For a male led book with a pleothora of game jargon, I actually liked this one. It would benefit from a touch more plot and a touch less stat spewing. The MC is a "real life" bungler and not much better in game, but even in the first volume, you see real character growth (as well as leveling up). I hope to see a few more side characters developed as well.

Will definitely continue reading.

Really good! Fast paced and so exciting. Love the characters and the story. I definitely want to read more!

Reviewed for Booklist Magazine; This is like Solo Leveling and Sword Art Online, although I think Solo Leveling does a better job of it. I liked this because it focuses on the weapon maker becoming powerful rather than the straight-up warrior type, but Grid eventually becomes the warrior with all of the weapons he makes through his smithing. It's a decently made story and I hope it goes into the battle with video game addiction more as that will make it stand out from the other titles where the main character loses themselves inside a video game and sees no repercussions from it.

I did enjoy this one, though after reading the review of someone who had some issues with it, I did realize this wasn't perfect. The MC was kind of a Gary Stu/jerk, but it was a fun read and despite his less than stellar qualities, I am invested in wanting him to succeed and reading the next volume.

It's light, fluffy and just fun gamer-in-a gaming-world, that he isn't trapped in, but is trying to use to get himself out of self-caused debt. At least he's grown up a little?

3, I will definitely continue with this series, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for an eARC of this to read and review.

Overgeared, Vol. 1 Art by Team Argo, adapted by Monohumbug with story by Saenal is a manga style graphic novel. Youngwoo Shin is a deadbeat in real life, working odd jobs to fuel his video game addiction. But inside the VR game Satisfy, he becomes Grid the Warrior, who is also painfully ordinary. Everything changes when he discovers the tome of a legendary blacksmith. Who needs skills when you have god-tier items, right?

Overgeared is a fun read for gamers. I liked the set up and the story and could understand Shin's frustration and struggles as he tries to level up his player in the game, and make enough money through the game not to have to do manual labor to pay the bills. I think I would have liked a bit more back story for Shin, not just that it took him years to get to the point readers meet him in the beginning of the story. I also felt a bit like things were just getting past the set up and into the story when the volume ended. The story pretty much ended mid-fight. I get wanting to hook readers so they want the next volume, but at least get us to a reasonable stopping point rather than a complete cliff hanger. That always drives me crazy. I did like the story, and would love to see how Shin gets to the point we see him in the opening teaser. I think I will keep reading this if I find the next volume, but I will not be hunting it down.

When I started this I wasn't sure that it was something I was going to like.
But then suddenly.... I finished it.

It's a mix between the "real" world and an online universe.
Our main character isn't a lucky one. In neither of those worlds. But after a streak of really really bad luck it finally looks like his luck might be turning but only by his hard work and persistence.
The story ends on a cliffhanger and I just couldn't believe that that was it...

So now I'm patiently waiting for the next volume.

This is fun! It reminds me of animes such as Sword Art Online where the game players actually have real lives outside the game. This is different because the main character is rather ‘unsuccessful’ at real life and unsuccessful at the game, but he is tenacious and persistent and suddenly he finds that he is taking chances in the game and chances at life so that he can pay off his debts and get his life in order.

The story is layered because the game company has also noticed our hero and who knows what this might mean for the future.

The artwork is nice and bright and the colouring is good. Altogether, this is an engaging read and I would very much like to read volume 2. Definitely a series to follow.

Copy provided by Yen Press via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. This is a good one!

I like the genres so I decided to read this one!

What I am getting from this story is that the MC is determined, which I like!

I did get somewhat lost in the story to be fully invested, but there could be potential in future volumes.

Overgeared revolves around a VR game called "Satisfy". Youngwoo Shin is a hopeless gamer who is trying to make ends meet. So far Youngwoo hasn't amounted to anything. He's even ordinary in game. That is, until he unlocks a legendary class, blacksmith.

Personally, this was a fun read for me but I am not too invested in Youngwoo's story. I'm hoping that his future character development will capture more of my interest. I'll definitely come back to read it again when there are more volumes out.

I would recommend this for fans of:
The Newbie is Too Strong
Solo Max-Level Newbie
Sword Art Online

Thank you NetGalley and Yen Press, Ize Press for the opportunity to read this ARC !

The story is set in the future, where everyone is playing an immersive virtual game. The MC is not the best player, but he is very persistent. He doesn't have the best luck and tends to make the wrong decisions.

I liked the art and the idea behind the story but found it very hard to follow. I kept getting lost and losing focus on the story.

I was very excited to get this ARC. The story sounded very interesting.
A very popular MMORPG "Satisfy" has millions of player worldwide and it's a true sensation, you can actually struck rich playing it, you just have to have dedication and luck. Youngwoo Shin has tons of dedication, having sunk thousands into the game in the hopes of getting rich and finally having an easy life, unfortunately he has no luck and that is exactly how we readers meet him, right in the middle of failing a long quest in which he invested too much and now has nothing to show for it.
Youngwoo Shin is basically a loser, he lives for this game, works enough to sink more money into it, has a terrible relationship with his family and even his friends have given up on him. But now he has a chance to maybe turn it around since he has gained a new legendary class, and maybe this is his ticket to success.

I have to say I'm not that hooked, I know that having an unlikable MC is an interesting choice but I don't feel much empathy for Youngwoo Shin and consequently I'm not that invested in his journey.

Set in the virtual reality game Satisfy, Youngwoo Shin embarks on an adventure as Grid the Warrior, a Legendary class blacksmith.

