Neverness to Everness Review: Is It Really Anime GTA?

Neverness to Everness, or NTE, launched globally on April 29, 2026, and was quickly labeled “anime GTA” The comparison makes sense: a large open city, drivable cars, police chases, player housing, street exploration, and bizarre encounters around every corner. But don’t expect a full-blown clone of Rockstar’s formula.

NTE is a free-to-play urban RPG developed by Hotta Studio and built on Unreal Engine 5. It blends gacha character collection, supernatural anomalies, and a combat system closer to Genshin Impact than anything Rockstar has ever made. It’s available on PC, macOS, iOS, Android, PS5, and PS5 Pro with full cross-platform progression so you keep your account regardless of where you start.

Here’s what Hethereau actually looks like in motion:

What kind of game Is it and why Is everyone talking about It?

Neverness to Everness takes place in Hethereau, a neon-lit city where everyday life exists alongside supernatural anomalies. Players step into the role of an anomaly hunter, taking on contracts, fighting enemies, cruising through city streets, buying property, and building a team of characters. One moment the game asks you to save an entire district; the next, it’s encouraging you to slow down and soak in storefronts, rooftops, and traffic flowing through the city.

Early impressions all point to the same conclusion: the city itself is NTE’s biggest selling point. The game leans heavily into dense urban streets, active traffic, environmental storytelling, rooftop exploration, wanted levels, and slice-of-life activities. The result doesn’t feel like GTA with an anime skin slapped on top, but rather a city-focused gacha RPG that’s determined to make its world feel alive.

The combat system is much closer to games like Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, and Zenless Zone Zero. Players control a party of multiple characters, swapping between them mid-fight to chain abilities, ultimates, and combo rotations together. The cars may create the “anime GTA” comparison, but the core gameplay loop is still built around RPG progression, mission structure, and character collection.

Before we go deeper into the review, here’s a quick overview of what you’re getting into.

Neverness to Everness

URBAN OPEN-WORLD RPG

An anime-inspired open world with tag-team combat, drivable vehicles, and a living city to explore. Built on Unreal Engine 5 by Hotta Studio. Free to play with full cross-platform save support.

RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2026

PLAY FREE ON PC

Neverness to Everness review

After spending over 30 hours in Hethereau across PC and mobile, the impression is clear: NTE is one of the most ambitious free-to-play launches of 2026, and also one of the most uneven.

The city itself is easily the highlight. Hethereau feels genuinely alive traffic flows through intersections, NPCs have their own routines, neon signs flicker at night, and there’s always something pulling you toward a new rooftop, alleyway, or storefront. Very few gacha RPGs have ever attempted urban exploration at this scale, and NTE delivers on that promise better than expected.

Combat follows the tag-swap system familiar to anyone who’s played Genshin Impact or Zenless Zone Zero. You build a team, swap characters mid-combo to chain abilities, and manage ultimate rotations. It’s fast and flashy, though not particularly deep at launch most encounters boil down to the same ability rotations once you’ve built your team. That said, the animation quality during ultimates is genuinely impressive, especially on PC at high settings.

Where NTE struggles is pacing. The main story takes too long to gain momentum, side quests frequently feel like padding, and driving despite being the feature everyone associates with the game still feels floaty and disconnected from the world. Vehicle physics are closer to an arcade minigame than GTA’s simulation, and that gap is obvious the moment you try to corner at speed.

The gacha system deserves credit, though. NTE uses a dice-board mechanic called “The Fair” instead of a traditional 50/50 coin flip. The featured S-Rank character is guaranteed within 90 pulls, with improved rates starting at 70. Pity carries over across limited banners, which makes planning ahead much more practical than in most competitors. If you’re a free-to-play player, this is one of the more generous systems on the market right now.

Performance is the other weak point. On a mid-range PC (RTX 3060, i7-12700), frame drops during driving sequences and densely populated zones were frequent at launch. Hotta Studio has pushed several optimization patches since release, and stability is improving but it’s not where it needs to be yet. Mobile players running anything below a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 should expect to compromise on settings.

File size, system requirements, and whether It’s worth downloading

Neverness to Everness requires at least 60 GB of free storage space on PC, with another ~60 GB temporarily needed during installation and unpacking. On iOS and Android, the developers recommend keeping at least 20 GB free. This definitely isn’t the kind of game you install “just to check out for five minutes,” especially if your SSD is already running out of space.

If you’ve played Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves and wished the map was a city instead of a fantasy continent, NTE is built for you. The exploration, the combat loop, and the daily grind all follow the same structure but the setting changes everything about how it feels to play. Walking out of a mission into a rain-soaked neon street hits differently than walking into another grassy field.

