Ready Your Spells and Your Hard Drives: When Can You Actually Play Neverness to Everness?
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Jeff dives into the launch schedule and hefty file sizes for Hotta Studio's supernatural urban epic, Neverness to Everness, while questioning if our hard drives (and sleep schedules) are truly prepared.
Right, so I’ve been tinkering with the digital weave all morning, and bloody hell, it looks like we’re about to be dropped headfirst into a city where the local pests are literal supernatural entities instead of just overpriced coffee shops and pigeons with a vendetta. I’m talking about *Neverness to Everness* (or NTE for those of us who find five-syllable titles a bit of a mouthful), the latest concoction from the folks at Hotta Studio. You might remember them from *Tower of Fantasy*—a game that was, let’s be honest, a bit like a spell that didn't quite settle right at launch but eventually found its rhythm.
This time around, they’re trading the sprawling alien vistas for a 'supernatural' urban open world. It’s got that gritty-meets-glamorous vibe that seems to be the flavor of the month in gaming right now. Think investigating enigmatic entities that plague the streets. Some of these spooks are just minor nuisances—Hotta mentions tricksters who steal your hot pot, which, frankly, is a crime punishable by banishment in my book—while others are a bit more... punchy. It’s an urban fantasy through and through, and they’re promising us the keys to the city. But the big question isn't just *what* we’re doing; it’s *when* the portal actually opens.
I’ve been reading the digital tea leaves (and, you know, checking the actual schedules), and it turns out the launch is sneaking up on us faster than a shadow-beast in a dimly lit alleyway. If you’re sitting there wondering if you have time for one last raid or a quick snooze before the madness begins, let’s break down the timing for your neck of the woods.
### The Great Clock-Watching Event
NTE is scheduled to drop globally on April 28, but because the world is a sphere and time is a construct designed to stress us out, that looks a bit different depending on where you’re currently parked. The official word is an 11 p.m. EDT launch on the 28th.
For my mates on the West Coast of North America, you’re looking at a 8 p.m. PDT start on Tuesday. You lucky devils actually get to play before the clock strikes midnight. For everyone else, well, I hope you’ve got a strong brew of coffee (or a high-level mana potion) ready.
Over in the U.K., it’s a 4 a.m. BST start on Wednesday, April 29. Western Europe is looking at 5 a.m. CEST. If you’re in Japan, it’s a midday 12 p.m. JST start on Wednesday, and my fellow Australians on the East Coast are looking at 1 p.m. AEST.
It’s a classic global rollout—simultaneous, slightly chaotic, and guaranteed to make at least one time zone feel like they’ve been left out in the cold. But hey, at least we’re all jumping into the madness together, right? (Assuming the servers don’t decide to spontaneously combust, which is always a possibility when this many people try to squeeze through the same digital door at once.)
### Preparing the Ritual: Preloads and Storage Woes
Now, here’s where my gentle skepticism kicks in. We’ve all been there: the game launches, you’re hyped, you hit 'Play,' and then you’re met with a progress bar that moves slower than a snail on a salt flat. Hotta Studio has, mercifully, enabled preloads across PC, console, and mobile. If you value your sanity, I reckon you should get that started immediately.
But fair dinkum, let's talk about these file sizes. The PC version is clocking in at roughly 60GB. In the grand scheme of modern gaming, where some titles act like they own your entire SSD, 60GB isn’t the worst I’ve seen, but it’s still a hefty chunk of change for your hard drive. On Android and iOS, you’re looking at about 20GB.
There’s something a bit wild about the fact that we’re fitting an entire supernatural city into 20GB on a phone, isn't there? It makes me wonder what’s being sacrificed at the altar of optimization. Are the textures going to look like they were painted with a potato, or have they actually figured out a bit of genuine technical wizardry? We’ve seen other gacha titles balloon in size over time (looking at you, *Genshin* and *Star Rail*), so expect that 60GB to grow like a well-fed slime monster once the content updates start rolling in.
As for the PS5 crowd, Hotta hasn’t officially blurted out the file size yet, but if *Tower of Fantasy* is any indication, you should probably clear out at least as much space as the PC players. Maybe delete that one game you haven't touched since 2022. You know the one.
### A Wizard’s Perspective: Will It Actually Be Good?
I’m cautiously optimistic here, mates. The 'Urban Fantasy' genre is getting a bit crowded lately (looking at you, *Zenless Zone Zero*), but NTE seems to be leaning harder into the 'investigation' and 'life-sim' aspects. The idea that you can choose how to spend your days—whether you're hunting monsters or just trying to protect your dinner from a spectral thief—is a nice touch. It suggests a level of player agency that I always look for.
However, we have to keep our wits about us. Hotta is known for their ambitious designs, but they’ve also had their fair share of bugs and 'interesting' monetization choices in the past. When a developer says 'your urban fantasy first and foremost,' I always wonder if that’s code for 'we’ve found a very clever way to sell you digital hats.'
And while we’re on the subject of digital assets, it’ll be interesting to see if any Web3 elements creep in later down the line. There’s been no official word on that for NTE specifically, but in a world where players are investigating 'entities' and collecting supernatural bits and bobs, the infrastructure for true digital ownership usually fits like a glove. For now, though, it looks like a traditional (if massive) live-service romp.
### The Verdict (Before the Storm)
Is it worth the 60GB of space and the potential sleep deprivation? I reckon it is, if only to see if Hotta can truly nail the 'living city' vibe they’re chasing. There’s something inherently cool about a game that doesn’t just want you to be a hero, but wants you to be a *resident* of its weird, warped world.
So, get those preloads going, check your time zones one last time, and maybe say a small prayer to the gods of server stability. I’ll be there, probably wandering around wondering why someone stole my hot pot, but hey—that’s just another day in the city, isn’t it?
Stay curious, stay skeptical, and try not to let the entities bite.
Tags: Neverness to Everness, Hotta Studio, Urban Fantasy, Open World, Gaming News
Original article: Polygon