There were points playing NTE, the new GTA-inspired anime open world from Hotta Studio, where I genuinely wanted to applaud what I was seeing on the screen.

Many of you will know that the production values of gacha games has been growing since the transformative success of Genshin Impact, with titles like Zenless Zone Zero and Infinity Nikki looking and playing like full-blown AAA games in the free-to-play space.

But outside of the 15-minute demo of the similarly styled Ananta I tried at the Tokyo Game Show, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this before.

The cutscenes go hard, with so many small animation flourishes they may as well be the next big budget movie from a powerhouse production studio like MAPPA.

The game leans heavily into anime culture, so characters’ expressions will sometimes completely change, similar to the technique leveraged to enormous success in K-Pop Demon Hunters.

For a more hipster reference, it all kinda reminds me of the anime adaptation of Bocchi the Rock.

But don’t just take my word for it, I uploaded some small video clips on social media:

Anyway, as I alluded, this is a gacha game so you’ll probably already know whether that puts you off or not.

But first and foremost, I will stress that, in an increasingly competitive market, it’s looking like the most generous to date.

Pulls are presented in a kinda board game format named Scarborough Fair, where you roll dice to make your way around, and each space represents a reward. There’s no 50/50 like in other gacha games here, so once you’ve pulled 80 times, you’re guaranteed to unlock the promoted character.

It remains to be seen whether the dev will balance this generosity against making duplicates more valuable, but taking the risk out of the gacha should at least make it that bit more palatable to the naysayers.

And having spent several hours with the game courtesy of its recent Co-Ex Test, I’m happy to report it’s really freakin’ cool – it reminds me a little bit of Control, where there’s an X-Files-style mystery unfolding in the city of Hethereau, causing everyday objects to be inhabited by anomalies.

As is the case in almost all releases of its ilk, combat is designed around four-character squads, each representing different elements and roles.

There’s a timing aspect to battles where you can interrupt enemies by attacking when two warning circles overlap, and you can also stun your foes to deal massive damage.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t quite grasped all of the mechanics here yet – or really had the chance to build a compelling team – but I think it feels sturdy, and I certainly never felt frustrated when a battle occurred.

There’s one boss fight fairly early on where you find yourself shrunk to the size of a cockroach, and have to deal with a dog with a television screen for a face.

All of the artwork is extremely inventive, and it leans hard into a surreal style that feels at times like a trendy version of the real-world, but at others complete fantasy.

This extends to the city of Hethereau itself, which has clearly been based on modern Tokyo, from its abundance of cherry blossoms to even the style of its trains.

Navigation touches on all of the same mechanics as Genshin Impact, like climbing and gliding, but the big twist here is that you can also drive around the city, similar to GTA.

I found the handling to feel remarkably strong considering this is a gacha game, and there’s a whole system where you can tune your car and personalise its paint job and liveries.

In fact, I think NTE feels much more robust than most games in the genre. There are shops within the world selling different clothes and accessories with which to customise your characters, as well as tons of side-activities like fishing and mahjong.

This being a live service game, my imagination is already running wild with the kind of content the dev team could add in the future, but even at launch it’s promising customisable apartments, part-time jobs, and tycoon-style business opportunities. It really does scratch that GTA-style city sandbox itch.

And to be honest, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface.

My only real question is whether the developer can maintain this level of quality, because we’re really talking obscene production values here.

I suppose you could criticise the overly familiar artstyle, which I personally think looks vibrant and polished on base PS5, but does subscribe to a samey sort of vibe – even if its urban aesthetic sets it apart from the likes of Honkai: Star Rail and Wuthering Waves.

But I think anyone who likes urban sandboxes like GTA or Watch Dogs should be paying attention to this.

The heavy anime aesthetic is clearly going to filter some potential players out, as will the gacha. But if neither of those are a dealbreaker for you, then I highly recommend you keep this one top of mind.

Has this preview piqued your interest in NTE at all? Is this a game you’re willing to give a try when it launches later in 2026? Push your production values to the extreme in the comments section below.