Project Mugen, now renamed Ananta, came across as an anime spin on Grand Theft Auto when it was revealed in 2023. After seeing its new and extended gameplay trailer, I don't think anime GTA is really doing it justice. This looks like every big open-world game from the past decade was thrown in a blender, poured onto a sheet tray, dehydrated in an oven, and then worn as a leathery mask.
In seven heady minutes of pop music, street brawls, shootouts, vehicular violence, and social media parodies, Ananta peels back layer after layer to reveal bits and pieces of countless open-world games that have been slipped into it like spliced DNA. Publisher NetEase calls it an open-world RPG, and I guess that's technically accurate, but only in the sense that an entire pot roast with two pieces of bread on opposite sides is technically a sandwich.
