Neverness to Everness is the latest game from Hotta Studio that is blowing up among anime and gatcha fans alike. When it was first revealed, Neverness to Everness was immediately billed as “GTA but anime” by viewers who saw high-speed car chases and open-world exploration in the trailer. Now that NTE has officially launched, it has the chance to show players everything it has in store to live up to that initial moniker.
In anticipation of Grand Theft Auto 6‘s November 19, 2026, launch date, the legendary open-world crime franchise from Rockstar has seen a massive resurgence. There have been dozens of GTA clones released as of late, such as MindsEye and Samson, that have tried to capture some of that GTA 6 hype. Since neither game has really succeeded in maintaining the Grand Theft Auto audience, NTE might end up being the ideal GTA-like for fans eagerly awaiting Grand Theft Auto 6.
NTE Tier List
An NTE tier list can help players decide which character they should invest in first, if they wish to get the strongest Esper.
NTE and GTA Are Cut from the Same Cloth, But Have Distinct Feels
The story of Neverness to Everness revolves around the player character, known as the Appraiser, and their work investigating mysterious anomalies that are appearing around the city of Hethereau, using their Esper abilities to contain them. Hethereau is a large open world for players to explore, and there are seemingly endless ways for them to interact with it. In this way, NTE has succeeded in creating a living city for players to inhabit, much like Grand Theft Auto has done with its incarnations of Los Santos, Liberty City, and Vice City.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
EasyMediumHardPermadeath
Grand Theft Auto Features Present in Neverness to Everness
- Open-world with lots of side missions and events
- Vehicle driving gameplay with the ability to purchase or steal cars
- A wanted system that will result in police chases if players reach a high enough wanted level
- The ability to purchase properties around Hethereau
On the surface, it’s easy to see how NTE compares to Grand Theft Auto, with its open-world and car-culture elements at the forefront of gameplay. The city of Hethereau feels almost overwhelming with its liveliness, extending far beyond the antiques shop Eibon that players call home. Wandering the streets can result in players stumbling upon a unique side mission, random interaction between two NPCs, or even little gacha machines to pull from. This type of urban density and life isn’t unique to GTA, but it is a key part of what makes Rockstar’s franchise so beloved.
Where NTE is the most similar to Grand Theft Auto is in its vehicle gameplay. Driving scooters, bikes, and cars around Hethereau is a major reason to check out Neverness to Everness, and fans of GTA‘s racing side missions will likely enjoy NTE‘s races as well. NTE also features a wanted system like GTA, where damaging parts of the city with vehicles or attacking NPCs can increase the player’s wanted level. If players reach a high enough level and are caught by police, they can even be taken to jail, where they must serve their time or pay a fine to be released.
Property ownership and customization are other parts of the GTA experience that makes its way into Neverness to Everness. While players start out with a room at Eibon, they can eventually buy a house in NTE through one of five different properties. Each of these properties also comes with Anomaly Furniture that players can activate to receive passive effects in combat.
How NTE Sets Itself Apart from GTA
- Action-RPG combat
- Gacha mechanics
- Supernatural theming
Despite sharing a few features with Grand Theft Auto, Neverness to Everness has a much different gameplay loop. Combat plays out like an action RPG, where players utilize a mix of attack types while switching between characters to neutralize and contain Anomalies throughout Hethereau. Similar to games like Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, and Zenless Zone Zero, players can upgrade their NTE characters to unlock new abilities and increase their combat prowess with Arcs that function like weapons.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Gacha mechanics are also heavily featured in NTE, which may be a turnoff for some GTA fans wanting a more traditional experience. Although NTE is free-to-play and features a pretty generous amount of free character pulls and currency, there is still the ever-present temptation to purchase more with real money. Neverness to Everness also features Character Pixels as an energy system that limits the number of activities, like Anomaly Zones, that players can participate in daily, meaning that GTA fans who want to sink hours into the game in a single sitting may not be able to stay free-to-play for very long.
In Reality, NTE is a Mix of Grand Theft Auto, Genshin Impact, Persona, and Control
There are definitely a lot of shared features between NTE and GTA, but Grand Theft Auto isn’t the only game that Neverness to Everness draws inspiration from. Combat-wise, veteran gacha game players will notice distinct similarities to other popular titles like Genshin Impact, more so than GTA. While the anime aesthetic is an obvious similarity, NTE also features a character bond system that functions very similarly to Persona 5‘s Confidants.
From a story and lore perspective, NTE‘s supernatural themes are a far cry from the grounded, gritty crime narratives of Grand Theft Auto. If anything, NTE‘s story and world feel very similar to Remedy’s Control, with a focus on bizarre anomalous objects appearing throughout the world and an organization dedicated to controlling and studying them. So while it is fair to say NTE is like “anime GTA,” it would almost be equally fair to say it is like “anime Control” as well.
- Released
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April 29, 2026
- Developer(s)
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Hotta Studio
- Publisher(s)
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Perfect World Entertainment
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- PC Release Date
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April 29, 2026
