Neverness to Everness

Neverness to Everness
Neverness to Everness logo, depicting a swirl in the background
DeveloperHotta Studio
PublisherPerfect World Games
DirectorKee Zhang
ProducerYang Lei
EngineUnreal Engine 5[1]
Platforms
Release
  • CN: April 23, 2026
  • WW: April 29, 2026
GenresAction role-playing, gacha
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer[3]

Neverness to Everness (NTE; simplified Chinese: 异环; traditional Chinese: 異環; pinyin: Yì Huán, lit. 'Strange Ring') is an open world action role-playing hack and slash game developed by Hotta Studio, a subsidiary of Perfect World.[4] In the city of Hethereau, the player is an Appraiser who explores the open world and fights hostile forces.[5]

Gameplay

The game is a 3D action role-playing game played with a 3rd-person view. The player controls different characters and collects items as they travel around in the open virtual world. The player character can run, jump, sprint, climb, swim, and drive various vehicles to move around in the world. The character's special movements, except for sprinting, are limited by a regenerating stamina bar that slowly depletes as they continue in that movement mode.[6][7] Each character has different skills, called Esper Abilities, which synergize with other characters.[5]

Players are able to switch between characters in a team of 4, and can perform common hack and slash gameplay mechanics like basic dodges, perfect dodges, and parries. Characters also have different Esper types which are split into Lakshana, Cosmos, Anima, Incantation, Chaos and Psyche.[8] There are also class types which are split into the gas, solid, liquid, plasma, and synthesis. [9]

The game features vehicle customization and upgrading business.[10]

Plot

Neverness to Everness takes place in Hethereau, a modern fictional metropolis where supernatural anomalies and everyday urban life coexist. As an Appraiser, players are tasked with investigating these anomalies, manifestations that range from disturbances to overtly dangerous phenomena, and using Esper abilities to contain or neutralize them.

As the Appraiser delves deeper into the anomalies, they encounter a rotating cast of companions with their own Esper powers that are crucial for unraveling the larger mysteries of Hethereau. These characters help reveal how the anomalies affect different parts of the city and its inhabitants. Their interactions and investigations gradually uncover a layered web of cause and effect behind the supernatural occurrences.[11]

Development and release

Neverness to Everness is produced by Suzhou-based Hotta Studio, a subsidiary of Perfect World Games.[12] The game was developed in Unreal Engine 5.[13]

The combination of Hotta Studio developers enjoying making Mirroria (a cyberpunk city) for their previous title, Tower of Fantasy, and the positive feedback from players, inspired them to make an open world game. Their "year and a half" experience developing urban content helped them complete Neverness to Everness in less than two years.[14]

Neverness to Everness was first officially announced, via the release of a promotional video, on July 16, 2024.[4] In November 2024, the game held its first closed beta in China.[15][16] A global closed beta test followed in July 2025, with a second and final global closed beta conducted in February 2026.[17][18][19]

Neverness to Everness launched in China on April 23, 2026, and worldwide on April 29.[20]

In July 2026, Neverness to Everness launched in Steam, Epic Games Store and Samsung Galaxy Store.[21][22]

Reception

On launch day, Neverness to Everness generated CN¥ 100,000,000 in revenue globally across all platforms.[23][24]

As of August 2026, the game's PlayStation 5 version has a review score of 73 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews" for the platform.[25] The game's Steam version's reviews are "Very Positive".[26]

Reviewing for Nexus Hub, Ryan Pretorious gave the game's launch build a positive review, stating "Hotta Studio (of Tower of Fantasy fame) has taken the best elements of similar gacha titles, mixed in a healthy dose of Persona-esque slice of life goodness, and topped it all off with a thick layer of horror-inspired imagery and themes", scoring the game 8.5/10. He compared the side activities and open world elements to the Yakuza/Like A Dragon games and praised NTE's open world, rewarding gatcha system, light-hearted story elements, horror elements, combat system, side activities, and NPC interactions, but criticised some of the English translations, some English voice acting in "the early chapters", the dialogue box staying on-screen for too long, and the story's slow pacing in the first chapters; however they stated "Once the introductory phase steps back, the story quickly shifts to more exciting areas."[27]

Scott Adams from The Outer Haven scored the game's launch build 4 out of 5, comparing the open-world to the Grand Theft Auto series and praising the game's combat, open world, activities, and "generous" gatcha system, but criticising its' overwhelming amount of content and the large amount of "elements from other games" that it "doesn't do as much as those specific games" with.[28]

In a more mixed review, Miles Penrith from PSU scored the game 6.5/10 on launch, praising the open world, activities, graphics, and the "Lights On" and "Flipped Phone Booth" side missions, but calling the story "underdeveloped" and criticising the rest of the game's side missions, the story's "abrupt" ending, the small open-world, the menu navigation, and launch state's ease of combat. However, Penrith stated the game "is decent quality for a free-to-play game" and further praised the fact the player isn't forced to spend money to enhance their progression.[29]

AI usage controversy

In the days after Neverness to Everness was released, players accused the game of using AI art and AI-generated video.[30][31] Ironmouse, a VTuber who produced sponsored content for the game, ended her partnership with the company and said that the company had told her that there would be no generative AI assets in the game.[31] In response to the controversy, Hotta Studio issued a statement via the official NTE Twitter account, writing that "AI-assisted tools were used only on a small number of background and environmental assets, not on the characters or stories that define this game." They also announced that they would review and rework the relevant assets.[30]

