An interesting premise and mystery, let down by a super dry reading experience. The art ranges from passable to alright, the characters range from mid to cookie-cutter. There is a prevailing romance element which feels unnatural and stilted. The omnipresent dialogue bubbles make it seem like there was some difficulties in moving the relevant information into a manga format, and I speculate this story works a lot better in its original novel format than it does as a manga. The story itself has a rather dire pace, lingering on elements that would benefit from a faster pace and crawling through scenes that should be pages,not chapters.

I can't fathom the decision to have the action POV often centered on the players controlling their little video game characters through a PSP screen as opposed to physically pulling them (and our POV) into the game, which we know is technologically possible because it *does* happen with certain few tasks/games (which are often the most engaging). Would you rather play a game yourself, or watch a stranger bumble through it whilst providing the most boring, lifeless commentary? This manga feels like the latter option.

A final gripe - puzzles are presented to the characters in this story to solve, many of which would be easy to translate visually for the reader in just a few panels, so they could have a crack at trying it themselves first. Alternatively, you could have engaging sequences where the main characters debate the puzzles and possible solutions, allowing the reader to see their thought processes and logic. Neither happens in this manga. Puzzles are presented to the characters, usually partially off screen or obscured, who tell us the answer after a few panels and move swiftly on. What a waste.

Readers who enjoy the story and premise may be entertained enough to overlook issues like these, but it is difficult to claim this is a manga that truly works.