"CHALLENGE: Can You Beat the Unbeatable Game? 99% Fail Rate."
I click.
The post is short:
"Found this game on an old imageboard. No title, no developer info, just a download link. The game claims only 1% of players can beat it. Five lives. Five chances. Permadeath after that—the game deletes itself. I tried. I failed. Let's see if any of you cowards can do better."
Below the text is a download link.
I stare at it.
This is stupid. Obviously stupid. It's probably malware. Or some troll's idea of a joke. Or—
But the challenge is there. The word "cowards" sits on the screen, almost mocking.
I've beaten plenty of hard games. Demon's Requiem wasn't easy, and I cleared it. How bad could this be?
I download the file.
The download finishes in seconds—surprisingly small for a game. I run it. No installer, no splash screen, just a simple black window that opens in fullscreen.
White text appears:
"WELCOME, PLAYER."
"YOU HAVE FIVE LIVES."
"DEATH IS PERMANENT."
"GOOD LUCK."
The screen fades to black, then a character creation screen appears.
Oh, this is interesting.
I'm presented with options: male or female character, appearance sliders, clothing choices. This is way more detailed than I expected for some obscure indie game.
I immediately select female.
Because of course I do.
I spend the next ten minutes crafting the perfect character. Long silver hair, bright blue eyes, face set to maximum cute. Then I get to the body sliders.
Height: short. Because that's hot. Body type: curvy. Very curvy. Chest size: I slide it almost to maximum. Not quite ridiculous, but definitely large. Waist: slim. Hips: wide. Ass: ...yeah, I max that out.
I cycle through the clothing options. There's actually a surprising amount of detail here. I can choose everything from conservative traveling robes to... okay, this one is basically a metal bikini. That's going in the maybe pile.
I settle on something in between: a leather adventurer's outfit that shows a generous amount of cleavage and has a short skirt that shows off her legs. Perfect.
I name her "Luna" and confirm.
The game loads.
The graphics are... weird. Not bad, exactly, but unsettling. The art style is detailed, almost hyper-realistic in places, but the colors are slightly wrong—too saturated, too dark.
Luna—my character—is standing in what looks like a medieval fantasy town. Cobblestone streets, wooden buildings with thatched roofs, NPCs walking around going about their business. It looks like a standard isekai game opening.
The camera angle is third-person, positioned behind and slightly above Luna. Every time she moves, I get a nice view of her curves, the way her outfit hugs her body. The developers knew exactly what they were doing with this camera.
Then text appears in the center of the screen:
"MISSION: OBTAIN THE SWORD OF BEGINNING"
"LOCATION: UNKNOWN. DISCOVER IT YOURSELF."
"GOOD LUCK."
The text fades.
No markers. No quest log. No hints. Just me, a town, and a mission to find a sword I know nothing about.
Luna stands in the town square. No HUD, no health bar, no inventory screen that I can see. Just me and the world.
I start exploring.
I make Luna walk around the town, and I'll admit, I spend the first few minutes just... appreciating the character model. The way she moves is surprisingly fluid and realistic. When she walks, there's a natural bounce to her chest. When she runs, her hair flows behind her.
Yeah, I'm definitely a degenerate.
But after I get that out of my system, I actually start paying attention to the game.
The town is bigger than I expected. I talk to NPCs, but most give generic responses. "Nice weather today." "The market's that way." Useless. I check every building I can enter—a blacksmith, an inn, a general store, someone's house. Nothing that screams "legendary sword here."
There are other female NPCs around town, and the character models are all surprisingly detailed.
There's a barmaid at the inn with a low-cut dress that leaves little to the imagination. A merchant woman whose blouse is unbuttoned just enough to be distracting. Even random townswomen have an attention to detail that seems unnecessary for a game like this.
Not that I'm complaining.
After about twenty minutes of wandering, I find a shady-looking alley. There's a guy leaning against the wall, hood up, definitely giving off "quest giver" vibes.
I interact with him.
"You looking for something?" he asks.
"Maybe," Luna responds automatically, her voice sultry and smooth. "Know anything about a special sword?"
The hooded figure laughs. "Might. For the right price."
A dialogue option appears. I can pay him 50 gold.
I check my inventory. I have exactly 10 gold.
"Shit," I mutter.
I try the other dialogue option: "I don't have that much."
"Then get lost," he says, and the conversation ends.
Okay. So I need money first. I explore more, looking for a way to earn gold. I find a notice board with requests—kill some rats in a basement, deliver a package, gather herbs outside town.
I take the rat quest. Easy, right?
Wrong.
I go to the basement. There are rats. Big rats. Like, dog-sized rats with glowing red eyes. Luna has no weapon. I try to punch one.
It bites her leg.
The screen flashes red. There's still no health bar, but I can tell she's hurt. Blood appears on her thigh, staining her skin. The rat attacks again. I try to dodge, but the controls are weirdly delayed, slightly off from what I'm used to.
The rat jumps at her throat.
The screen goes black.
"LIFE 1 LOST."
"FOUR LIVES REMAINING."
Luna respawns in the town square, completely healed. Like nothing happened.
"Okay," I say to my empty room. "So I need a weapon first."