Dark fantasy or isekai power fantasy (LiRPG): which do you prefer?

[Eldoria]

Dark Fantasy or Isekai Power Fantasy (LiRPG): Which do You Prefer?​

Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that emphasises a gloomy atmosphere, tragic themes, and an exploration of the dark side of humanity.
Characteristics of dark fantasy:

• The protagonist is usually a native of the fantasy world.
• The world is filled with destruction, sin, curses, and tragedy.
• Characters are often faced with moral choices that lie in grey areas, rather than black and white.
• Elements of horror, bloodshed, or nihilism are sometimes present, but their purpose is not simply to shock but to deepen the story's meaning.
• Focus on existentialism: what is the meaning of life? Is there hope amidst the darkness?

Examples: Berserk, Attack on Titan, Akame ga Kill, and Claymore.

Isekai power fantasy (LitRPG) is a subgenre of fantasy in which the main character gains extraordinary powers from the start and can develop without limits.
Characteristics of isekai power fantasy (LiRPG):

• The other world (isekai) is set up like a game (status, level, skills, and quests).
• The protagonist is usually from the modern world who is reincarnated/summoned/transmigrated to the fantasy world.
• The conflict is more often a power struggle than a moral dilemma.
• The ending story tends to be positive for the protagonist.

Examples: Overlord, Shield Hero, Tensura, and Log Horizon.

Critical note:

• Dark fantasy and isekai power fantasy (LiRPG) both have their own strengths and weaknesses, and both have their respective fan bases.
• This thread is intended solely to discuss reader preferences regarding fantasy subgenres: dark fantasy and isekai power fantasy (LiRPG) as works that readers enjoy.

Edit: I should have put this thread in the reader forum. I misplaced it, but couldn't move it. Consider this a thread for readers, not authors.

 

[Empress_Omnii]

...did an AI write this?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Depends on my mood. I generally prefer to read or game in Dark Fantasy settings but write more power fantasy/LitRPG/Isekai

 

[Macha]

...did an AI write this?

@Ai-chan did you write this?

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Well, considering drk fanatsy is basically a book genre on TikTok and is about frustrated wine mom's poorly thought out fanfics, I have to go with isekai, but I prefer the lack of power.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I like both.

I like it if authors can mix in both.

Dark for the usual journey or maybe even sprinkle it along the plot to have some realism and isekai as ending aka happy ending.

 

[Snake99]

The best power fantasies occur in dark environments where there is only the law of the jungle and the strong prey on the weak, so the protagonist shines brightest when delivering justice.

 

[Ai-chan]

@Ai-chan did you write this?

Lies, libel and slander!

 

[BigBadBoi]

Dark Fantasy Isekai powerfantasy. Especially when the MC has zero clue what's going in and accidentally saving the world that is supposedly grimdark. I miss you Make Dark Fantasy Great Again. I will curse Novelpia everyday until my dying breath.

 

[Elmir_Arch-Ham_of_Omega]

Uses Sarin, kills 500 people and 20 collaterals
"This is dark, bringing real-world weapons to a fantasy world"

Uses Dark Omega Yggdrassil Vlamdognamorg Flare, levels an entire contient
"Peak anime power fantasy"

EDIT: no, I did not misspell contient,uhhh... they're all as strong as Tienshinhan over there, totally justified!

 

[Cipiteca396]

power fantasy - no tragedy permitted

 

[LesserSarcasm]

Dark isekai fantasy, exploring the grimdark in a fantasy world

 

[Deleted member 206441]

Like Chop suey, a little bit of this and that... Especially, it's a bit sneaky...

E.g. a book is ALREADY a good comedy, but then suddenly I think, "Is this turning into... a thriller? Murder Mystery?"

I get bored with pure genres. I like both Dark fantasy and isekai power fantasy, but I have seen too much.

 

[SirContro]

I like litrpg because systems make worldbuilding so easy. That guy has big number, he must be important.
That being said, I think most isekais didn't have to be isekais for their stories to work.
Even with that flaw, isekais are still fun to write when it comes to finding unique ways to construct the plot so that being from another world actually matters.

Unfotunately you included the term power fantasy and there is nothing more cancerous to creativity than a simple power fantasy.

