old software developer in Los Angeles, is an aspiring game developer. With her first indie game project, Ruminate, she has taken the first step to achieve her dreams. But her passion project and her dream of becoming a game developer are halted after a popular streamer, “Marshall Law,” gives the game a scathing review. Followed by his review, his fans’ review-bombed her game with bad reviews on Indigineer – a site that can help her achieve her dream. To make this matter even more intense, or I should say worse, Sam finds out that Marshall Law is her new next-door neighbour.
Episodes 01 – 03: Level 01 ~ Sam…Step Out of Limited Mindset
👉 Spolier alert!
E1 – Life is S-Rank : We see that Sam is delighted that her indie game has an 8.2 rating on Indigineer, and she now has high hopes for her dreams. Her friends are happy for her, and Bowser is shown to be a genuinely good kid. Her ordinary day includes going to the office, which happens to be her dad’s company, and she could very well be the next CEO.
It becomes clear that money isn’t a big problem for her, but she still wants to be independent and pursue her own dream. Her dad is the sweetest papa out there, with his very dramatic antics. Sam comes across as a timid girl, but she’s strong enough to take a stand for her friends.
Her day ends on a sad note when Marshall gives a scathing review to RUMINATE, leading to a drop in her Indigineer rating. But the question is, can she take a stand for herself?
E2 – I am N00b : Marshall ends up becoming Sam’s new next-door neighbour. Bowser and Sam don’t like him, so she confronts him… in her IMAGINATION. This is where we really see her noob side. Now she has three problems: her game rating has dropped to 0.3, Marshall Law is her new neighbour, and she didn’t dare to confront him about his review for Ruminate.
She starts doubting herself and RUMINATE, but her friends reassure her that the game isn’t the problem. It’s a good game; all she needs is to be confident to stand up for her work. Sam also discovers an issue with Indigineer’s review system. Later, her landlady asks her to join in welcoming the new neighbour. This is where we see her first imaginative “Personal Space” emote- figure (honestly, the best thing ). We also find out that Sam and Marshall share a nerdy interest in “The World of War Quest,” and she even gets a few sneaky glimpses into his apartment (heheh…😅). When he asks, she also recommends a good restaurant for delivery.
Moving back to Sam, she’s busy working on her second game, “EVERMAKE.” She’s good with the backend, but it’s clear she lacks artistic skills. She’s also still worrying about Indigineer’s review system and wonders, “What’s the point of making a game if no one’s going to play it?” clearly hinting at her bad rating on the platform. All this stress, plus a noisy streamer neighbour with zero soundproofing, really wears her down.
The next day, after talking it out with her friend, Sam admits she’s been a coward. Despite having so many chances, she still couldn’t confront Marshall. So she finally makes up her mind, decides to take a stand for herself, and goes to finish the deed once and for all. She knocks on Marshall’s door… only to be greeted by a total goddess – Monica.
Will she be able to grow out of her noob phase? Marshall, on the other hand, seems like a pretty free-spirited and chill guy.
E3 – Unity of the Guild : In this episode, Monica, being the protective hidden GF, confronts Sam but cools down as she realises that Sam isn’t some Marshall’s toxic fan, just his next-door neighbour. Here we see Sam’s imaginative ‘ Confrontation‘ emote-figure, but Monica’s fierce personality scares her. Marshall steps in, calms the situation, and Sam leaves without actually confronting him. He even tells Monica not to be too harsh on Sam because she has a fragile nature.
The next day, Sam receives an invitation from her guild, and on her way, she runs into Marshall. She notices his tiredness and asks him about the note he left. She notices how tired he looks and asks him about the note he left. He casually replies that he left that note for everyone in the building! 😎 and in this moment, we, as the audience with Sam, see how clueless he can be!
Fast forward to the guildmaster meeting: they talk about a raid invitation from the top guilds. Their guild is ranked third on the server, they’ve finally reached the end of “The World of War Quest,” and new challenges are waiting ahead. To celebrate, they clear the arcade records, win big, and share the prizes with the kids at the arcade. In the middle of all this happiness, Sam starts doubting her own dream again, but Olivia gives her a much-needed pep talk.
Whether it’s Indigineer or Marshall, Olivia tells her she needs to step out of her victim mentality and limited mindset and try to create change in her own way. If she works on the Indigineer issue and confronts Marshall, she won’t just be helping herself, but also others like her. The only need is to grow out of her own mindset!
After that talk, Sam finally gains the clarity she was looking for and gathers the courage to confront Marshall. Finally, she steps out of her noob state and starts embracing this new, braver version of herself.
Characters, Storyline and Visuals
So far, the anime feels very faithful to the webtoon, at least from what I remember. I tried to check out the comic again, but it hasn’t had any updates since 2017 on Webtoon. When I looked it up, I found out that it was moved off the Webtoon platform due to some issues. The comic has four volumes, so I’m definitely behind on the story.
Anyway, moving on to the anime (which I believe will continue), I actually like the anime and character designs even more than in the comic. The characters in the anime look softer ( or I should say younger!), with a less edgy style ( what I mean is mature/older 😇) , but that’s just the artist’s choice, and I respect that. I’m not sure if its comic fans would find it digestible. The storyline so far is pretty straightforward and light, but it does feel a bit stretched at times. I like Sam, but for now I’m more drawn to Marshall’s character, though I can’t say for sure yet since I haven’t finished it.
It feels like the story moves at a fast pace, and most characters go along with it, except Sam. She often feels like she’s deliberately slowing the story down instead of flowing with it, though that might be part of her character development. Again, I think in the comic she’s not that timid (I believe so!). My favourite characters so far are Monica, Marshall, and Edgar, and I absolutely love Bowser too. The visuals match the story and theme really well. You can almost feel the comic’s colour palette in the anime, and it really reminds me of those old-school computer graphics, redesigned with fresh colouring.
The title and ending track are way too good, but I don’t see the plot in the anime yet that can match the energy the tracks put into. I’m sure the comic has that aura! ( Insert “Liam Neeson’s Meme”, but I will read you!! 🤭)
Soft, Nerdy and Goofy Package
I haven’t finished it yet, so there’s no rating for now, but I’d say it’s safely somewhere between a 3 and 3.5. The characters are still figuring themselves out, and Sam being a girl in a mostly “boys’ zone” (very stereotypical setup) actually feels refreshing here because none of the characters make cheap or cringey jokes about it.
The anime feels pretty forward in its approach, and even Forbes described the “Let’s Play” comic as “megapopular” – a new generation of readers feels seen and validated by these kinds of stories. The plot quietly touches on a lot of big issues our generation is dealing with. It doesn’t go overboard or get preachy, but instead blends these heavy emotions naturally into the characters’ lives.
Again, I haven’t seen this in years, so I won’t comment on the comic itself, but so far, I really like this version also.
I’m definitely looking forward to more of this fresh little treat! Yay!! ❤️
Share your thoughts below! 🚀 SYA!
Animexon 
