Nodusfall and the Elden Ring Trap: When HoYoverse Bets Its Identity for Attention

Don't rush to look at the scoreboard; watch how they move without the ball. In the gaming world, that saying holds equally true: don't rush to condemn a game based on a few trailer frames. But the Vietnamese and global gaming community just did exactly that with Nodusfall – the newest project from HoYoverse, the publisher behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. As soon as the first trailer for Nodusfall was released, a wave of comparisons to Elden Ring – FromSoftware's masterpiece that won Game of the Year 2026 – erupted violently. A winged character reminded players of Malenia, a white-haired warrior was compared to Melina. The term "rip-off" flooded forums. But I've been following the gaming industry for over two decades, and I know this: empires don't fall overnight; they fall the moment they believe they are the empire. And hasty accusations are just as dangerous. The context of this story is not simple. HoYoverse, a Chinese company generating billions of dollars annually through its gacha model, is executing the biggest strategic pivot in its history: abandoning its signature anime style for realistic dark fantasy. This is not a minor update – this is a complete rebranding. Meanwhile, FromSoftware's Elden Ring (Japan) has set a new standard for open-world action RPGs, selling over 20 million copies and influencing every dark fantasy project released after it. An empty stadium, but numbers scream louder than fans. Look at the data: Elden Ring launched in 2026, won GOTY, and since then, countless new projects have adopted similar combat styles, world design, and atmosphere. This is not coincidence – this is market law. When a product reaches Elden Ring's level of influence, it becomes the industry's "meta." But what the community is overlooking is that Nodusfall is not just a copy. According to trailer information, the game focuses on co-op boss hunting with up to 4 players – a fundamental difference from Elden Ring, which is a purely single-player experience. Glory is just the tip; the root is who dares to take responsibility. HoYoverse is betting its entire reputation on this project. With superior financial resources, they can hire talent, invest in technology, and polish the product to perfection. But the biggest question isn't money – it's design capability. Can a studio known for anime-style gacha games execute a world-class dark fantasy title? This is a problem no number can answer. People praise beautiful gameplay; I look at the number of turnovers. In this case, I look at the core mechanics. The community has dubbed Nodusfall "Elden Ring meets Monster Hunter" – and this comparison is genuinely useful. If the co-op boss-hunting mechanic is executed well, Nodusfall won't need to compete directly with Elden Ring in the single-player segment. It will carve its own niche, a new branch of the soulslike genre. The question is whether HoYoverse has the courage to show the community this before it's too late. Their failure doesn't come from bad luck, but from bad design. And here, the bad design isn't in Nodusfall – it's in how the community is evaluating the game. When everything is too stable, I start looking for cracks. The crack here is the gap between visuals and gameplay. A trailer only shows visual style, not mechanics. Condemning a game as a rip-off based solely on a few static frames is biased and baseless. I could be wrong, but I believe that when actual gameplay is revealed, the story will be completely different. Data doesn't create revolutions; it only exposes who's running on emotion. The community is running on emotion. They see Elden Ring-like imagery and immediately conclude. But if you look deeper, Nodusfall has the potential to create a new genre: cooperative soulslike. This is HoYoverse's opportunity to turn controversy into a marketing lever. If they prove their own identity, all current accusations will become motivation to attract even more attention. I've witnessed too many games wrongly condemned due to superficial comparisons. And I've also witnessed truly derivative games thriving thanks to marketing. The difference lies in actual quality. Nodusfall will be judged not by its first trailer, but by what players experience when the game launches. The question is: Will HoYoverse have the patience to build trust, or will they hastily respond to criticism with excuses? In football, I learned that big teams don't win because of reputation – they win because of better systems. Same in gaming. HoYoverse has the resources, the ambition, but do they have the humility to learn from criticism and adjust their product? If they do, Nodusfall could become the biggest shock in gaming in the next 5 years. If not, it will just be another footprint on the path Elden Ring has already paved. I'll be watching the next developments closely. Because in this industry, nothing is more exciting than watching an outsider dare to challenge the champion – whatever the outcome.