Tencent's UE5 RPG Project Mugen? No—Meet The Human Eccentricity Project

Ever wondered what it'd be like to live in a city where urban legends are your neighbors? Tencent's Cosmicpup Studio just showed off 22 minutes of gameplay for its new Unreal Engine 5 RPG, and it's exactly that kind of weird.

The game is called The Human Eccentricity Project (人間異想計畫), a light-horror urban fantasy RPG set in Yiledu, a floating city above a sea of clouds. This is a world where humans and strange beings known as "Kaitan entities" share the same streets and follow the same daily rules. Stuff you'd only hear about in creepypastas? It's just part of everyday life for these residents.

Don't expect these entities to be simple monsters jumping out at you. The devs stress that they're residents with their own forms and ways of living. The game blends the absurd and the supernatural into daily life, aiming for a vibe that's bizarre and funny, but with a lingering touch of mystery.

You play as an investigator at a Kaitan agency with a mysterious past, also working as a special agent cooperating with the city's bureau. You set up shop on Lingfeng Street, taking on tricky cases for both human and Kaitan clients, with a helper named Arabella who lives inside a painting.

In Yiledu, "rules" can suddenly stop working and common sense can warp at any moment. Every strange case hides details waiting to be uncovered, and as you dig deeper you'll learn about the origins of the Kaitan entities, why humans and these beings came to coexist, and the hidden past of this floating city.

The 22-minute demo covers an interlude chapter called "Nightingale: Yinghuo," showing a district twisting and reforming in real time thanks to a "redshift" phenomenon, plus a mindscape world pieced together from obsessions. Your character moves through 2D and 3D spaces with multiple layers of gravity, giving exploration a dreamlike feel that's a far cry from your typical open world.

Combat is real-time, and the demo ends with a multi-phase boss fight against a female character. Kaitan entities each have their own abilities and mechanics, and since battles shift constantly, you'll switch between three characters with different ultimates and special skills. Timing and knowing when to unleash those abilities will be the key to surviving.

Beyond the main story and fights, there's free exploration and life-sim elements. Taking jobs at your agency lets you meet Yiledu's residents and understand daily life between humans and Kaitan entities through different cases.

The game is still in development, and the demo's content and visual quality don't represent the final product. It's headed to PS5, Xbox Series and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and WeGame, and it'll be free-to-play. Pre-registration is already open on the official website. What do you think—does a cloud city full of urban legends sound like your kind of place?