An indie development team known as Archangel Studios is currently in hot water, as its first title, a Dark Souls-inspired action RPG called Bleak Faith: Forsaken, has animations that are conspicuously similar to those in Elden Ring, as well as other FromSoftware games.One of the bigger comparison videos that are making the rounds is the one seen below posted by Twitter user meowmaritus. It shows off both player and enemy animations from Bleak Faith side-by-side with clips from Elden Ring and Dark Souls III and the similarities are pretty damning. It would have to be an astronomical coincidence for Bleak Faith's animations to naturally end up looking so identical.Likely, it wasn't a coincidence, however, it's possible that Archangel Studios didn't have any malicious intent. As stated by the Twitter user, these animations were allegedly taken from a software called DS Anim Studio, which exports animations from FromSoftware games, including Elden Ring.
This is done strictly so that fans can use these for free unlicensed modded games, not for commercial products. It is currently being suggested that a separate third party took these animations and put them for sale on the Epic Marketplace, where developers using Unreal Engine can buy licensed assets, like animations, for their games.
As transcribed by PC Gamer, Archangel Studios responded to the accusations on Discord claiming that they purchased some of their animations from the Epic Marketplace. A developer later stated the following, "I've submitted a ticket raising the concerns of the community to the Epic Customer Service and outlining the animation accusations. We decided to be preemptive as a sign of good faith and a generally very pleased customer at the Epic Marketplace. We'll let you know what they say about it and will respond accordingly."
Bleak Faith: Forsaken released but a few days ago on March 10. The game features many elements of the modern 'souls-like' subgenre, like crushing difficulty, RPG customization, interconnected areas, and a dark gothic aesthetic, but it also features certain unique elements like stealth and enemy climbing. Bleak Faith has unfortunately received a 'Mixed' review score from overall Steam users, with numerous buyers complaining about bugs and lack of polish.