Nodusfall at the Crossroads: Learning from Elden Ring or Just Cloning It?

After the first Nodusfall trailer surfaced, the identity war began. A winged character was immediately compared to Malenia, a white-haired woman to Melina. The community quickly used the word “rip-off”, and that label spread faster than any message HoYoverse intended to send. Nodusfall has no release date and no real gameplay, yet it is already the most debated title on gaming forums. This echoes an old rule in esports and competitive gaming: audiences rush to judge from first images before reading what lies beneath. The context explains why the temperature rose so quickly. HoYoverse was known for anime-styled titles such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. Its sudden shift to a dark fantasy world with realistic visuals is a major departure. Meanwhile, Elden Ring, developed by FromSoftware, became a soulslike landmark after winning Game of the Year in 2026. Elden Ring’s influence is so strong that any title wearing dark tones, slow combat and environmental storytelling is placed on the same scale. Nodusfall is now the most visible candidate. In the trailer, a winged character reminded players of Malenia, while a white-haired woman was compared to Melina. Side-by-side comments pointed to environments, architecture and camera movement. Soon, the phrase “Nodusfall clone Elden Ring” appeared across several platforms. Crowd emotion overwhelmed caution. But by focusing only on the surface, people may miss the most important fact: Nodusfall features co-op boss hunting for up to four players. That is a clear difference from the lonely solo world of Elden Ring. In terms of gameplay, it leans closer to monster-hunting games such as Monster Hunter than to a direct clone. However, the four-player mechanic does not automatically erase suspicion. The community is not reacting to gameplay; it is reacting to images and atmosphere. What a gamer sees in the first few minutes decides how they will ask questions later. A trailer attacks the eyes, while the real journey lies in the combat loop, character systems, exploration rhythm and how four players cooperate. HoYoverse has not shown any real combat footage yet. Therefore, every “copy” conclusion is based on a very small piece of the whole picture. Based on my experience tracking game release cycles, I have noticed that communities label things too early. In the early years of the Souls series, many described those games as difficult clones of Demon’s Souls. But when players actually held the controller, they discovered differences in breathing, movement and how the world responded. Developers may share a design language, but each studio has its own voice. Nodusfall’s problem is that this voice has not been heard yet. We have only heard an echo of something familiar, not the game’s true tone. Behind the debate lies a massive business calculation. HoYoverse is leaving its comfort zone, where it was loved for anime aesthetics and gacha systems. Nodusfall, with realistic graphics, will require higher production costs, new design talent and cannot reuse many existing assets. This is a strategic investment to capture the premium console and PC market, where Elden Ring proved the appeal of the soulslike genre. If HoYoverse only wanted to make a follow-up trend game, it would have chosen a much cheaper project. But the reputational risk is equally large. For a company whose brand rests on polish and creativity, being labelled a “copycat” at the trailer stage can affect future products. Legally, the current accusation is only community commentary. Game mechanics and dark fantasy settings are not in an absolute protection zone; only specific images, characters and designs can constitute infringement. A winged character that “reminds” players of Malenia is not enough to prove direct copying. FromSoftware has not made any official move. If the situation continues, the most practical scenario is that HoYoverse will adjust some character designs to reduce visual overlap rather than head into a legal battle. What is interesting is that this controversy could become an opportunity for HoYoverse. A new game from a famous studio usually receives moderate attention. Because of the comparison wave, Nodusfall has taken over the news feed. If the company quickly releases gameplay showing four players hunting a boss together, the story can shift from “stolen” to “bold experiment”. The trailer is a map. A map is only correct until the ball touches the ground; only gameplay is the official kick. If what they show is sharp enough, it will not be hard for gamers to reverse their emotions. History has seen many games mocked at first, only to become phenomena because the actual quality was higher than the rumours. On the other hand, the biggest risk is not in the first trailer. It lies in the next gameplay reveal. If Nodusfall still reproduces the Elden Ring formula without creating a unique enough loop, the wave of criticism will return even stronger. The community will treat the long silence as confirmation of its suspicions. Therefore, the pressure on the development team does not come from online hate. It comes from the promise of quality they need to prove in the near future. Nodusfall is standing at a crossroads. One path is dominated by the huge shadow of Elden Ring; the other is a unique road built on four-player co-op. HoYoverse has the financial strength to adjust the product, but financial strength cannot buy the trust of gamers if the game lacks an independent experience. What matters is not whether Nodusfall looks like Elden Ring in a trailer. What matters is the moment four players step into a boss fight together: will they still remember Elden Ring, or will they be completely immersed in a world of their own? A map can show the way, but only the ball rolling can give the exact answer.