Given the title of this manhwa it’s no surprise that our main character is headed to be overpowered. Although his past and real life depicts him as hard working, Youngwoo seems to have it easy going in his new legendary class. However Youngwoo doesn’t see it like that just yet and can be seen expressing it as ‘bad’ luck. Youngwoo is a likable character given his personality so far. He’s adaptable, funny and practical to the point where he avoids conflicts that he knows he won’t win. He’s someone you can relate to quite a bit and enjoy reading about.

The plot isn’t very unique except possibly him being a blacksmith. There are many stories in the market following similar storylines to this series, where characters enter a gaming environment and gradually become overpowered whist minding their own business. I think what makes this particular series stand out is that the main character is trying to survive by being a blacksmith. He’s not looking to fight; he’s just looking to gather materials to create items, survive and get rich. It’ll be interesting to see what items he creates and how strong or useful they’ll be in the future.

There is a lot that happens in volume one while at the same time being ambiguous enough to not really feel like anything. The introduction is quite confusing although it gives a glimpse into the future. However the story does a good job in mixing old and new concepts of gaming without sounding too confusing. I enjoyed the small notes defining gaming terms.

The artwork in this manhwa is very clean. Utilizing solid colors and thick strokes it defines the intensity of the action theme. I think the series does a good job in utilizing a wide variety of colors that balance each other to bring out the scenes. The panels are large and descriptive, having enough background and detail to provide an understanding of the location and story while not being too overwhelming.

Overall, this was a fun read but I think it needed to set the story up a bit more. There are a lot of moving parts in this first volume which makes it slightly confusing. I liked the clean artwork, direct dialogues and layout which made it easy to read and follow. I would definitely recommend giving it a chance if you enjoy reading gaming based stories, with an overpowered main character.

Set in a futuristic world in 2050 where everyone is obsessed with a virtual reality game called Satisfy. Crazy worlds collide and the inner workings of the game commence as we follow our main character through quite a lot of FUNNY but overall bad luck. Because learning how to play a game is hard enough. I really enjoyed this and honestly wasn't sure if I would! Id love to keep with the series and eventually read more!

Overgeared brilliantly captures gaming elements of past and present. Youngwoo seems to be a hopeless game addict. He sees the game as a chance to get ahead and make his family proud. Just when he has the prize, to save himself he starts over. Building up his new character makes him face new challenges including one requiring ethical choices. Full of beautiful coloring. VERDICT Fun addition to teen and adult manga collections especially for gamer audiences.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Overgeared, Vol. 1 by Art by Team Argo, Adapted by Monohumbug (REDICE STUDIO), Story by Saenal was a cool and fast-paced manhwa about a down-on-his-luck gamer trying to make ends meet and accidently acquires some strong skills. This is a volume that reads a lot like the other gamer leveling-style book and anime media of its kind, but the different spins on the worlds, characters, and skills keep it interesting for me. Also manhwa, unlike most of its manga counterpart, are in full color which is very satisfying. There's not a lot else to say here, but if you enjoy Solo Leveling, you might like this too. Would recommend.

This graphic novel was a lot of fun to read. I had never read anything by this author before, but I will definitely be looking out for more of their works in the future. I can't wait to add it to my library's collection.

The story reminded me of another manhwa I have read called "Legendary Moonlight Sculptor," in which the main character is also playing a VR game to make money, and thanks to his perseverance, he gets a legendary crafting class that allows him to become stronger in a non-standard way.

In comparison to "LMS," while I enjoyed myself with this story, I also felt it was a bit lacking in some areas. Right at the beginning, I got very confused because we get three different intros for the character: two in the future and one in the present. I don't have a problem with an intro that shows where the main character will be in the future, but why two in a row?

Another thing was that I didn't really see him working that hard for the unique class, even though in the background, we are told he has. A lot of that happened before we met him, so it fell a bit flat.

I did enjoy the art and the game design. While I am a bit worried that we can get a bit too OP character eventually, for now, the fights were fun and engaging.

Despite having some issues, I did like the story, and I would be interested in reading more. Although I might actually try the original novel version to see which is better.

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This story is pretty reminiscent of all the other "guy living in a video game" comics out there. This novel moves very quickly, yet almost nothing happens at the same time. I know my complaint will come off as silly since this series is literally called "Overgeared", but the way the main character is just handed all of this powerful stuff makes him feel like a Mary Sue. It doesn't help that the main character, Youngwoo Shin, is not really that likable of a character. He's a guy who got himself into thousands of dollars (well, won) of debt because he couldn't stop playing the MMORPG "Satisfy". He's also shown to have a not great personality, when he gets defeated by a high-ranking player, he spams a forum with several threads to create a small smear campaign against her. This is played off as a one-off joke, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. The rest of the story is just him trying to figure out how to get rich quickly in the game, to pay off his debts in real life. So far, it's not really too interesting to me. He's not putting actual work into achieving anything, he's basically handed every on a golden platter with minimal effort on his part. Also, this novel ended so abruptly. I know this used to be a WebToon, so I guess they couldn't figure out a good spot to cut it. But if you never read it in the webtoon format, it's jarring.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I found ‘overgeared’ volume 1 a really good read, it was very interesting. I liked the characters and the concept of the story and I am looking forward to picking up volume 2

Rating 4 stars

I loved reading this book.
I opened it and read, and sadly reached the end. I need the second volume.

I loved the direction of the story, and I was really amazed.
I loved the main character, I thought he was fantastic.
He was determined and preserves even when he is against the wall.
The illustrations and colors that accompany the entire story shape it and bringing it to life.

Super curious to read the next volumes of the stories.