Project Mugen resembles a mix of several well-known games and has shown gameplay material with a new trailer. The game is currently under development by NetEase and is set to be released for PS5, PC, and mobile at an unknown time.
Which games does Project Mugen remind you of? The free-to-play game feels like a mix of already popular titles. Among them are the following games:
- Grand Theft Auto
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Starfield
The gameplay of Project Mugen is reminiscent of Rockstar’s GTA. The title takes place in an urban open world inspired by a metropolis. The trailer showcases beaches, bustling streets, skyscrapers, and many recreational activities such as concerts and arcade halls.
The fighters also partially resemble those in GTA. There are several enemies in the city that we must combat with pistols and submachine guns. Additionally, the anime characters have some more imaginative attacks available, allowing them to generate massive whirlwinds of flames around them.
The development team explains that they want to reveal many recreational activities of a city without players having to leave their homes. This approach is similar to Grand Theft Auto, as there are also many exciting activities in the surroundings outside of the main missions.
The development team presents the game in a trailer:
Movement like in Spider-Man and city-building system like in Starfield
To navigate through the city, characters can zip around in vehicles or swing through the air like in Spider-Man. However, instead of a web, a hook is used for the characters to latch onto building facades.
The characters swing through the air similarly to the Marvel title and use the grappling hook to pull themselves towards objects. The playable characters can even temporarily walk along building facades.
The city was also procedurally generated during the development phase. We know this technique, for example, from the planets in Starfield. This involves randomly generated content that is structured differently in each playthrough. In Project Mugen, this technique was immensely helpful in creating the city.
According to the development team, this allowed a whole city to be built in a very short time, as revealed in the video embedded above. In this way, a vibrant urban landscape can be created in addition to the urban ecosystem.
Development of Project Mugen at NetEase
Who is behind Project Mugen? Project Mugen is currently being developed at Naked Rain’s studio. The publisher responsible is NetEase. You might already know the publisher from projects like the mobile game based on The Lord of the Rings.
The game is set to be free to install upon release. However, Project Mugen is a gacha title. This system is used, among others, in Genshin Impact. In gacha games, certain items and new characters can be purchased with real money, which usually happens much faster than gathering the in-game currency for it.
It can easily tempt one to invest more money into a game than one originally intended. Therefore, individuals who have a tendency toward gambling addiction should be cautious with titles like Project Mugen.
Another game you might know from NetEase is Naraka Bladepoint: Naraka: Bladepoint could be the best battle royale on Steam if it weren’t so frustrating.
