Neverness to Everness (NTE) Review: A Stylish Open-World Gacha That Actually Feels Fresh

Neverness to Everness - NTE for short - is the most interesting gacha launch of 2026 so far. Built by Hotta Studio (the Perfect World subsidiary behind Tower of Fantasy) on Unreal Engine 5, it is a free-to-play open-world action RPG set in Hethereau, a modern metropolis where supernatural anomalies bleed into everyday urban life. We played the Windows version - it is also on PS5 and mobile, with Steam and Epic releases having landed in July 2026 - and came away genuinely impressed by how fresh it feels.

Gameplay

You play an Appraiser investigating paranormal incidents using Esper abilities, controlling a team of four characters with distinct kits. Combat is fast, hack-and-slash action built around dodging, parrying and swapping between team members to chain abilities. What sets NTE apart from the crowded action-gacha field is its city itself: this is a living urban open world you can actually drive around, with vehicles you own and customize. That blend of on-foot supernatural combat and free-roaming city exploration gives it a distinct identity next to its obvious peers.

Content and progression

Progression follows the familiar gacha template - pull, level and gear a roster of characters, then take them through story chapters, side investigations and combat challenges. The urban setting supports plenty of exploration content, driving activities and world events on top of the main narrative. Traversal is a genuine pleasure rather than an afterthought - the city rewards poking into side streets, and the blend of nimble on-foot movement and proper driving gives the map a rhythm most gacha worlds lack. It is early days for the live-service roadmap, but the launch package is meaty, and Hotta has clearly invested in world density rather than an empty sandbox.

Swapping from a rooftop Esper duel to cruising a rain-slicked city street in a car you tuned yourself is the kind of variety most action-gacha games never attempt.

Tech and monetization

Visually it is a showcase - Unreal Engine 5 lighting, dense city detail and slick animation make it one of the better-looking games in its class, and it scales well on PC. It launched huge, reportedly pulling in around 100 million yuan globally on day one. It is free to play with gacha monetization: you spend premium currency on character and weapon banners, and vehicle customization sits alongside the usual cosmetic and progression purchases. As with any gacha, the best characters are gated behind randomized pulls, so expect the standard soft pressure to spend for a stronger roster.

Who it's for

Fans of action-gacha games who want something with a stronger sense of place - and anyone who liked the studio's previous work but wanted more polish - should try it. If banner-based monetization or grind-for-pulls turns you off, that reservation still applies here.

Verdict

NTE is an ambitious, good-looking and genuinely fresh take on the open-world gacha, carried by its driving-plus-combat identity and strong UE5 production. It is still a gacha, with all the randomized-pull caveats that implies, but it is one of the more confident debuts the genre has seen in a while. Well worth a download. 7.6/10.

Pros

• Striking Unreal Engine 5 visuals and dense urban open world
• Distinctive blend of team combat and customizable driving
• Fast, satisfying action with a stylish supernatural setting

Cons

• Standard gacha monetization gates the best characters
• Progression leans on randomized banner pulls
• Live-service content roadmap is still unproven