HoYoverse Unveils Nodus Fall, a Co-Op Soulslike RPG Blending Elden Ring and Lord of the Rings
HoYoverse's Nodus Fall is a soulslike, co-op open-world action RPG with high-fantasy bosses and tactical combat.
HoYoverse used Gamescom 2026’s Opening Night Live showcase to announce Nodus Fall, a third-person action RPG that blends open-world exploration, cooperative combat and soulslike design. The project comes from the studio behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, and its debut trailer leaned on high-fantasy imagery, imposing bosses and a somber tone that immediately drew comparisons to Elden Ring and The Lord of the Rings. The announcement was one of the higher-profile reveals of the show, positioning HoYoverse in a darker, more demanding RPG space than its anime-styled live-service hits.
A Weaver Against Legendary Beasts
In Nodus Fall, players take on the role of a Weaver, a character who wields powers granted by divine sources. Those abilities are used against powerful beasts of legend, and the debut footage suggested a combat loop built around reading enemy patterns, choosing the right weapon and timing supernatural skills. The game is played from a third-person perspective and offers a variety of weapons and abilities, giving it a more tactical, action-first identity than a traditional open-world adventure.
Co-op is a central part of the pitch. HoYoverse said players will be able to explore the world and face enemies, including tough bosses, alongside friends. The trailer did not reveal party sizes, matchmaking rules or how progression will work in multiplayer, but the focus on shared boss encounters fits the soulslike label. It also gives Nodus Fall a different social rhythm from Genshin Impact: instead of a party of switchable characters, the emphasis appears to be on a player-controlled Weaver and direct, skill-based combat.
Soulslike DNA, High-Fantasy Scale
The soulslike influence is visible in both character and monster design. The first trailer showed a female-presenting character opening a pair of wings in a way that strongly recalled Malenia from Elden Ring. Other bosses included dragons and gargantuan bear-like creatures, while humanoid enemies also appeared. The result is a dark-fantasy world with high-fantasy scale, which is where the Lord of the Rings comparison becomes useful: the game’s imagery suggests ancient ruins, divine power and legendary beasts rather than a purely grim apocalypse.
Combat also seems to borrow from Monster Hunter. In one section of the trailer, a character uses a wire-like tool to latch onto a monster, a movement and positioning idea that could support aerial attacks, traversal or pursuit. HoYoverse has not explained the tool’s full role, but the image is another sign that Nodus Fall is assembling familiar ideas from several action RPG lineages rather than following a single template.
What HoYoverse Has Not Confirmed
Key details remain under wraps. As of Gamescom 2026, HoYoverse has not announced a release date or platform lineup for Nodus Fall. The company also has not outlined a beta plan, monetization model or post-launch content strategy. Based on HoYoverse’s history, however, some form of testing before launch is likely. The studio tends to reveal information close to its planned windows, so more concrete news may arrive sooner rather than later.
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Release date | Not announced |
| Platforms | Not announced |
| Pre-launch tests | Likely, based on HoYoverse’s track record |
| Co-op scope | Confirmed for exploration and boss fights; party size unknown |
| Monetization | Not detailed |
A Growing HoYoverse Portfolio
Nodus Fall arrives as HoYoverse continues to expand beyond its flagship titles. The studio is also working on Honkai: Nexus Anima, a creature-collector RPG with auto-battling systems set in an open-world map that is designed to grow through updates. That project shares the company’s live-service philosophy, while Nodus Fall appears to aim at a more hard-edged action audience. Gamescom 2026 also highlighted other RPG news, including the free release of Once Human for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
For now, Nodus Fall is a promising but deliberately mysterious package: a co-op soulslike with open-world ambitions, divine powers, legendary monsters and a clear debt to Elden Ring, Dark Souls and Monster Hunter. Whether HoYoverse can turn those influences into a distinctive world of its own is the question the next trailer will need to answer.