Monster Hunter meets Elden Ring: I was able to play Nodusfall as one of the first people from Germany

During Opening Night Live at gamescom 2026, a new game from HoYoverse was announced that is quite different from their previous titles. MeinMMO editor Jasmin was able to take a closer look at the game as one of the few press representatives from Germany and shares her impressions.

When HoYoverse presented their new game Nodusfall at Opening Night Live, my jaw, like many of yours, dropped. I usually associate the studio with anime-style titles like Genshin Impact or Honkai Nexus Anima, which I enjoyed somewhat.

When the first epic dragons flew across the screen, I was initially skeptical, as the shift in direction with their new coop game is quite drastic. During gamescom 2026, I was able to try the game for myself and can now reveal whether this shift worked.

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The new Hoyoverse game Nodusfall in the dark trailer

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Nodusfall focuses on epic legends, including those from Germany

In Nodusfall, you team up with three other players to face various boss enemies from different mythologies. In our case, we had to face three different enemies as a four-person squad.

At the beginning, each player could choose one of four classes. I chose to be an archer. I actually just went by the character’s appearance and the fact that it was a ranged character, simply because I prefer to attack from a distance.

Our first opponent was a saber-toothed tiger with horns and wings, which we quickly took down. Next, there was the Maldrake and its dragon rider, who were inspired by the German Nibelungenlied. After that, we delved into Chinese mythology with the Qiongqi.

All these enemies had their own movement patterns. The dragon, for example, unleashed widespread flame attacks across the field, while its knight targeted a player and attacked with his lance. The Qiongqi, on the other hand, relied entirely on area attacks and tried to hit as many players as possible.

Around five attacks were available for combat, which recharged over time. Each class had its own attacks. Unfortunately, I can’t assess how the other classes played, as I stuck with my archer during the gameplay session. However, I felt that I could always attack from a safe distance, unless the enemy suddenly focused on me.

One of these attacks could be chosen freely. I wanted to play a support role, so I chose a skill that healed my teammates and revived downed players immediately.

Particularly impressive were the special attacks, which came into play about twice per boss fight. My character suddenly transformed into a being with black wings, hurling dark attacks at the enemy. Other classes could transform into a mythical being or attack in different ways.

Overall, the battles look visually stunning. The aesthetics from the trailer translate well into the fights, and the scenery is as epic as the bosses. I felt like a heroine in a post-apocalyptic world facing incredibly tough opponents from mythology.

The fights reminded me of a mix between Elden Ring and Monster Hunter. When we had depleted a portion of a monster’s health bar, it could happen that it changed location and we had to teleport after it. The Elden Ring comparison is due to the visuals, as it looks just as epic as in the dark world of the From Software title.

My squad was the first to defeat all three bosses

To defeat the enemies, the team had to work together. Occasionally, it was possible to execute the enemy, which took off a massive chunk of its health bar. For this, several players had to gather around the stunned enemy, briefly stop attacking, and press the same button to perform this group attack.

Unfortunately, we missed this moment several times because one of our teammates chose to just keep attacking, which caused us to miss out on some damage.

Still, out of eight teams of four, we were the first to defeat all three bosses. And that really shouldn’t have happened, which is why I have some criticism here.

Aside from the executions, we didn’t coordinate our efforts even once, which is why the fights overall felt way too easy to me. The main reason for this was the fact that after dying, you were immediately revived at a nearby campfire.

The monster’s health bar always stayed at the same level. So getting killed wasn’t really a punishment at all. It just cost you a few seconds, during which you had to revive yourself and run back to the enemy.

The whole thing is so odd because we died a ridiculous number of times. Another point of criticism is that the game doesn’t really signal to you when you’re about to die. There are no glowing red health indicators or other warning elements to alert you to low health.

So during one battle, there were definitely three or four times when I was surprised to suddenly find myself lying on the ground. Your teammates can revive you, but sometimes it was just faster to press the revive button and then rush back into the fray from the nearby campfire.