Bleak Faith: Forsaken, a new Soulslike from Archangel Studios, has been controversial since its launch on March 10. This is because gamers suspect the indie developer has hijacked animations in FromSoftware games. like Bloodborne and the Elden Ring. Now, after days of allegedly attacking them, the creators will “replace” any reused content they believe was purchased in good faith, as Epic was unable to verify the source. Original of the animation on the Epic Marketplace storefront.
A more cyber-scientific approach to FromSoft’s established die-try-die formula, Bleak Faith: Forsaken tasks you with uncovering the last remnants of a civilization in ruins. . What it looks like is the stereotype for the genre. You’ll journey through massive Gothic cathedrals and churches, sprawling cities and dense forests as you battle knights and monsters competing to stab you once and for all. Picture the Elden Ring with some Bloodborne influences and you’ll get an idea of the vibe Bleak Faith: Forsaken is all about. Unfortunately, after the game was released on March 10, players wondered if that mood was inspiration or direct bite. As PC Gamer reported, people have accused Archangel Studios of reusing FromSoft assets.
Since the game’s release, several compilations have been posted online comparing Bleak Faith: Forsaken’s animated content to several FromSoft games. One shows the movement of a straight, sword-like sword in Bleak Faith: Forsaken that looks a lot like the sword of the uchigatana swung in Elden Ring. Another feature has animations reminiscent of Malenia, Blade of Miquella and Abyss Watcher from Dark Souls 3.
However, perhaps the best example is the video above posted by the YouTube channel Soulslike Lovers. In the short side-by-side clip, it appears that Bleak Faith: Forsaken boss Konrad the Traitor has a vortex attack that looks almost identical to the move used by Elden Ring’s Banished Knight.
Archangel Studios has since stepped forward to explain. On the game’s Steam store page, a developer named Roia says that all the animations that weren’t done in-house were purchased from Epic Marketplace and “have been there for years, based on a skeleton used exam.” The developer goes on to say that “the marketplace is used to fill general artwork and is always edited for general art-oriented needs”, stating that only 10% of the artwork is used in Bleak Faith: Forsaken is purchased directly from the epic market. Ultimately, Archangel Studios said all properties were purchased “in good faith.”
Despite the purchase in good faith, a representative for Archangel Studios told Kotaku that the team has reached out to Epic Games for an in-depth look at the repurposed assets. According to them, Epic said via email to Kotaku that each Marketplace seller “represents and warrants to Epic that it has the appropriate rights to download its content.” However, the company also said that as a storefront for third-party content, Epic Games was unable to “independently verify these rights”.