Neverness to Everness has been available worldwide for about a week now and I’ve been playing the game quite often. I have completed the current main story and completed all side quests. Well, at least all the side quests I found. Some things aren’t marked and you just have to stumble upon them. Now I’m working on improving my team and creating city content as I roam Heatherau to protect citizens from gangs and anomalies.

As far as side content goes, the free open-world game has a lot to offer. Of course, there are the usual things like repeatable boss battles needed to level up characters and obtain gear. And there are collectibles scattered throughout the city. Some of these are items that can be used as gifts for the game’s Bond system – also known as the dating system, although not all characters are treated equally so far. Other items, such as crows/lost souls, can be exchanged for rewards.

Then there is the City Tycoon feature. Similar to Arknights: Endfield’s factory system, City Tycoon is designed to have an impact on regular gameplay. It’s not just a way to make money and get an apartment (or several apartments). It also offers you ways to improve your characters and vehicles. For example, apartments may have anomalies. Every anomaly has something to offer. Some will be a regular source of items, while others will provide passive upgrades for characters and vehicles. There’s even a statue in the first apartment that paves the way to a boss you can fight for gold.

In City Tycoon, players will also find some of the game’s more relaxed activities, such as fishing, running a cafe, or racing. All of this is nice if you just log in on a given day to enjoy the vibe. So it also serves to give you a reason to log in even if you’re done with the story content and don’t feel like fighting bosses.

All of these features are nice and honestly probably enough to keep me around. The story is interesting and the gameplay is fun. Yes, like any game, there are some quests that can feel like you’re doing a lot of running around for nothing. But that didn’t really detract from the game for me, probably because I was constantly distracted by random anomalies, biker gangs and the like. Unless you use the teleporters, getting from one location to another is rarely a direct journey.

Story aside, for me the real selling point is the anomalous areas. These are areas that players can enter – either voluntarily or randomly. Some lead you to a boss that you have to fight to take down. Others are puzzles that need to be solved. While it’s not quite on the same level, it’s the closest thing to solving Secret World puzzles in a live service game in a long time. I hope these continue to be a regular part of the game as they add more content.

Of course, there are some things in the game that need to be addressed. The biggest of these has to do with community complaints about the use of AI. The game obviously has some merits. Things like book covers, drink labels, billboards and the like. This has been a topic of conversation among gamers on social media and, while the game is actually a lot of fun, could end up scaring away otherwise interested players. Ideally, these concerns will be addressed in future updates.