Neverness to Everness Beta: Setting a New Urban RPG Benchmark

Hotta Studio’s upcoming urban RPG, Neverness to Everness (NTE), has pundits pausing their backlogs—and for good reason. The team behind Tower of Fantasy is promising a city teeming with rogue cops, spectral disturbances and drift-ready supercars, all powered by Unreal Engine 5. As we approach the Closed Beta, it’s worth examining how these systems fit into Hotta’s development track record and whether they can escape the fate of “feature bloat” that has plagued live-service RPGs.

What’s New in the Neverness to Everness Closed Beta—and Why It Matters

• Vehicle requisition and wanted levels: Stealing a ride isn’t just a cooldown timer—it triggers visible heat from law enforcement, with each chase level introducing new AI behaviors. If implemented faithfully, this could create emergent moments. A caveat: past Hotta titles have at times simplified police AI after launch to smooth performance.
• Skill-based street racing: Multiplayer crews and ranked events promise to reward reflexes and tuning knowledge over microtransactions. The risk? Without careful economy balancing, unlocked mods could still favor deep wallets rather than real driving prowess.
• Dynamic weather interactions: Early dev logs show advanced snow rendering with subsurface scattering and particle physics. Ideally, this will affect braking, visibility and even NPC routines. Yet similar “next-gen” weather tech has fallen short when frame-rate targets demand scaled-back features.
• Urban supernatural mashup: Ghostly side quests, pop-up anomalies and everyday activities (shop management, apartment upgrades) aim to blend routine with the surreal. Hotta must avoid overloading players with FOMO-driven micro-events or daily grinds.

Feature	Specification
Publisher	Perfect World Games
Closed Beta Period	July 3–16, 2025
Genre	Open-World RPG / Supernatural / Racing
Engine	Unreal Engine 5
Platforms	PC (Beta); Consoles & Mobile (planned)

Hotta Studio’s roster includes several live-service hits and misses. Tower of Fantasy showcased striking visuals but sometimes felt like a checklist of daily tasks. NTE’s pitch is grittier—a city where neon-lit streets collide with spectral incursions, reminiscent of titles like Yakuza: Like a Dragon meets classic open-world icons. The true measure will be how these layers interact rather than merely coexisting.

What It Means for Open-World Enthusiasts

For veterans tired of empty metropolises and superficial “life simulators,” the Closed Beta is a chance to test whether NTE’s systems breathe real conflict and consequence into the world. If AI chases force you to plan heists carefully, or snow actually alters your cruising line, NTE could recalibrate expectations for non-Western urban RPGs. But every ambitious feature carries performance and balancing risks—issues that only a broad stress test can reveal.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Integrated chase mechanics, snow-impact physics, crew-driven racing and supernatural quest hooks offer a fresh spin on the city-RPG formula.
• Cons: Potential for performance bottlenecks, watered-down AI behaviors post-launch and an overload of live-service events that dilute core gameplay.

TL;DR—Should You Try the NTE Beta?

If you’re craving an open world that pushes back—mixing drifting showdowns, snow-slicked streets and otherworldly mysteries—Neverness to Everness is worth a look in its Closed Beta. Gauge how its systems hold up under real-world play and whether Hotta Studio resists the urge for endless filler or pay-to-win shortcuts. Because no matter how flashy the trailer, you won’t know its staying power until you drive—and dodge—your way through Hethereau yourself.