Neverness to Everness is not at all what I thought it’d turn out to be, in the best way possible. Developer 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. It’s an intriguing combination, and after having spent almost every ounce of free time I had since launch day clearing nearly all available story content currently available, I’m extremely excited for where this project could head in the future.

I’ll admit that the initial plot setup and early moments of NTE might not be the most gripping series of events and cutscenes you’ve ever seen, and the classic amnesiac protagonist trope is also out in full force for good measure. Once the introductory phase steps back, though, the story quickly shifts to more exciting areas. The world of NTE is one where modern society coexists (in both peaceful and hostile respects) with supernatural phenomenon and entities known as Anomalies – and our hero (dubbed the Appraiser) is quickly scooped up by the local regulatory body and given the proper authority to deal with any related issues if the need arises.



At the moment, the plot adopts an almost episodic, monster-of-the-week approach, which I actually quite like. Not every game in this vein needs to open up with the hero facing a world-ending threat. NTE maintains a lighthearted tone for the most part, but it certainly is not above dropping the player into genuinely depressing and creepy scenarios – and this tonal balance is easily one of the game’s strongest points.

Developer 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.

NTE’s combat manages to feel both familiar and satisfyingly fresh at the same time, effectively combining third-person action elements found in other semi/open world gacha titles (Zenless Zone Zero, Wuthering Waves) and nailing that sweet, fast-paced flow during battles. Every character has their own lineup of Esper skills, including basic attacks and ultimate abilities. A form of “elemental” combo damage, a concept I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of times already if these kinds of games are your cup of tea, is also present here – and forming a party of characters with complementary elemental types is important for packing the biggest (and flashiest) punch.



The elemental system works like you’d expect – filling up a gauge during combat encounters, then switching to a character with a compatible elemental type to instantly trigger an offensive ability. These combinations also result in different effects, depending on what exactly you’re combining. Interestingly, at least one of these skills has a use outside of combat, changing up the way you explore the city of Hethereau (like allowing you to run up the side of a building, for example). And you’ll be doing a hell of lot of that, to be sure.

Surprisingly large and deceptively dense, Hethereau is an absolute treat for fans of in-game world exploration – offering plenty of collectibles to find, multiple Anomaly encounters to investigate (an army of moving wooden mannequins invading a school, as an example), and NPCs to talk to. The city truly feels alive, particularly after the sun sets and the streets flood with neon lights. These sights are best taken in via the optional first-person perspective (with accompanying FOV slider), available in almost every situation outside of combat. Adding to the immersion factor and Hethereau’s believability, NTE features an impressive number of enterable interiors (that, mercifully, don’t appear to merely consist of a handful of copy-pasted prefabs) and activities to sink a concerning amount of time into.



Want to spend two straight days fishing at one of several scenic spots around town? Go for it. Street races more your thing? NTE’s got you covered. How about café management, complete with an ingredient restocking system and serving minigame? Those are here too. Got some cash (or Fons, in NTE’s case) just lying around, begging to be impulsively spent? Buy that shiny car you’ve had your eye on, purchase/furnish yet another luxury apartment, then invite a couple of characters over to hang out and interact with your carefully placed belongings. Of course, these characters have their own list of associated unlockables (unique interactions included), earned by increasing their respective “bond” rank through various actions – including gift-giving and date encounters.

NTE features an impressive number of enterable interiors (that, mercifully, don’t appear to merely consist of a handful of copy-pasted prefabs) and activities to sink a concerning amount of time into.

The sheer amount of side content offered to the player here (some of which I’ve omitted for the sake of length) reminds me of the way the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series presents their host of time-sink activities, treated with just as much importance as the main story missions. Side activity options may additionally be expanded upon by increasing your City Tycoon level – with each rank requiring the completion of set prerequisite tasks as well as reaching specific Fons (the primary world currency, as already mentioned above) accumulation milestones.



For all the positivity I’ve rained down upon NTE, the game is not without its fair share of annoyances and issues – all thankfully small enough so as not to significantly detract from the gameplay experience in any meaningful way. Aside from the expected and unavoidable set of time-based gacha game energy systems (one energy type for character enhancement material grinding set to a recharge timer, and the other for side activity completion set to replenish on a weekly basis), NTE’s English voice acting quality feels remarkably inconsistent – particularly in the earlier selection of story quests. This does eventually improve somewhat as the plot progresses, but every so often you’ll still run into a side character that just sounds…off.

While the majority of main storyline conversations (and some side quests) are delivered through a combination of dynamic character and camera movements, all fully voice-acted, the dialogue text at the bottom of the screen sometimes hangs around for a bit too long before the player can progress to the next line. I’m convinced this is due to accommodating other language audio (although there are unvoiced lines that somehow have the same problem), but forcing the player to sit there and wait for the go-ahead to progress the scene, especially when all dialogue and animations have ceased a couple of seconds ago, might rightfully irritate some.



This wouldn’t be as big of an issue if NTE wasn’t as absolutely packed with dialogue as it is – although the gam’s exposition dumps are still much more respectful of the player’s time than other titles of its kind (looking at you, Genshin Impact). I also unfortunately ran into multiple instances of meaning seemingly being lost in translation, with some lines coming off as confusing or featuring grammatical/spelling errors. These tend to pop up during side quests, or within smaller unvoiced NPC interactions.

NTE’s English voice acting quality feels remarkably inconsistent – particularly in the earlier selection of story quests.

On a more positive note, however, players pulling for their desired S-rank character don’t have to worry about finding themselves potentially failing the dreaded 50/50 drop. If you pull an S-rank character, it is guaranteed to be the banner character every single time, and I sincerely hope future gacha releases opt for this decision going forward.



Neverness to Everness features a vibrant, open world begging to be thoroughly explored, and actually succeeds at pulling off an interesting fusion of modern and traditional supernatural elements that doesn’t end up feeling played out. With satisfying combat taking inspiration from similar titles (at the same time adding its own flair), plenty of side content to keep you hooked while waiting for the next patch, and a cast of characters you’ll come to love (jury’s out on Taygedo, though), Neverness to Everness is more than deserving of your time. If you’re a gacha junkie, this might just be the breath of fresh air you desperately needed in your daily rotation.