Most launch-period complaints focus on optimization issues, stuttering while driving, uneven animation quality, pacing problems in the story, and awkward vehicle handling. On high-end PCs, NTE can look genuinely impressive, but performance stability still varies heavily depending on the scene and graphics settings. Mobile players will also benefit from having plenty of hardware headroom. If you’re experiencing frame drops, our guide on how to boost FPS in any PC game covers the most effective settings to tweak.

So the real question isn’t whether NTE runs well it’s whether it actually delivers on the promise that got everyone’s attention in the first place.

Can NTE actually compete with GTA?

Competing with GTA as a cultural phenomenon is almost impossible. Rockstar Games operates on a completely different level when it comes to budget, storytelling, vehicle physics, and sheer brand power. Neverness to Everness is more likely to carve out a neighboring niche instead: free-to-play urban RPGs for players who want open megacities, anime aesthetics, and constant live-service updates.

What NTE actually proves is that a city-based gacha RPG can work something the genre has never seriously attempted before. Most competitors drop you into open fields, dungeons, or menu-connected arenas. NTE drops you into a city with traffic, weather, storefronts, and a wanted level. That difference alone is enough to make it worth trying, even if the rest of the game doesn’t reinvent anything.

The conclusion is fairly straightforward: NTE is worth downloading if you want to try a free anime-inspired urban sandbox and already own hardware close to the recommended specs. Spending money during the first few weeks, however, is probably best approached cautiously while the developers continue tuning balance, rewards, and overall performance stability.

Verdict

Neverness to Everness isn’t anime GTA. It’s an urban Genshin Impact with cars, and that’s a genuinely interesting proposition. The city of Hethereau is one of the best open-world environments in any free-to-play game right now, the gacha system is more generous than most competitors, and the tag-swap combat is satisfying even if it lacks depth at launch.

The weak points floaty driving, uneven story pacing, and performance instability on mid-range hardware are real, but they’re the kind of problems that live-service updates can fix. The foundation is strong.

Should you download it? If you enjoy Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, or Wuthering Waves and want something with a modern city setting, yes. It’s free, it supports cross-platform saves, and the first 20 hours are genuinely fun. Just don’t spend money during the first few weeks while Hotta Studio continues tuning the economy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Here are the most common ones from players considering NTE.

Is Neverness to Everness free to play?

Yes. NTE is completely free to download and play on PC, macOS, iOS, Android, and PS5. The game monetizes through gacha character banners, cosmetic skins, a battle pass, and optional monthly subscription cards. All main story and exploration content is fully accessible without spending anything.

Is Neverness to Everness really like GTA?

Only on the surface. NTE has drivable cars, police chases, and a large open city which is where the “anime GTA” comparison comes from. But the core gameplay is a gacha RPG with tag-swap combat, character collection, and daily progression systems. It’s much closer to Genshin Impact than Grand Theft Auto.

What are the PC system requirements for NTE?

Minimum: Windows 10 64-bit, Core i7-10700, GTX 1660 or RX 5600, 60 GB storage. Recommended: Core i7-12700, RTX 3060 or RX 6700 XT, SSD. The game requires approximately 120 GB of free space during initial installation, which drops to around 60 GB once unpacking is complete. If your current setup is borderline, check our best budget gaming PC guide for upgrade options.

Does Neverness to Everness have cross-platform play?

NTE supports full cross-platform progression. Your account, characters, and progress sync across PC, mobile, and PS5. You can start on one platform and continue on another without losing anything.

How does the NTE gacha system work?

NTE uses a dice-board summoning system called “The Fair” instead of a traditional pull mechanic. The featured S-Rank character is guaranteed within 90 pulls, with boosted rates starting at 70. There’s no 50/50 mechanic on limited banners, and pity carries over between banners making it one of the more player-friendly gacha systems currently available.

If you’re interested in other ambitious anime-style open-world games, check our Arknights Endfield review and our Dark Epoch review two other recent releases generating serious attention in the same space.

For more reviews and our full rankings of the latest titles, check out the best PC games in 2026 hub.

Allen Wade

I haven’t been working in the IT industry for very long, but ever since I was a kid I knew this was what I wanted to do. I started studying and tinkering with hardware when I was around 10 years old, although I had been using computers long before that , I used my first mouse at just 3 years old.
My studies focused on computer science topics, mainly cybersecurity. Over time, I discovered how much I enjoyed sharing hardware-related news and information with others.
Like many professionals in the industry, video games were one of my main motivations for getting into tech. They’re still a big part of my daily life, and I’m always keeping an eye on the latest announcements.
I’ve been working at PerfCore for a while now as a writer, and little by little I’m gaining experience in other roles as well such as doing in-depth product reviews and developing a more critical, analytical approach to hardware.