Nodusfall has been Gamescom’s greatest shock: a brand new co-op motion romp from the masters of gacha, HoYoverse, which seemingly does away with a lot of what all of us affiliate with the developer.
HoYoverse’s video games are usually vibrant anime affairs filled with waifus and himbos ready to be collected by thirsty gamers. Even because the genres and programs change from sport to sport, the studio has a definite type and design philosophy—one which’s been extremely profitable.
Instead of resting on its laurels, nevertheless, HoYoverse is taking an enormous swing with Nodusfall. One of essentially the most basic adjustments is that characters are not obtained through random draws. This is not your typical gacha game. Indeed, HoYoverse hasn’t confirmed any gacha mechanics yet—though we do know that cosmetic monetisation is being considered.
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When it was first unveiled during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live, the immediate comparisons being bandied around were Elden Ring and Monster Hunter, both of which are fair comparisons but which don’t really tell the whole story. That they are inspirations seems undeniable, but Nodusfall is absolutely doing its own thing here.
First of all: Nodusfall is not remotely a soulslike. What it has in common with Elden Ring, then, is largely aesthetic and vibes. As HoYoverse describes it, the world of Nodusfall is one where “divine authority has crumbled and order has collapsed”. It’s simultaneously bleak and beautiful.
Monster Hunter is a better relative. Solo adventurers and teams can choose contracts, after which exit into the world to seek out huge beasties. These are prolonged, elaborate fights with a number of phases, happening in spacious outside areas. So yeah, this all felt instantly evocative of Monster Hunter. But the similarities largely finish there.
My four-player crew began off in a hub space, the place we might choose and customise our characters—considered one of which had two lessons, whereas the remaining had one. I opted for a severe trying lad with an enormous sword, serving because the group’s tank. So you are not simply making a customisable clean slate who’s outlined by no matter weapon they occur to be holding.
Each character has dramatically totally different fight types and distinctive mechanics, so whereas I used to be going to spend the following half-hour blocking harm with my large weapon and sticking to foes like indignant velcro, one other member of the get together was going to spend that very same time hanging again and therapeutic my reckless ass. Nodusfall is not an RPG, however it does have an RPG’s role-based lessons.
Our HoYoverse babysitter led us to our battles—three boss-style scraps with an escalating level of challenge, culminating in a massive brawl against a huge dragon and its giant, heavily-armoured rider. There wasn’t much time for faffing in the open area, though I did clock other creatures ambling around—but we were here for larger prey.
It’s more aggressive and spammy than Monster Hunter, but some precision is still required.
Even as a slow tank, I was surprisingly agile. Unless you’ve volunteered for healer duty, Nodusfall is a brisk, relentless kind of action game, where you’ll be stringing together impressively flashy combos as you keep an eye on your skill cooldowns. And all the while, you’ll feel like a human shaped missile, always launching yourself at whatever creature is in your sights.
It’s more aggressive and spammy than Monster Hunter, but some precision is still required. I became rather fond of the clash mechanic, where you charge up a strong attack, and release it right as the monster is about to hit you, countering the attack. It helps that I looked stylish doing it, with my already massive sword growing, transforming into a magical, glowing WMD.
I became a dervish of devastation, leaping around with my spinning attacks and filling the area with explosive magic.
When you’re picking your character you can also select an ultimate, with the game letting you know which ones are a best fit for your role. I’m still very pleased with my choice, which transformed me into a towering, dual-wielding knight with a whole bunch of new—and extremely potent—skills. I became a dervish of devastation, leaping around with my spinning attacks and filling the area with explosive magic.
This was handy when the dragon and its rider split up, leaving us juggling two tricky foes—one airborne and one grounded. My ultimate whittled the rider down, then my team joined forces to deal out some divine retribution, summoning a huge ghostly warrior to absolutely pummel the knight. He still had a sliver of health, however, and used the last of his strength to consume his dragon. Now he was on his own, though, and we made short work of him.
Nodusfall’s scraps are energetic, dramatic spectacles and I really appreciate the pure focus on the simple joy of whacking big monsters. I suspect the full game will be a lot more dense with systems—even if HoYoverse is trying something new, it’s still HoYoverse—but it’s got an extremely fun, straightforward core and a low barrier for entry. Got a free hour and some free pals? Go murder a dragon.
Nodusfall doesn’t yet have a release date. On its official website , HoYoverse suggests following the official social channels for information about beta entry.