papergiraf's Things

You know, isekai genre is such a commodity nowadays, it's difficult to even distinguish it properly. I love it, but I still have to admit that it has been growing stale, with all of the "villainess" and "mediocre protag with a cheat" and "dude with a harem of fantasy girls" scenarious. I noticed that it had become more of a crutch for stories - just some plot convinience to set up the story, which then is run on "easy mode", so that author can focus on romance and cool action and whatnot.

So, my question: if you were to write an "isekai reincarnation" plot, how would you subvert the normal formula to make it interesting?

Example: I've been thinking about starting a story set in a roguelike-inspired game world - not RPG or otome - where the MC, who is placed in a body of the weakest, most challenging character, keeps dying and returning to the beginning, with everything lost and the dungeon completely randomized. That way, the stupid trope of "ooooh, i know EVERYTHING about the plot and dungeons and secret quests" is demolished, and the MC has to use their knowledge about the game creatively.