Return Point

by Flandrew

At thirty-three, Alex has no intention of moving out of his mum’s house, leaving his safe job or making any decision that might actually change his life.

Then he gets trapped inside an old-school video game.

Escaping should be simple defeat the final boss. The problem is, Alex is so afraid of commitment that he can’t even bring himself to save the game, meaning every defeat sends him right back to the beginning.

Joined by two in-game companions who take the whole hero business far more seriously than he does, Alex decides there has to be an easier way out. He begins exploiting glitches, skipping quests and abusing every broken mechanic he can find in the hope of reaching the end without having to play by the rules.

But the more Alex replays the game, the more he realises there are some things no exploit can get around.

Funny, nostalgic and heartfelt, Return Point is a fantasy adventure about friendship, fear of failure and learning that sometimes the only way forward is to stop looking for a reset button.

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2026