In "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin," gaming is not just gaming. It's a portal into a life lived, and the real life human experience inside a virtual world.

This touching, eye-opening documentary is a look at the life of Mats Steen, a Norwegian boy who early on in his life was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe form of MD that causes progressive degeneration of the body's muscles. As Mats' mobility became limited, he turned to gaming, and increasingly lived his life inside the popular role playing game "World of Warcraft."

There, he was no longer in a wheelchair. He could run and jump through the game's wide open expanses, and even catch flight on the wings of a magical creature. He was not Mats, he was Ibelin — pronounced "Eeblin" — a hulking figure with long, flowing hair, huge muscles and kind, inviting eyes. Ibelin was a famed detective and nobleman, and the deeper Mats got into the game, the more his virtual persona overtook his own.

At home, Mats was quiet and reserved. But Ibelin was a hub of his virtual community, a sounding board for a whole group of people, and he developed friendships inside the "WoW" world that had real-world implications on the people behind those characters. He had a heartfelt relationship with one woman, and helped another mother and son work out their real life differences through the machinations of the game.

None of his fellow players knew about the reality of Mats' condition, and when a group of them got together for an IRL meet-up, Mats declined the invitation. He died in 2014 at age 25, but following his death, his family followed the digital footprint he left behind and learned about the wealth of people he touched in the game.

Where they thought he was withdrawing by spending all his time playing video games — his father estimated Mats spent around 20,000 hours playing "World of Warcraft" over a 10-year period — he was building a community, the way he knew how and the way he was comfortable.

Director Benjamin Ree ("The Painter and the Thief") handles Mats' story with empathy and care, and recreates Ibelin's virtual world so we see the way he experienced life through in-character play. It's a tricky balance, but Ree pays tribute to Mats and the lives of those he touched, and shows the way his parents were able to see the breadth of Mats' life after his death.

For many, video games are just an escape. For some, they're much more, and "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" is a window into a fascinating world and a surprisingly rich life.

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'THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN'

Grade: B+

MPA rating: PG-13 (for brief strong language)

Running time: 1:46

How to watch: Netflix

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