Nodusfall and the Shadow of Elden Ring: HoYoverse's Risky Genre Shift

Within the first 24 hours after HoYoverse released the Nodusfall trailer, social media almost never discussed gameplay. Instead, a flood of comparison images appeared: a winged warrior was placed next to Malenia, a white-haired woman reminded players of Melina. The word “rip-off” quickly spread across thousands of comments. Players asked whether Nodusfall was a clone of Elden Ring, the 2026 masterpiece by FromSoftware. The controversy started with a short trailer showing only the first images. According to HoYoverse’s announcement, Nodusfall is an action RPG in the dark fantasy genre with realistic visuals, a major departure from the anime style seen in Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail. Its biggest hook lies in the four-player cooperative boss-hunting mechanic. This differentiator puts Nodusfall closer to Monster Hunter than to Elden Ring, since Elden Ring is mostly a single-player experience with light online elements. The Chinese and international gaming community reacted fiercely. Many felt the similarity in character designs and environments had crossed the line from “influence” to “imitation.” Side-by-side images were shared rapidly. Some voices went further, accusing HoYoverse of using Elden Ring’s fame to promote its new product. But looking closely at what has been announced, the current debate lacks a vital piece: actual gameplay footage. Every accusation comes from static frames in a trailer, while the gameplay remains largely unknown. With years of following FromSoftware’s worldbuilding and HoYoverse’s operating pattern, I realized that comparing an unreleased game with a completed masterpiece is premature. “In esports, I hear echoes of football before the data era”—and the Nodusfall case is a similar echo, when public emotion races ahead of evidence. Elden Ring truly changed the gaming industry. The game won Game of the Year 2026 and sold more than 25 million copies, making FromSoftware the benchmark for the soulslike genre. Every dark fantasy title released afterward has been measured against Elden Ring, from environmental design and combat style to its somber atmosphere. That explains why Nodusfall, as soon as it revealed its visuals, became the center of attention. But attention is not a verdict. HoYoverse is facing a bold strategic gamble. The studio has superior financial resources thanks to Genshin Impact, but its reputation is tied to bright anime aesthetics and gacha mechanics. Pivoting to realistic dark fantasy action RPGs reveals an ambition to conquer Western console and PC markets, where Elden Ring demonstrated massive demand. Nodusfall is pitched as a multiplayer title, potentially carving its own path in the increasingly crowded soulslike space. Seen in the context of a rising genre-wide soulslike “meta,” Nodusfall’s existence is not surprising. Developers cannot deny Elden Ring’s influence on environmental design or combat rhythm, but the four-player co-op mechanic is a clear differentiator. If HoYoverse can show that the multiplayer and boss-hunting systems are genuinely fun, the Nodusfall story can be rewritten as a fresh spin on the genre. In that case, the question “copy or not” becomes meaningless because the actual experience will not feel like Elden Ring. On the legal front, copyright accusations currently remain at comment level, with no official action from FromSoftware or Bandai Namco. Copyright law protects specific expressions such as character designs, stories, and trademarks, not mechanical ideas or broad settings. Comparing a winged character to Malenia or a white-haired woman to Melina may be a vague resemblance. If HoYoverse conducted an internal review before releasing the trailer—as major game companies usually do—they likely believe their product can withstand legal scrutiny. The real risk for Nodusfall lies not in court but in community perception. If “rip-off” comments persist, the commercial danger is huge, especially in Western markets. Players may refuse to try a game because of bias formed by comparison images. “Data is never in a hurry; it waits until you are sober enough to ask the right question.” That sentence applies perfectly to Nodusfall: no quality metrics exist yet, while community emotion has already run ahead. Looking at HoYoverse’s history, it is not hard to see that they are a long-term-minded organization. The company would not invest in a huge project just to produce a clone. Marketing strategy is likely being designed to turn the controversy into media leverage. If Nodusfall quickly releases a convincing co-op gameplay trailer, players will have a solid reason to revisit the entire debate. Conversely, if the actual gameplay fails to establish a distinct identity, the wave of criticism will return even stronger and become a stubborn stain in the run-up to release. A common mistake among analysts is to trust press releases instead of looking at the product itself. A trailer is only a small window into a world, not the entire world. I believe once Nodusfall holds its first gameplay reveal, things will become clearer. If HoYoverse elegantly weaves an “Elden Ring meets Monster Hunter” message into its communication, they can steer the community back to a conversation about value and away from surface-level visuals. When the stadium of the media is loud, the quietest thing that matters is the patience of developers. HoYoverse has strong finances, technical talent, and a global ecosystem. Nodusfall’s ultimate fate will be determined by gameplay quality, not by social media comparisons. For game lovers, the biggest lesson here is not to rush to label anything a “clone” before they have seen it played. The gaming community has often been right when exposing blatant copies, but it has also rushed to judge a good game because it borrowed inspiration from a successful predecessor. Will Nodusfall be remembered as a HoYoverse milestone or as a brief footnote in soulslike history? The answer lies in the game itself, not in a trailer under three minutes.