Nodusfall has been Gamescom's biggest surprise: a new co-op action romp from the masters of gacha, HoYoverse, which seemingly does away with so much of what we all associate with the developer.

HoYoverse's games are normally vibrant anime affairs full of waifus and himbos waiting to be collected by thirsty players. Even as the genres and systems change from game to game, the studio has a distinct style and design philosophy—one that's been incredibly successful.

Instead of resting on its laurels, however, HoYoverse is taking a big swing with Nodusfall. One of the most fundamental changes is that characters are not obtained through random draws. This is not your typical gacha game. Indeed, HoYoverse hasn't confirmed any gacha mechanics yet—though we do know that cosmetic monetisation is being considered.

When it was first unveiled during Gamescom's Opening Night Live, the immediate comparisons being bandied around were Elden Ring and Monster Hunter, both of which are fair comparisons but which don't really tell the whole story. That they are inspirations seems undeniable, but Nodusfall is absolutely doing its own thing here.

First of all: Nodusfall is not remotely a soulslike. What it has in common with Elden Ring, then, is largely aesthetic and vibes. As HoYoverse describes it, the world of Nodusfall is one where "divine authority has crumbled and order has collapsed". It's simultaneously bleak and beautiful.

Monster Hunter is a closer relative. Solo adventurers and groups can select contracts, and then go out into the world to hunt down big beasties. These are lengthy, elaborate fights with multiple phases, taking place in spacious outdoor areas. So yeah, this all felt immediately evocative of Monster Hunter. But the similarities largely end there.

My four-player crew started off in a hub area, where we could select and customise our characters—one of which had two classes, while the rest had one. I opted for a serious looking lad with a big sword, serving as the group's tank. So you're not just creating a customisable blank slate who is defined by whatever weapon they happen to be holding.

Each character has dramatically different combat styles and unique mechanics, so while I was going to spend the next 30 minutes blocking damage with my huge weapon and sticking to foes like angry velcro, another member of the party was going to spend that same time hanging back and healing my reckless ass. Nodusfall isn't an RPG, but it does have an RPG's role-based classes.

Our HoYoverse babysitter led us to our battles—three boss-style scraps with an escalating level of challenge, culminating in a massive brawl against a huge dragon and its giant, heavily-armoured rider. There wasn't much time for faffing in the open area, though I did clock other creatures ambling around—but we were here for larger prey.

Even as a slow tank, I was surprisingly agile. Unless you've volunteered for healer duty, Nodusfall is a brisk, relentless kind of action game, where you'll be stringing together impressively flashy combos as you keep an eye on your skill cooldowns. And all the while, you'll feel like a human shaped missile, always launching yourself at whatever creature is in your sights.

It's more aggressive and spammy than Monster Hunter, but some precision is still required. I became rather fond of the clash mechanic, where you charge up a strong attack, and release it right as the monster is about to hit you, countering the attack. It helps that I looked stylish doing it, with my already massive sword growing, transforming into a magical, glowing WMD.

When you're picking your character you can also select an ultimate, with the game letting you know which ones are a best fit for your role. I'm still very pleased with my choice, which transformed me into a towering, dual-wielding knight with a whole bunch of new—and extremely potent—skills. I became a dervish of devastation, leaping around with my spinning attacks and filling the area with explosive magic.

This was handy when the dragon and its rider split up, leaving us juggling two tricky foes—one airborne and one grounded. My ultimate whittled the rider down, then my team joined forces to deal out some divine retribution, summoning a huge ghostly warrior to absolutely pummel the knight. He still had a sliver of health, however, and used the last of his strength to consume his dragon. Now he was on his own, though, and we made short work of him.

Nodusfall's scraps are energetic, dramatic spectacles and I really appreciate the pure focus on the simple joy of whacking big monsters. I suspect the full game will be a lot more dense with systems—even if HoYoverse is trying something new, it's still HoYoverse—but it's got an extremely fun, straightforward core and a low barrier for entry. Got a free hour and some free pals? Go murder a dragon.

Nodusfall doesn't yet have a release date. On its official website , HoYoverse suggests following the official social channels for news about beta access.

Just as with Insomniac's previous Spider-Man games, Marvel's Wolverine promises plenty of callbacks to its titular character's long history in comics, movies, and TV. But I got quite a laugh out of one detail in the game's latest trailer – a direct reference to an infamous meme originating in the beloved '90s X-Men cartoon.

The new game features trailer shows us a brief flash of what appears to be a level select screen, where you can replay previous missions. In the foreground, a text menu breaks down the stages by location and mission name, and on the other side we see a brief description of that level, alongside a tracker showing how many of its collectables you've missed.

In the background, we see Wolverine laying back in bed, longingly staring at a small picture frame he's holding in his hands. This, of course, is a tribute to the Wolverine Crush meme, which originates in X-Men: The Animated Series. You've probably seen '90s Wolverine staring at all kinds of things over the years, but in the original episode he's jealously looking at a photo of Jean Grey and Cyclops.

According to a breakdown on the PlayStation Blog, this mission replay screen appears in Logan's Nightmare Cabin, which tracks with my hands-on time in Marvel's Wolverine. While wandering through levels, you'll stumble upon unreal doors that lead into a nightmare version of Logan's home, where you can take on various challenges. I didn't see this level select screen in my preview time, but it looks like the cabin will also be how you select missions to replay.

There are plenty of other low-key references to specific moments in Wolverine history, including numerous suits to unlock ranging from the classic brown-and-yellow to the nearly indecent Weapon X look. But I never would've expected such a goofy reference to creep into such a prominent part of Marvel's Wolverine, even though I love it all the same.

Marvel's Wolverine was inspired by one of the few video game movie tie-ins that doesn't suck: "We had the same challenges as those devs."