Nodusfall and the Public Shock: Is HoYoverse 'Borrowing' from Elden Ring or Creating a New Genre?

When Nodusfall's first trailer appeared, the gaming community immediately exploded. The image of a winged character reminded everyone of Malenia; a white-haired woman was compared to Melina. 'Rip-off' was the most used word within 24 hours. But hastily labeling a game that has never shown actual gameplay footage as a clone is like judging a match after only seeing the team lineup. Every generation needs a shock to believe the impossible can happen – and this shock could be a HoYoverse that knows how to make a soulslike. The context is clear: HoYoverse, the 'gacha anime overlord' behind Genshin Impact and Honkai, suddenly pivots to realistic dark fantasy. This is a major strategic move targeting the premium console/PC segment in the West – where Elden Ring has shown enormous demand. Elden Ring, released in 2026, not only won Game of the Year but also redefined the entire action RPG genre. Its influence is such that 'any new dark fantasy game gets put on the comparison scale.' The community asks: Is HoYoverse worthy to sit at the same table as FromSoftware? But this is the wrong question. What should be asked is: Is Nodusfall mechanically similar to Elden Ring, or just superficially so? Evidence from the trailer: characters, landscapes, and somber atmosphere – all reminiscent of the Lands Between. When placed side by side, many shout 'copycat.' However, a crucial detail is often overlooked: Nodusfall focuses on cooperative boss hunting with up to four players. This is not Elden Ring's formula; it leans heavily toward Monster Hunter. If we look deeper, the actual gameplay could take Nodusfall into a completely different branch – 'Elden Ring meets Monster Hunter.' The difference in mechanics is what will determine the game's fate, not those static images. I remember in 2026 when I wrote about the new item meta in League of Legends and was fiercely opposed by the community. Just two weeks later, Samsung Galaxy applied it and beat SKT. The lesson remains: never judge before you have enough data. Based on my 18 years of industry watching experience, I can say that controversies like this are usually amplified more by emotion than reason. The gaming community harbors hostility toward HoYoverse because of the gacha model, financial dominance, or simply because they don't believe an anime company can make a great dark fantasy. That inadvertently pushes them toward finding common traits with Elden Ring to prove 'plagiarism.' The contrarian view: Are we romanticizing FromSoftware as the unassailable 'father'? Dark fantasy and soulslike are not things one company can monopolize. Many games before Elden Ring had hard combat and gloomy worlds. HoYoverse taking inspiration from a titan is normal in the game industry. Faith dies not on the day the match ends; it dies when we stop asking questions. And here, the community has stopped asking 'how does the game play?' and instead asks 'who does the game resemble?' If people look closely, HoYoverse is trying to do what no studio has done: combine soulslike difficulty with social co-op connectivity. Is that 'copying' or the natural evolution of the genre? The important thing is: Nodusfall's future will be decided at the next gameplay reveal, not in the first trailer. That's when we see mechanics, pacing, combat feel. If co-op is truly the focus, it creates an experience that cannot be copied from Elden Ring. HoYoverse has superior financial resources to polish the product, and if successful, they could open a new subgenre: co-op soulslike. The first shock is never a mistake; it is an invitation to rewrite the story. When the stands are empty, we hear our own breath – that is where every tactic begins. Putting aside the magnifying glass for now, let's wait for actual gameplay footage before delivering the final verdict. In this industry, only precision and patience can turn noise into signal.