Nodusfall in the Shadow of Elden Ring: How a Three-Minute Trailer Turned HoYoverse Into a Copycat

When the first frames of Nodusfall appeared on screen, I did not hear applause. I heard keyboards — thousands of people opening Elden Ring tabs to compare frame by frame. A winged character immediately reminded viewers of Malenia. A white-haired woman made them whisper Melina. Within three hours, the word "rip-off" flooded gaming forums. I watched that three-minute trailer again and again, remembering how often I had judged a footballer too quickly based on a single moment on the pitch. Listening before commenting is how I correct my mistakes. So the question I keep asking is simple: have we actually seen Nodusfall being played? Nodusfall is the newest project from HoYoverse, the Chinese company behind Genshin Impact. Its reputation is built on bright anime worlds and gacha monetization. But Nodusfall abandons all of that for dark fantasy: realistic graphics, a somber atmosphere, and co-op boss hunting for up to four players. As soon as the first trailer appeared, the gaming community placed it next to Elden Ring — FromSoftware's 2026 Game of the Year and the benchmark of the soulslike genre. Character designs evoking Malenia, Melina, or the creatures of the Lands Between became evidence in an unofficial trial. One side says HoYoverse crossed the line from inspiration into imitation. The other side reminds us that dark fantasy and soulslike mechanics are not things FromSoftware can monopolize. Both sides have never held a controller and played this game. The first side sees a familiar look and reaches a verdict; the second side stops at defending a principle. Both forget that a game is a stream of moving experiences, not a collection of still images. Elden Ring's influence on the industry is undeniable. Since 2026, its design language — punishing combat, a gloomy open world, environmental storytelling — has become a template that countless new projects follow. Nodusfall is no exception, and it does not need to be. The real issue is not whether it takes inspiration from Elden Ring. The real issue is whether Nodusfall does something different with that inspiration. The preliminary answer is yes. Nodusfall does not focus on the solitary journey of a wandering soul like Elden Ring. Its centerpiece is cooperative boss hunting, with up to four players coordinating in prolonged battles. In essence, that mechanic places Nodusfall closer to Monster Hunter than to Elden Ring. A player entering Nodusfall after Elden Ring will see familiar frames, but the actual experience could be radically different. The community itself is contradicting itself: one group calls Nodusfall "Elden Ring meets Monster Hunter," acknowledging co-op as a distinguishing feature, while still using the word "copy" for the visual design. Wings and golden armor were not invented by FromSoftware; they have existed for centuries in Western iconography. The current accusation is built on archetypes, not direct copies. Copyright law also does not protect game genres. "Soulslike" is not private property, and dark fantasy is not a forbidden zone. Only specific expressive elements — nearly identical character designs or matching art assets — can constitute infringement. What this controversy describes is "reminiscent," not "identical." The legal risk is low, but the reputational risk is real. For a company whose brand is built on polish and originality, the "copycat" label could follow Nodusfall all the way to launch. This is a strategic gamble: HoYoverse has vast financial resources, but its reputation is not tied to the premium console and PC segment. The pivot to realistic dark fantasy is an attempt to expand toward Western players — the audience Elden Ring proved to be enormous. That very ambition places Nodusfall in unforgiving comparison with the strongest studio in the genre. The pressure does not come from looking like Elden Ring; it comes from the question of whether the game is different enough to be judged on its own name. There is a blind spot this controversy keeps hiding: regional bias. Chinese developers have repeatedly been labeled as copycats in global gaming discourse, and Nodusfall is falling into that pattern before anyone has seen its gameplay. When a winged character appears in a FromSoftware game, people call it Miyazaki's legacy. When a similar image appears in a HoYoverse game, people call it proof of plagiarism. Kazan taught me that tears can also be a pass. The Nodusfall trailer reminds me that prejudice is also a defensive formation — it blocks people from seeing what lies outside familiar frames. A match is not only about the ball; it is about people calling each other's names. Nodusfall, too, has a development team searching for its own voice under the weight of comparison. If HoYoverse is smart, it will not reply with excuses. It will release fifteen minutes of gameplay footage and let the four-player boss-hunting mechanic say what no still frame can say. Let us reframe the question: are we willing to change our verdict when real gameplay appears? If the four-player co-op creates an experience impossible in Elden Ring, today's controversy will become a footnote in a success story. If the gameplay confirms the accusations, today's backlash deserves to be remembered as a warning bell. I learned long ago that a name mispronounced once does not stop a person from becoming legendary. The name Nodusfall could walk the same path. Let the game speak.