Nodusfall looks like Elden Ring but was "designed to be accessible," says HoYoverse: "We don't want difficulty to be a barrier"

The makers of Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero are taking a different route for upcoming action game Nodusfall, going for a more of a downtrodden, Elden Ring vibe. Although it seems grim and scary, HoYoverse states the adventure isn't meant to be impenetrably hard.

The studio takes to Twitter to answer a few frequently asked questions of the upcoming release. "We don't want difficulty to be a barrier for players entering Nodusfall," the post reads.

"The game is designed to be accessible even for players who are new to this type of action gameplay," it continues, "while still maintaining a high ceiling in terms of controls, coordination, and builds, giving players who love a challenge plenty of room to dive deeper."

The line about people who're unfamiliar with the trappings of challenging action games is important here, because there are inevitably going to be converts. Zenless Zone Zero, Genshin Impact, and Honkai: Star Rail each have massive communities, a portion of which will very likely hop into Nodusfall to check it out.

Going for the complete FromSoftware experience and putting everyone through an absolute gauntlet in the first hour probably won't do much for player retention. We don't need everyone to sit through HoYoverse's version of the Undead Burg, inching forward bit by bit.

The use of the term "accessible" suggests there'll be a number of settings people can tinker with to make the experience comfortable to themselves. Such options are always welcome, and that's coming from someone who loves a good gauntlet.

Further details on Nodusfall are limited, but we know it's a co-op focused game that sits somewhere between FromSoft's output and Monster Hunter, since the overall goal is to take down gigantic beasts roaming the land. Done well, it could be very captivating – though I suspect many of us will be dying plenty of times regardless.

Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki was always "fascinated" by the "weird" executives of other companies: "I use some of them as enemy characters in our games."