Community response was mixed over Hotta's response to AI controversy with some players remaining unconvinced by the response. Several commenters also questioned Hotta addressing two specific artworks, both of which were the most highlighted in the controversy, arguing that it might be a knee-jerk reaction if the studio does not acknowledge other lesser-talked-about AI-generated content while many were convinced that Hotta Studio was attempting to downplay the scale of its AI usage, with not only in-game content appearing suspicious to some, but also advertisements circulating on social media platforms. On the other hand, many players seemed happy to see Hotta addressing the situation, hoping that would result in further AI cleanup and improvements to the game.[32][33]

References

  1. ↑ Mason, Paul; Sammut, Mark (8 September 2021). "Major Games Confirmed to Be Using Unreal Engine 5". Game Rant.
  2. ↑ Barker, Sammy (16 July 2024). "Neverness to Everness Makes GTA an Anime Open World on PS5". Push Square.
  3. ↑ Bubsy, James (24 July 2024). "Will Neverness to Everness have multiplayer? Developers respond". Dexerto.
  4. 1 2 Palumbo, Alessio (16 July 2024). "Neverness To Everness Is a New Gacha Open World RPG from Tower of Fantasy Devs, Powered by UE5 with NVIDIA DLSS & RTX". Wccftech. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Introducing Neverness to Everness, a New UE5 Supernatural Urban Open-World RPG". IGN. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. ↑ Penwell, Chris (16 July 2024). "Neverness to Everness Looks Like the Love Child of Genshin Impact and Need for Speed". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Wutz, Marco (16 July 2024). "Neverness to Everness fuses Genshin Impact with GTA". Video Games Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Esper Cycle & Elements - Neverness to Everness (NTE) Guide". Mobalytics. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  9. ↑ kui (26 April 2026). "All Arcs in Neverness to Everness: Stats and Effects - Neverness to Everness (NTE)". Neverness.gg. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Romano, Sal (16 July 2024). "Supernatural urban open-world RPG Neverness to Everness announced for PS5, PC, iOS, and Android". Gematsu. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Kong, Clark Jason (16 October 2025). "Neverness to Everness (NTE) Gameplay and Story". Game8.
  12. ↑ Hyeon, Namil (30 September 2025). "[TGS 2025] '진짜 도시' 같은 느낌의 오픈월드 RPG, 이환". ThisIsGame. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Kim, Seungju (26 July 2024). "[분석] 첫 공개된 '이환'의 게임플레이, 정말 실현 가능한 걸까?". ThisIsGame. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "对话《异环》负责人张御&杨磊：熬出黑眼圈，只为再进步0.1分". Aggro电竞. 重庆. 21 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Morris, Iwan (29 November 2024). "Neverness to Everness is set to hold its first closed beta test, but only in China". www.pocketgamer.com. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  16. ↑ "Neverness to Everness details new features and lore as closed beta test begins in China". Gematsu. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  17. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail. "Neverness to Everness closed beta test set for July 3 to 16 on PC". RPG Site.
  18. ↑ Romano, Sal. "Neverness to Everness 'Co-Ex Test' sign-ups now available". Gematsu.
  19. ↑ "Neverness to Everness Launches New Closed Beta with Latest Improvements". IGN. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  20. ↑ Romano, Sal (26 February 2026). "Neverness to Everness launches April 23 in China, April 29 worldwide". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 26 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  21. ↑ "NTE Steam, Epic, and Samsung Galaxy Store Launch FAQ". nte.perfectworld.com. 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Squires-Hand, Liam (8 July 2026). "NTE: Neverness to Everness released on Steam - works on SteamOS / Linux with a workaround". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "完美世界股份有限公司 投资者关系活动记录表" (PDF) (in Chinese). Perfect World Co., Ltd. 30 April 2026.
  24. ↑ Barker, Sammy (5 May 2026). "PS5's NTE Makes Back One-Third of Its Budget in Just One Day". Push Square. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "NTE: Neverness to Everness Reviews - Metacritic". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "NTE: Neverness to Everness on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  27. ↑ Pretorius, Ryan (12 May 2026). "Review: Neverness to Everness | The Nexus". nexushub.co.za. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  28. ↑ Adams, Scott (6 May 2026). "Neverness To Everness Review – How Much Game Can You Fit In A Game? | The Outerhaven". Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "NTE: Neverness to Everness Review (PS5) - Small City Gacha With Style To Spare". PlayStation Universe. 13 May 2026. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  30. 1 2 "NTE: Neverness to Everness Game's Staff Confirms Use of Generative AI". Anime News Network. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  31. 1 2 Parker, Lewis (6 May 2026). "Ironmouse Cancels Gacha Game Sponsorship Over 'Blatant' GenAI Use". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  32. ↑ Matthew Schomer (7 May 2026). "NTE Studio Responds to AI Concerns". Gamerant. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  33. ↑ Sarah "KZ" Zulkiflee (7 May 2026). "Neverness to Everness developer responds to AI controversy, will rework "flagged assets"". Gosu Gamers. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
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