By now, I no longer feel the need to spout clichés about "Chinese manufacturers attending overseas exhibitions, drawing massive crowds and long queues." It's simply not rare anymore. We've seen too many such instances. As the influence of domestic game developers has risen over the past two years, the international market has begun paying more attention to Chinese games, and more foreign players are being impressed by titles from China. This Tokyo Game Show was no exception.
As I descended the escalator at Kaihin-Makuhari Station and arrived in front of Makuhari Messe, the venue for the Tokyo Game Show, familiar elements of domestic games began to emerge. Right next to the "Tokyo Game Show" statue was an "NTE" advertising screen playing a catchy rap BGM. Players constantly stopped to take photos, occasionally causing bottlenecks in the flow of foot traffic...
Even the nearby shopping malls featured huge "NTE" advertisements on the ground.
Frankly speaking, I didn't recognize the "NTE" logo at first. It wasn't until I saw the screen footage that it clicked—hey, isn't this our "anime-style GTA," the domestic City Walk game "Neverness to Everness"? My apologies, officer, I didn't recognize you earlier.
The popularity of "Neverness to Everness" was already evident outside the venue. Inside, its popularity literally "exploded."
Pushing with all my might to get to the front row
I should clarify beforehand that this article was written during the first two "Business Days" of the Tokyo Game Show (hereinafter referred to as TGS), not the "Public Days" open to all players. Even so, the scene at the "Neverness to Everness" booth was astonishing. On one hand, the cosplayer photo area near the main stage was packed with media and industry professionals wielding cameras, creating a suffocating crowd. On the other hand, the demo queue was completely overwhelmed. Even though each player's playtime was compressed to just 15 minutes to speed up throughput, the line showed no signs of shrinking...
Fortunately, armed with my reporting assignment, I didn't have to endure queuing torture comparable to the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. Instead, I slipped in through the back door thanks to an advance reservation.
According to insights shared by staff on-site, attendance will double again on "Public Days." All I can say is, may the heavens bless them and wish them good luck.
The biggest highlight of the "Neverness to Everness" demo at TGS was that, as a "multi-platform" game, it finally broke the previous pattern for domestic titles where "multi-platform" meant only "mobile + PC." Yes, the PlayStation 5 version of "Neverness to Everness," eagerly anticipated by console players worldwide, made its debut at this exhibition. While players in China, who primarily use PCs, might not feel the impact as deeply, launching on consoles represents a huge expansion of the potential user base in mature markets like Japan, Europe, and America.
Unfortunately, since the PlayStation 5 version of "Neverness to Everness" has not yet been officially released, it could only be run on development kits. The HDCP anti-piracy protection built into these dev kits prevented us from using capture cards or screenshots to obtain high-quality footage... Therefore, I had to rely on external photography for documentation. Please understand.
The most profound impression left by the TGS demo of "Neverness to Everness" was its "maturity."
As a game that has been announced for over a year and undergone multiple tests, "Neverness to Everness" is no longer just a pretty framework; its content is now quite substantial. Whether in shaping the overall atmosphere of the open-world city or in the construction and arrangement of various urban facilities, "Neverness to Everness" performs remarkably well. You can find almost Everythinggj you'd expect in an open-world urban game here—from fast-food joints where you can rest and recover, to car dealerships offering vehicle sales and modifications, to mysterious little shops in alleys and pedestrian streets selling food, flowers, and more. It truly has it all.
Combined with urban scenes featuring skyscrapers piercing the clouds, rows of small white buildings in residential areas, the chime of tram crossings, and fountains in city squares... these various settings create an irresistible urge to "become a street wanderer and start a City Walk."
Speaking of City Walks, the characters in "Neverness to Everness" are quite adept at exploring the streets. They possess not only the sprinting, double-jumping, and gliding abilities common in open-world games but can also walk effortlessly on vertical walls. You can climb to the top of any high-rise building at any time to take in the breathtaking views, then parachute down and glide directly from this "watchtower" to your destination. The default graphical settings for the PlayStation 5 version are quite high, with a long Level of Detail (LOD) distance maintaining excellent quality for distant views. For players who previously played on mobile devices, the buildings in the PS5 version are definitely worth climbing again.
Of course, you also have the option to fast travel. Thanks to the high-speed SSD in the PlayStation 5 and the game's own optimizations, the black screen loading times for teleportation are negligible. While it certainly can't compare to titles like "Marvel's Spider-Man 2," it is perfectly sufficient in terms of providing convenience.
Lastly, if you don't want to measure the earth with your feet or miss out on urban scenery due to fast traveling, "Neverness to Everness" offers another attractive option—yes, "driving."
I should clarify beforehand that I was not entirely satisfied with the driving feel during the initial tests of "Neverness to Everness." At that time, the handling felt too slippery, the drifting mechanics were quite strange, and the controller adaptation was less than ideal. However, in this repeatedly improved version, the driving feel has significantly enhanced. There is now a clear distinction in handling between vehicles of different performance levels. The dilapidated old cars you grab off the street have poor acceleration and steering, while the high-performance hot hatches and two-seater sports cars you purchase at a premium offer impressive speed and grip.
At the same time, "Neverness to Everness" fully leverages the advantages of the PlayStation 5 controller's adaptive triggers. When you press the trigger to accelerate, you can distinctly feel its two-stage travel: a light press applies gentle throttle to maintain your current speed, while pressing it all the way down floors the accelerator, unleashing maximum horsepower... The driving experience in "Neverness to Everness" is visibly improving; I certainly no longer wish to return to the "dark ages" of controlling cars with directional keys.
It is worth mentioning that the controller experience during combat in this title did not suffer from the button mapping issues often seen when domestic titles first launch on consoles. The overall control logic is smooth and reasonable, with common key bindings such as switching characters with the D-pad, light/heavy attacks, jumping, and dodging aligning well with player habits. When players have already formed their own muscle memory, the best innovation is often no innovation at all; ensuring players feel comfortable is what matters most.
Finally, the version of "Neverness to Everness" showcased at this TGS was still from the second beta test, so it did not feature any new storylines or gameplay mechanics. However, based on the optimization list released by the official team across various platforms following feedback from the second beta, the upcoming third test will bring a massive amount of optimizations. These include, but are not limited to, a first-person mode to greatly enhance immersion, further iterations and upgrades to character models, optimized fluidity for the main cast's combat animations, more unified skill descriptions and intuitive guidance systems, as well as reductions in grind and convenience improvements for the character progression system... Even the "Monopoly"-style gacha mini-game will add a speed-up option in response to player requests. Coupled with the upcoming S-rank characters, the fun factor and completeness of "Neverness to Everness" during the third beta are expected to see a qualitative leap.
In 2025, the most important quality for game developers is being "responsive to feedback." The purpose of testing is to identify and solve problems. Judging by the significant progress from the first to the second beta of "Neverness to Everness," the development team's ability to "solve problems" is unquestionable. As long as they maintain this responsive attitude, the future of "Neverness to Everness" looks very promising.
Overall, "Neverness to Everness"'s presence at TGS was steady and satisfying. It has achieved consistent, step-by-step improvements, and its high quality has genuinely captured a large number of players both domestically and internationally. I believe that as the development team continues to progress, "Neverness to Everness" will ultimately become the benchmark defining the "open-world anime-style City Walk" genre.