Neverness to Everness (NTE) just held a special preview livestream ahead of its Containment Test launch on July 3rd. Read on to find out the highlights of what’s coming to you during the test!
Neverness to Everness (NTE) Containment Test Preview
Welcome To Hethereau
Neverness to Everness (NTE) held a special preview livestream ahead of the upcoming Containment Test last June 22nd, 2025, revealing more information, gameplay, and improvements from the first technical test.
The Containment Test will be open to eligible players starting July 2, 2025, 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT, and will run for two weeks until July 16, 2025, 11:59 AM ET / 8:59 AM PT. Players can pre-download the game starting July 1, 2025, 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT.
New Story Quest
Firstly, players are treated to more of the game’s main story in a main episode called Deal? Deal! In Deal? Deal!, the Appraiser (the protagonist), along with the Sterry Express crew, will attend a special anomaly auction. However, a new mysterious force has made its way to Hethereau, ready to cause havoc—it’s time for the Appraiser and their allies to save the day.
Additionally, a spin-off story titled Tomato Jelly Rampage featuring Hethereau’s favorite tomato-loving character Lacrimosa will also be available, as she seems to be having some troubles lately.
New Playable Characters Hotori, Baicang, and Hathor
There are three new characters added to the mix this time around for players to try out. Firstly, there is Bar Eibon owner, Cosmos Esper, and "Witch of Time" Hotori who uses an umbrella in battle, and as evident by her moniker, she is able to freeze time in battle with her Ultimate, and also out of combat in certain weather conditions, showing her strong abilities.
Next up is Bureau of Anomaly Control Unit ETD-4 Captain Baicang who wields the power of Incantations, along with a martial arts prowess that makes him a formidable ally in battle. Additionally, as captain, he is able to provide support to other ETD-4 allies in combat despite not being the active character.
Lastly, is Sterry Express’s Hathor, an Esper of Lakshana. Also skilled in martial arts, she is quick, agile, and powerful, able to easily overpower her opponents due to her sheer speed. Her Ultimate allows her to manifest thorns in her body to create a replica of her favorite motorcycle, pummeling enemies to dust.
Visual Upgrades, Bigger Map, New Weather System
The overall visuals have been upgraded in comparison to the first technical test, with most of the environments in Bridge Crossings reworked for more detail and realism, such as more foliage, brighter city lights, and reflections on the ground when raining. The addition of more lighting effects brings the city of Hethereau to life. This includes the individual character models as well, most of which have been upgraded thanks to the lighting and rendering overhaul, allowing for more textures and vibrancy to bring the character to life. Aside from the general retexturing and improvements to all models, the models of the Protagonist (male and female), Alphard, Jiuyuan, Daffodill, and Blackbird have been specially altered.
With that said, players will be able to explore even more areas of Hethereau, namely the Miguel District, and the New Herland District. In comparison to the first few areas with a more rustic, country outlook, nature and leisure paradise Miguel District and the skyscraper-filled financial center New Herland District will feature a more urban aesthetic with different sceneries. With these new locations available to visit, the map for the Containment Test is now 1.5 times the size of the map from the technical test, allowing for more discoveries along the city.
Winter is right around the corner in the city as well as Snow Mode is a newly added function in-game, allowing for those picture-perfect moments under the fall of snowflakes in Photo Mode, as well as cruising through the icy roads on your vehicle.
More Houses, More Vehicles, and…Car Stealing
Previously not available during the technical test, Peak or Fenglin Villa will now be available for purchase during the Containment Test. Owned properties will also now have the quick teleport system, as well as the Anomaly Furniture system where players can unlock special commissions from the comfort of their Hethereau home.
With four new cars, one new motorcycle, and one scooter, drive around Hethereau in the vehicle of your choosing. There will also be a newly added route tracking feature, letting players set a specific destination on the map and glowing arrows will readily lead you to where you wish to go—no more getting lost in the sprawling city of Hethereau with this update.
Street racing teams and car clubs are all the rage in the city, and players will be able to partake in these races, either with the NPCs or even against your friends in online play.
With the addition of vehicle requisition and the placement of wanted systems, you can also somehow "steal" vehicles on the road in broad daylight, cause massive destruction in your vehicle, and be a menace to society if you wanted to—although Hethereau’s Security Office won’t be too thrilled with that if you get caught.
"Gacha Board" Character System, Scarborough Fair
Neverness to Everness’ character acquisition system is called the Scarborough Fair, and instead of employing the usual gacha pulling system like many of its contemporaries, it features its "gacha pulls" in the form of dice rolls, moving your Chuppa according to the number indicated on the dice. Each of the spaces has a certain reward tied to it, ranging from materials to characters of different ranks.
There will be the Standard Board and the Limited Board, After 70 pulls with no S-Class Character pulled, the amount of S-Class Character tiles will increase tenfold, making it more likely to obtain the character. Notably, the overall probability of obtaining an S-Class Character in a single roll is 1.88%, which may be seen as a rather generous rate. Best of all, any S-Class Character obtained in the limited banners will always be guaranteed to be the featured character—no more losing 50/50!
Open World Updates, New Anomalies, Combat Update
The open world of Neverness to Everness is made more alive with several updates, such as added NPC behaviors, more interactable animals, and even more tram and bus routes. There will also be new Anomalies to hunt out in the world, such as Octowpus, Sea Prisoner, Beat King, and Saddy Teddy.
Combat-wise, developers Hotta Studio have taken into consideration the feedback from the previous text, and the Containment Test will feature optimized controls, optimized animations, skill revamps, and better monster attack detection.
NTE has now added the Parry Attack mechanics, which will interrupt the targets’ attack as well as add a large amount of energy for Fade In or Entry attacks. There is also the addition of the Critical Dodge counterattack, which all characters will have a unique version of.
Mobile Optimizations
While the test will still only be available to PC players only, Hotta Studio has reassured players that they are working hard on making it available for mobile as well, carrying out several optimization tests. As featured in the livestream, actual gameplay footage was seen on a device with a 3.2GHz 2nd Gen Snapdragon 8 Mobile Platform, Octa-core processor, with a total of 16GB RAM.
For more detailed information of what’s to come during the Containment Test, the livestream is readily available for watching on NTE’s official YouTube channel.
To stay up to date with all things Neverness to Everness (NTE), check out Game8’s article below!
Source:
NTE Containment Test Preview Special Live Stream
Neverness to Everness (NTE) Official X/Twitter
