Last week brought Bleak Faith: Forsaken to players, a dark soulful action title developed by a small Serbian studio named Archangel. Early impressions highlighted that the game features several animation sequences that appear to mirror movements seen in Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3.
In a video posted by a user known as Meowmaritus, some boss encounters within Bleak Faith are shown performing movements that closely resemble those from FromSoftware titles. Viewers also observed one of the swords being animated like a uchigatana from Elden Ring.
Archangel Studio responded to the discussion, stating that the animations were not stolen but purchased from the official Epic Games Store. They cited a vendor named PersiaNinja that offers motion and attack animations as proof. DSOGaming later reported that the vendor had previously taken assets from FromSoftware, casting doubt on the vendor’s provenance.
The studio also noted that FromSoftware frequently collaborates with external artists, and some animation cycles travel between different games over time.
FromSoftware has a history of outsourcing portions of its art to external studios. A closer look reveals that hundreds of art assets are bought from outside sources and reused across titles, with many assets not created in-house. This practice can limit how freely animations are modified during development.
The narrative continues to challenge the assumption that a project’s footprint rests with a single creative team. The makers of Bleak Faith point out that the widely cited belief in a lone, compact development crew does not reflect the current industry reality. Artists from around the world contribute to many popular games, and the lines between authorship and collaboration are increasingly blurred.
— Archangel
Bleak Faith: Forsaken is available for purchase on Steam at a price point of 990 rubles. The game has drawn mixed feedback from the player community, with some praising its dark atmosphere and challenging combat, while others question certain design choices.
There has also been discussion about how memorable game moments are represented and the level of detail in character animations, with conversations touching on how player expectations align with what is delivered on screen.