For the gamer in all of us: ‘Love O2O’ is romance in the digital age

Love O2O could appeal to a lot of different audiences. Lovers of romance drama, video game players, fans of RPGs, and those who enjoy quirky story concepts can all find enjoyment in the C-drama Love O2O. The show is based on a novel of the same name which was written by Gu Man.

The story follows Bei Weiwei (Shuang Zheng), she’s a whiz in her computer studies and desires to be a game developer after she graduates college. In her freetime, Bei plays an online roleplay game called A Chinese Ghost Story. Within the game Bei is dumped by her in-game husband.

However, the top player (Yang Yang) in A Chinese Ghost Story soon approaches Bei within the game, in order for the two of them to enter a competition together. It isn’t long before the two start to have real feelings for one another, but they must overcome multiple obstacles if they’re ever going to make their relationship work outside of the game.

Love O2O is a not-so-mini miniseries which consists of thirty episodes, and was released in 2016. Each episode is about forty minutes long, so this binge will keep you busy for at least a few days. You can find the show on either Netflix or the lesser-known streaming service Viki. (If you don’t have Netflix then Viki is the way to go, because you can watch the whole series for free with ads.)

The show is incredibly well received by viewers with a 4.9 out of five rating on Google reviews with a total of 528 reviews. Many people say Love O2O has become their favorite Chinese drama after they watched it, citing a great romance story and amazing chemistry between the leading couple.

Fans also say the story is nice and light compared to many other overly complicated and more depressing dramas. Even viewers who were hesitant to watch due to the show’s nerdy premise of video games and roleplaying, found themselves head over heels with Love O2O. The fantasy elements, they say, enhance the story rather than hindering it.

Fans also point out the music was well done and fit the show extremely well making every moment even more engrossing. One of the songs the show uses is actually one of Yang Yang’s own songs, which is a nice nod to the lead actor.

It’s clear, if you’re looking for the next romantic Chinese drama to swoon over, then Love O2O should be loaded up into your watch queue as soon as possible.

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