HoYoverse, the developer behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, has revealed Varsapura, an open world action game powered by Unreal Engine 5. The announcement came with a 31-minute gameplay demonstration captured on RTX 4090 hardware, introducing players to a surreal near-future city where a parapsychological phenomenon called Mindrot erodes reality and spawns hostile creatures. The game marks HoYoverse’s first use of Unreal Engine 5 and features a blend of their signature anime aesthetic with photorealistic environments.
Players take on the role of a Hollowone applicant joining SEAL (Shadow Emergency Alliance), an organization dedicated to containing Mindrot events. The gameplay footage demonstrates fast-paced combat with character switching mechanics, stealth sequences, environmental puzzles, and open world exploration through both driving and on-foot navigation. The demo presents RPG-style dialogue options that use character attributes like Empathy, Persuasion, and Deception to influence outcomes throughout missions.
Varsapura: HoYoverse’s Control-Inspired Open World Built on Unreal Engine 5
Fast-paced character switching combat meets mind-bending parapsychological horror in a near-future city plagued by reality-warping Mindrot
Core Gameplay Elements
The 31-minute gameplay demonstration reveals multiple interconnected systems spanning combat, exploration, and narrative choices
Genre & Setting
Open world action game set in a surreal near-future city where Mindrot—a parapsychological force—warps reality, spawns monsters, and threatens both minds and physical space. Features blend of anime character design with photorealistic environments.
Combat System
Fast-paced action featuring character switching mechanics similar to Zenless Zone Zero’s style. Each character wields unique abilities—from umbrellas to paper sheets—with seamless transitions between up to three squad members mid-combat plus NPC squadmate support.
Mindrot Phenomenon
Central threat manifesting as rapid item degradation, mind warping, and creature spawning. SEAL (Shadow Emergency Alliance) monitors “Cognosea disruption events” across the full spectrum while recruiting individuals with exceptional perceptual acuity and cognitive stability.
Development Status
Built on Unreal Engine 5 with active recruitment for programming, design, art, and marketing positions at Shanghai and Singapore offices. No release date or platform details announced yet.
The gameplay demonstration opens with the protagonist entering SEAL headquarters for evaluation. After signing an agreement, officers Simmons and Sayuki conduct hands-on testing involving shadow creature combat and civilian rescue scenarios. The trial assesses both combat capability and psychological stability, essential qualities for handling Mindrot contamination. The protagonist’s motivation stems from a SEAL officer who “killed her former self”—she inherited an umbrella from this agent, which serves as her primary weapon throughout combat sequences.
Varsapura’s combat emphasizes rapid character rotation with distinct movesets per squad member. The umbrella wielder demonstrates melee strikes, ranged attacks, aerial maneuvers, and a stun ability for repositioning when detected during stealth segments. Environmental hazards require players to avoid Mindrot contamination zones while navigating unstable architecture and using character-specific abilities to solve traversal puzzles. The system allows instant character swaps mid-combo, enabling dynamic team synergies against shadow monsters in SEAL test arenas.
Mission Structure & Progression
The demonstration reveals a four-phase gameplay loop from recruitment through operational deployment
Players begin as Hollowone applicants undergoing mind-verification protocols, structured interviews, and psychological evaluation. The process determines suitability for handling parapsychological threats and Cognosea disruption events within SEAL’s operational framework.
Operational testing involves shadow creature elimination using character-specific abilities. Training introduces fast character switching, special attack execution, and stun mechanics while evaluating combat readiness against Mindrot-spawned threats in controlled environments.
Active missions combine combat scenarios with environmental puzzle solving. Players navigate Mindrot contamination zones, react to unstable architecture, deploy stealth assassinations, and utilize squad abilities across both real-world and shadow realm manifestations.
Beyond structured missions, players access the full city environment through drivable vehicles and on-foot navigation. RPG dialogue systems employ Empathy, Persuasion, and Deception attributes to unlock conversation branches and alternate quest resolutions.
The city environment showcased in the demonstration features locations bearing strong resemblance to Singapore architecture. The driving sequence appears to traverse routes from Bencoolen to Dempsey Hill with accurately rendered buildings and road layouts. Landmarks identified by viewers include areas matching Singapore’s City Hall and Fort Canning districts. This “City of Rain” aesthetic—derived from Varsapura’s Sanskrit roots meaning “rain city”—creates an atmosphere of persistent rainfall, neon-lit streets, and supernatural distortions that blur boundaries between material and consciousness space.
Players receive operational support from DAWN, an AI assistant providing mission guidance and threat analysis during field deployments. The protagonist’s unusual characteristic—appearance shifting to match each viewer’s preferences upon entering Varsapura—remains unexplained within the game’s lore, classified as a parapsychological effect of unknown origin. SEAL maintains full-spectrum monitoring to track such anomalies alongside Mindrot outbreak patterns and shadow monster activity concentrated in consciousness-adjacent spaces.
Confirmed Gameplay Features
The demonstration highlights six major gameplay systems working in concert
Dual-Reality Navigation
Transition between material space and shadow realm with mind-bending environmental shifts and supernatural distortions
Squad Character Switching
Instant mid-combat character rotation across three active squad members with unique ability sets and fighting styles
Stealth Mechanics
Approach targets undetected for instant takedown sequences with stun abilities for emergency repositioning when spotted
Vehicle Systems
Drive cars for high-speed city traversal with on-foot parkour alternatives using umbrella gliding across vertical gaps
Character Acquisition
Monetization model unconfirmed but multi-character system suggests potential gacha mechanics for unit collection
Environmental Puzzles
Navigate Mindrot contamination hazards and architectural instability using character-specific traversal abilities
Development Metrics
Current project status based on official announcements
Production Timeline & Recruitment
Varsapura remains in active development with HoYoverse recruiting across multiple disciplines at its Shanghai and Singapore studios. Open positions span programming, design, art, and marketing departments. The 31-minute demonstration length suggests established creative direction despite the absence of release date or platform announcements. English voice acting has been confirmed with additional language modules under development pending system stability verification.
The project represents HoYoverse’s first implementation of Unreal Engine 5, departing from their typical development frameworks. This technical shift enables the photorealistic environmental rendering while maintaining anime character aesthetics—a hybrid visual approach new to the studio’s portfolio. The Control-inspired setting featuring SEAL’s bureaucratic structure managing parapsychological phenomena creates thematic parallels to Remedy Entertainment’s work while incorporating HoYoverse’s multiplayer-focused design philosophy through squad-based combat mechanics.
The announcement arrives during HoYoverse’s expansion period following Petit Planet’s revelation as an Animal Crossing-style life simulation and Honkai: Nexus Anima’s debut as an auto-chess creature collector. This multi-genre strategy positions Varsapura as the studio’s entry into psychological action-adventure territory. For updates on similar gaming developments, coverage includes Arc Raiders’ recent server challenges, Game Awards 2025 record nominations, and Ubisoft’s recent project decisions.
The Varsapura announcement covered a 31-minute gameplay demonstration revealing open world exploration, character switching combat, stealth mechanics, and RPG dialogue systems. The footage presented SEAL organization structure, Mindrot phenomenon mechanics, and city navigation through both vehicles and on-foot traversal. Development continues at Shanghai and Singapore offices with recruitment active across multiple departments.
The demonstration included combat scenarios against shadow creatures, environmental puzzle sequences, and dialogue options utilizing Empathy, Persuasion, and Deception attributes. Technical specifications confirmed Unreal Engine 5 implementation with RTX 4090 capture hardware. Release date and platform details remain unannounced as production advances at HoYoverse’s Asian development studios.