 

[notoxic]

I like dark fantasy because the stories are realistic, plausible, and rich in mythology. In dark fantasy, the protagonist must adapt to the world.

While in an isekai, the world adjusts to the protagonist. That's why isekai feels unreasonable and oversimplifies things, especially since isekai protagonists often get cheats/systems that only they have.

I don't reject cheats/systems, but if cheats/systems become the world's system, they should be fair, so that all the world's inhabitants have them, not just the protagonist.

 

[L1aei]

Isekai power fantasy (LitRPG) is a subgenre of fantasy in which the main character gains extraordinary powers from the start and can develop without limits.
Characteristics of isekai power fantasy (LiRPG):

• The other world (isekai) is set up like a game (status, level, skills, and quests).
• The protagonist is usually from the modern world who is reincarnated/summoned/transmigrated to the fantasy world.
• The conflict is more often a power struggle than a moral dilemma.
• The ending story tends to be positive for the protagonist.

I do enjoy both, but I tend to prefer when the protagonist’s power system deviates from the world’s established game-like structure. Instead of just being another flavor of magic or skills, it feels fundamentally... different. You know, something the world itself has no framework for.

You get me? No?

How should I explain this... this whatever.

Here, it’s not really about raw efficiency or versatility, but about the... the impact? Something like that on how that power is practiced and applied. I'm rummaging through my headspace for an example, but not coming up with any LitRPGs. I'm certain they exist, just my cranium jelly hasn't experienced that specific flavor of sub-genre.

Okay, best example I got: in The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World, the protagonist uses Onmyōdō, that's an art form of power the new world has no concept of, let alone a way to counter. That’s not the perfect example... yeah, sorry about that. It really isn't because it’s still an overpowered character and not technically LitRPG, but it gets close to what I mean.

What I really enjoy is less about how strong the protagonist becomes and more about how their different system of knowledge or power reshapes and challenges the world they’ve entered. If this is an Isekai, I want it to show that this protagonist is an alien outsider invading their world.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Neither.

 

[Golden_Hyde]

If you're forcing me to choose either, I'd rather choose Dark Fantasy.

 

[Agdistis]

I prefer a happy ending to a story, especially if it is novel length. So between the two, I'll take the power fantasy. Not that I don't enjoy the occasional dark fantasy; however, the hopeless endings leave me feeling depressed so I can't take too many of those too often.

 

[CheekiBreeki]

Neither. The authors of both sub-genres have glaring problems and it's very hard to find an enjoyable story out of them (both published and web novels).

1. Dork Fantasy (no, not a typo) authors usually went all-in on the dork and forgot about everything else.

- The story is almost certainly suffering/snuff porn, where characters are killed at the drop of a hat for no reason at all. Like, my brotha, I have never seen this random-NPC-no-6969 before in the story, so why am I forced to watch her being gangbanged by monsters and killed in the most off-putting way possible that isn't even related to the main characters?

- "Gray moral choices" = "Absurb, nonsensical choices". Every.Single.Time. Not the character's fault, but the author's fault for forcing them to pick between two dumb choices and calling those morally gray.

- On the topic of choices, mob characters often have negative IQ and make the dumbest decision ever. For example: "Hey mates, our party is working like a finely tuned machine of intricate parts, let's kick out one of our own WITHOUT AT LEAST FINDING AN ADEQUATE REPLACEMENT and see how hard life would kick our butts."

- What is the meaning of life? Be cannon fodder NPCs who exist for like 2 chapters each. Is there hope amidst the darkness? Yes, for the obviously self-insert character only.

2. Isekai power fantasy (LitRPG): is honestly a waste of time. It has almost all of the aforementioned problems of Dork Fantasy but with a completely unnecessary and uninteresting "system" slapped on top. It served no purpose other than handing out cheats.

The authors either over-explained the system and "game mechanics" without putting them to use (like actual system and game mechanics) or skimmed through those and straight up "WhosYourDaddy" the self-insert MC.

If I want to deal with systems and game mechanics, I might as well go play actual RPG video games like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Wastelands, Battle Brothers... Those never get old no matter how many times I replay them unlike these Un-LitRPG stories.