Gamescom 2026 brought over 70 appointments to CGMagazine, and one of the most noticeable this year was Nodusfall. Though the original announcement took place at gamescom ONL, I had already agreed to a HoYoverse offsite appointment with very little information, aside from the promise of something new. I love a good gamble, so I said yes immediately.
After seeing the Nodusfall trailer, I knew that was the game I had agreed to, but I still had so many questions about it. So I hopped on a short bus ride to see what all the fuss was about, and I truly had a great time with the game, though HoYoverse is still keeping so much under wraps. Only time will tell more about Nodusfall.
For now, I can talk about my short playthrough with the game. My three teammates and I sat down to play Nodusfall, each taking on a different role. In the game, you play as Weavers, and though we don’t know a lot about what this means yet, HoYoverse shared that they are “forging bonds with powerful companions, standing together against earth-shattering foes, seizing whatever divinity remains, and ultimately restoring order to this world.”
Marked as a multi-mythology co-op action game, we were able to experience a run through three bosses as a squad of four. I went with a ranged character named Qiong, though we had four to pick from, including Suixi (bow), Weaver (staff) and Gramher (two-handed sword). I believe two of us chose Qiong as well, so you can absolutely double up. As this all happened very quickly on the go, I wasn’t able to fully dive into each character, though it didn’t look like traditional Tank, DPS and healer roles.
We were set off in a series of boss battles of varying difficulty. First we had Cleaver Fellstone, then Qionqi and lastly, the Maldrake, which came with a Knight to battle as well. The setup that we had for the Nodusfall preview really reminded me of a dungeon or raid battle in something like World of Warcraft or even The Elder Scrolls Online. We moved from area to area, boss to boss. The only thing missing was clearing trash in between.
Each boss fight brought with it different mechanics and things to get used to. Qongqi would rush certain players, requiring you to be quick on your feet. It would also summon tornadoes, an additional mechanic to consider while trying to target the main boss. The Maldrake would summon a Knight with an aggressive spear, as well as other items on the battlefield you would need to destroy to continue on, or it may launch a player up in the air just for fun.
As an archer in Nodusfall, I absolutely loved my abilities. Again, it was a fast playthrough, and I had a team waiting on me, so I don’t have perfect notes and names of abilities like I normally would in a full preview—this was just a taste—but the game felt so fluid. One button would allow me to spill countless arrows into an enemy, another to launch multiple at once. I had a wind-like ability that would do a sweep and then fire arrows into the distance, and even had a magic attack to balance things out.
There were also two abilities that took some time to charge up. One would turn me into a giant wolf, but the other was by far my favourite. Infernal Incarnation would put you in a winged state, allowing you to launch high into the sky and pelt your enemies from above—or from an equal playing field if they could fly too. Not only did this ability feel really cool and powerful, but it was also gorgeous. Everything in Nodusfall is absolutely stunning.
Since we had a single run-through with these three bosses, and no other context, I was a little confused about what exactly Nodusfall players would be doing in the final game. Was it just a series of major boss battles? Would there be smaller enemies in between? Is there story content? HoYoverse isn’t peeling back the curtain just yet, but they did have this to say: “In Nodusfall, players take on the role of a Weaver with their own story and mission. The related narrative will unfold in the RPG sections. We’ll share more about the gameplay with everyone in the future.”
So I guess we have to wait to see the entire gameplay loop. As for right now, I can say, hands down, that Nodusfall is completely stunning, from the character models to social hubs to landscapes to combat. HoYoverse has gone outside of their usual scope of game design to build something new for them, and I am eager to see what more comes of it.
For those looking for more information on the payment model for the game, HoYoverse stated, “Nodusfall will be a free-to-play, long-term game. What we can share at this time is that characters are not obtained through random draws. We hope to allow players to unlock this core gameplay experience through continued play. Cosmetic monetization is an important avenue we will be considering. More details will be revealed in the future.”
For anyone who enjoys co-op combat, keep an eye on Nodusfall. It is one worth watching. For solo players, they have hinted that much of the game will be possible alone, too. Only time will tell.
