When the makers of Ori and the Blind Forest release their new game in Early Access, you have to stop, open your eyes with interest and take a look at their new creation. Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Will of the Wisps are very nice Metroidvanias that I loved for their beautiful graphics and personality, something that is in short supply in today’s video game industry. Only independent developers dare to be a little different and create games with heart without focusing so much on the end result. Moon Studios has released the game No Rest for the Wicked in Early Access on Steam and is trying out a completely new genre for them. So I ventured into the plague-ridden world to see what it was capable of.
Of course, it’s important to note that this is just the beginning of No Rest for the Wicked and we’ll be following it as the studio updates the game. There are already three small updates full of corrections available.
The king is dead! Magnus, his son, is now in charge of the country and wants to do things differently. The only problem is that the plague has struck again and the young king is determined to do something about it. So he sends us to the island of Sacre, a controversial archipelago where various forces are competing for power.
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You play someone named Cerim, who can be compared to a medieval plague doctor. The doctor you play has been sent to Sacre Island to eradicate the plague, but the people aren’t exactly happy to see you, which you’ll be convinced of at the start of the game when you’re on the boat that takes you there brings the island. However, this journey does not end as expected because the ship is attacked by monsters and after you learn to control and play with your character, the ship runs aground on the coast of Sacre Island and you wake up stranded on the beach. From there you must fight your way to the dangerous island’s capital, Sacrement. The only problem is that the island is full of people turned into monsters by the plague, making the journey challenging. The story of No Rest for the Wicked is quite bold and the atmosphere is tense and uncomfortable. Luckily, many of the characters you meet are a bit quirky and balance out the depressing atmosphere, which is something you can appreciate. Balance is important to me so that a game doesn’t feel too depressing or crazy, and No Rest for the Wicked achieves this.
Another thing to note is that the scenes are fantastic. They are full of personality and the visual design is magical. The figures you see seem to be taken from medieval paintings. I’ve never seen a style like No Rest for the Wicked, but it’s great. As a history buff, it is particularly interesting to see the paintings that have been analyzed for so many years come to life in this way.
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The tone of No Rest for the Wicked is heavily inspired by FromSoftware’s Soulsbrone and the game gives me the same vibes as the Dark Souls series. That intangible loneliness and decay that most games in the series have. So if you’re a fan, you’ll feel right at home in No Rest for the Wicked. However, anyone who feels that FromSoft’s narrative is a bit too vague and allegorical will be happy to know that there are characters, dialogue and interactions here.
No Rest for the Wicked is a kind of isometric Souls with a lot of extra flavor. You see everything from the air, like in the Diablo series. When you start the game, the developers warn you that you need to play with a controller and not a mouse and keyboard, as the game is designed to use this control scheme. However, you can also use a mouse and keyboard, although this can be somewhat imprecise as there are sequences that require very precise control that a keyboard cannot provide. Yes, it’s usually the other way around, I know. It works well, although there are parts of the game where the controls stab you in the back and you jump into the air into the abyss. Therefore, there are still fundamental issues that Moon Studios needs to work on. And that’s a general thing with the game. It has enormous potential, but that potential will only become apparent once the game has been in the oven for a while.
The main game design of No Rest for the Wicked involves fighting the numerous monsters caused by the plague. This is where No Rest for the Wicked stands out from other isometric RPGs of the same style, as the combat is very similar to Dark Souls. Not only do you destroy hundreds of monsters like in Diablo, but each of your opponents is deadly and you have to learn their attack patterns to defeat them. If you don’t, you’ll bite the dust and return to the last location where you saved your game, just like in Dark Souls. However, unlike Dark Souls, defeated monsters do not return in the reboot. This was a big problem for me when I was caught by the game’s first boss, who completely destroyed me. Normally I would have tried my best and come back stronger, but it’s hard to feel “revenge” when the monsters don’t come back. I think this will be changed as in my opinion it is an illogical game design decision.
Also the character progression system is like in Dark Souls, and as you level up you have to invest points in strength, stamina, health, etc., and the weapons you find can only be used if you have the right ones at a level skills. high enough. The points you earn also influence the way you play. I chose the regular short sword because it doesn’t require as much stamina to block enemy blows, allowing you to dodge and generally have more mobility. Heavier weapons require more energy to move but cause more damage. All of this will sound familiar to a Dark Souls veteran. It works well, but I can’t imagine how you can cope with the heavier weapons since you can’t do practically anything once you run out of stamina. I think this is one of the areas where Moon Studios needs to test more while the game is in Early Access. The same applies to the monsters, some of which are quite unbalanced.
Another complaint I have is that your character moves very slowly and you have to hold down a button to run. This can make your character feel very clunky and clumsy, and the quality of precise control the game requires can vary greatly. These are things that can be changed and will likely be changed as Moon Studios receives feedback on the game. I hope so, because No Rest for the Wicked is a diamond in the rough that just needs to be polished with a few rougher facets to make it shine the way it deserves. So my advice is to keep an eye on No Rest for the Wicked. There’s something special here that could revitalize the ARPG genre. I enjoyed every moment, despite all the frustrations, because No Rest for the Wicked is great, challenging entertainment.
