The reveal of this game is actually about a month or two in the past now, and that’s intentional. I wanted to give it some time before covering its announcement on the blog. You see Project Mugen is an upcoming open-world RPG by NetEase that looks to combine elements from GTA, Genshin Impact, and Spider-Man. The combo made for quite the impressive trailer, with many claiming this will finally be a true rival to Genshin Impact. Seeing the eye candy below, I certainly see where they’re coming from that it looks like a lot of fun to be had. The combat sequences with the music blaring had me hard as a rock.

However, I wanted to see if the hype would die down after a few weeks, and sure enough it has. Even though a subsequent promotional video was released, it didn't seem to generate much buzz. Probably because it was mostly focused on explaining the design philosophy behind the game rather than showing off many features or gameplay. As I look at this more and more I can’t help from feeling there’s little chance it will be able to rival the giant that is Genshin. Mainly due to two reasons. First being, the company behind this is NetEase. Looking through their catalog, I barely recognize any of the games listed. They’ve got their hands on some huge franchises like Marvel and also some games that made a publicity splash like Naraka: Bladepoint, but nothing in the catalog stood out to me as a game with a strong positive reputation behind it. Secondly, it’s crazy to say, but at this point Genshin is more than simply a game. The amount of lewd content that game has caused is astounding. I see new lewd art of the latest characters everytime I visit a spicy corner of the internet, and animations are no exception. The influence of that game even outside the core player base is staggering and I don’t see NetEase being able to reach that same influence with Project Mugen, at least not for several years. Everyone has to start somewhere, but for now I’m keeping my expectations in check about this being a “Genshin killer" as the comments proclaimed.

Regardless of whether it will reach the competitive heights of the gacha giant, it still could prove to be an awesome experience. I know I got myself pre-registered to see what the chefs are cooking when a demo or beta is announced. Did you watch the trailer? Are you following Project Mugen? Will we see Genshin levels of sexy fan creations for it? Swing through the city, steal a car, and roll on a banner in the comments below!