[More info about my review style can be found on my profile] ▶Summary and recommendation: ----------------------------------------------------------------- [The worn and torn newbie] is yet another videogame themed Korean Manhwa where the author's limited knowledge of videogames is one of its many downfalls. If all you want is a power fantasy with a predicteable story with large swathes of the story dedicated to showing off how badass the main character is, then this story might satisfy you. If that does not meet your standards, I recommend [Overgeared]. While not without flaws, it is a bit more well thought out than this manhwa. ▶Story: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The story premise is the most praiseworthyaspect of the manhwa. Being quite unique; the protagonist is a veteran player of an MMORPG videogame who is sent back in time to when the game first released. His game foreknowledge gives him an extreme advantage, making this a wish fulfilment power fantasy where the protagonist cruises through the game on easy mode. He always knows whats to do and is never challenged.

The author shows some knowledge of the Korean esport scene, but shows a lacking understanding of videogames and the industry that might pull you out of the story if these things matter to you. i.e. the narration claims that "Games need to follow trends to stay popular" as a plot point, something that the current state of the industry quite firmly disproves.

There are some rare moments when the story shines, where the author subverts some of the genre tropes and sneaks in some commentary on the subgenre.

▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist is not a good person, but he is interesting and fits the story very well. He is brash and sadistic and is a videogame gambling addict (Gacha), who does not have many redeeming traits.
Side characters are less interesting with most being stereotypes and tropes. Some however do undergo character development which is rare for the genre.
Between all of the fights and edgy postering, I was shocked when the story actually dedicated some space for character development.

▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The general artstyle is quite run of the mill, but monster designs stand out as being inspired.
The combat scenes are atrocious and impossible to follow at times. Some fights are just consecutive pages of orange or red effects, broken up by pages of white. While the fights are meant to be spectacular, it is impossible to track as entire pages are are dedicated to flames, explosions, lightning, and other effects.