Anime/manga have been exploring this with various fantasy worlds with explicit game-like mechanics. I've always considered them lazy attempts at power fantasies

Anime/manga have been exploring this with various fantasy worlds with explicit game-like mechanics. I've always considered them lazy attempts at power fantasies/wish fulfillment stories, but in light of this comment maybe there's an interesting story about "player character as God" in there. Actually now I can think of one that fits that bill exactly: https://j-novel.club/series/endo-and-kobayashi-live-the-latest-on-tsundere-villainess-lieselotte https://j-novel.club/series/endo-and-kobayashi-live-the-late... It's not high literature, but it's a fun read, especially if you're aware of the genre tropes it riffs off of (villainess/isekai).