Nodusfall, aesthetically at least, is about as far from a typical HoYoverse game as you can get. Gone are the bright colours, cute creatures, and bountiful anime women. In their place, we get all the familiar trappings of dark fantasy: mysterious magics, vicious monsters, and a dingier kind of realism that – and I’m sure we’ve all thought it – feels a little bit Elden Ring. But from what I played at Gamescom, Nodusfall has the potential to shake off those FromSoftware comparisons and come into its own.

I’ll admit to being a little worried at the beginning of my preview after learning it would consist of two boss battles fought in groups of four. After all, the majority of my co-op experience comes from RuneScape, a 25-year-old MMORPG primarily played with a mouse, and nobody wants to let their team down.

But first came the character selection. There were four options available in my demo: two focused around melee combat, two ranged. Both combat styles offered one character with healing-focused abilities which I immediately discounted – too much responsibility. The archer with a mechanical arm though? Inflicting heavy damage from a distance while taking care of any nasty surprises was definitely something I could do. Decision made, it was time to discover how my chosen role would actually play out in battle.

Nodusfall’s combat, it turns out, is easy enough to get to grips with. There’s your basic attack, which fills a gauge that eventually allows you to unleash a more powerful attack. Next, a secondary move. For my archer, this was a nifty – and enjoyable – bomb arrow which, once embedded in a foe’s flesh, dealt extra when hit. Beyond that, each character has four unique abilities that operate based on cooldowns, some more generous than others.

My archer, for example, had an ability that essentially acted as a dodge – enabling her to jump backwards before firing off a powerful arrow – and another where she unleashed a spirit wolf. Since the wolf only deals damage in close quarters, I’d first have to dash towards a foe before using it, then follow it up with the dodge to regain some distance. All this, I should add, depletes stamina, but the bar is a generous one.

And I was thrilled to discover my archer had actual range. I could easily run around the edges of the battlefield, safe in the knowledge my attacks would still land – useful for self-preservation and for helping my fellow teammates out. If a teammate was in need of additional firepower or revival, I could easily weave myself back into the midst of battle. And in this way, it wasn’t long before I found myself settling into Nodusfall’s surprisingly satisfying fighting rhythm.

As for what you’ll be fighting, Nodusfall’s enemy design draws inspiration from different mythologies around the world. In the demo, for instance, I fought Qiongqi, a creature from Chinese mythology depicted here as a griffin-like beast, and the Maldrake, your more traditional dragon. And HoYoverse has crafted some truly impressive monster encounters that I found myself wanting to stop and properly appreciate – which is pretty hard when the object of your appreciation is also trying to bite your head off.

Each boss battle is structured the way you’d typically expect – multiple stages, each with a new health bar – but, out of the two, the Maldrake was by far my favourite. Since it’s a dragon, it attacks by doing the typical dragon things: fire-breathing, jaw-snapping, wing-whacking. Yet, during the fight’s opening stage, I noticed something a little bit odd: human-like arms protruding from its chest. The secret behind these arms reveals itself about midway through the battle, when a knight rips itself out of the Maldrake’s torso, killing it in the process. Thus the Maldrake fight becomes the Maldrake Knight fight.

Compared to the fairly slow and predictable dragon, the Maldrake Knight is a dangerously fast sword and polearm wielder who you don’t want to get cornered by. It can also unleash puddles of black goo, which sap your health if stepped in. All of the strategies I’d been developing for the dragon had to be immediately thrown aside in order to adapt to this very different enemy who just loved tossing people in the air. And I hope HoYoverse can bring the same fun unpredictability to other fights, creating a similar need for experimentation.

Of course, given Nodusfall is a free-to-play title from a studio best known for its gacha games, there are questions to be asked about how this will be monetised. The developer says characters will be unlockable via continuous play rather than the banner system other HoYoverse games like Genshin Impact employ, and so cosmetic monetisation is being considered. Beyond that, however, specifics are limited so we’ll have to wait to learn more.

I didn’t know what to expect going into Nodusfall’s preview, but I had a surprisingly great time. Combat is fast-paced without ever becoming overwhelming, bosses are compelling, and co-op is engaging while remaining approachable. I am, though, curious to learn more about solo play. As to whether Nodusfall can carve out its own niche among the games it’s clearly drawing inspiration from, that remains to be seen. From what I’ve played, though, it’s looking promising and I’ll be watching its progress during the coming year.

This preview is based on a preview at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. HoYoverse provided flights and accommodation.