We’ve had more than our fair share of great games in just about every genre so far, but one genre, in particular, has incredibly high standards due to its very specific and somewhat vague criteria, and it seems we might be the next massive hit for 2024 in the RPG genre. The studio adding this new beast is none other than Moon Studios, that’s right, the same studio behind ‘Ori and the Blind Forest’ and ‘Ori and the Will of the Wisps’.

Much like the original quote by John F. Kennedy that inspired the name for the studio, “We choose to go to the Moon”, Moon Studios had a few ups and downs while trying to create their first game and they eventually settled on the idea for Ori and the Blind Forest which eventually released in 2015. Their first release was quite well received and likely spurred them to create a sequel for their masterpiece named, Ori and the Will of the Wisps in 2020, which was once again another masterpiece in terms of storytelling and gameplay.

However, while Ori’s story might have come to a brilliant conclusion, Moon Studios’ work was far from over and they look set to start a new story involving a holy warrior with an even bigger quest. Thanks to Moon Studios’ publisher, Private Division, we got a chance to share our findings on their latest creation, No Rest for the Wicked, which was released into Early Access on 18 April. As can be expected from anything in Early Access, bugs are imbalances are par for the course but we all know any issues will get ironed out until No Rest for the Wicked is perfect. Granted, it’s already damn near perfect and now it’s just the final polishing needed to make it shine.

The world of No Rest for the Wicked is far from what you’d expect in an RPG, even though it follows a typical introductory trope for the story, it pulls a violent 180 quite early on. To make a very long and complicated story a little easier to understand; You’ll be taking on the role of a Cerim, a holy warrior that was once part of a much bigger race that seems to have been wiped out during a previous clash. You’re initially just answering the call for aid from the island of Sancra, but things are so much worse with an ancient plague ravaging the lands and the island’s people in the form of the “Pestilence”, turning them into horrific beasts.

Your quest as a Cerim will take you all over the vast island of Sancra, between fighting the Pestilence and assisting the people with their plight, you’ll likely find yourself getting thrown in every direction. However, you’ll also have the Risen and the Church to deal with, both of which want completely different things. The Risen want freedom for the people, while the church wants to cleanse the Pestilence at any cost, but neither of these visions are viable and you’ll need to step in to help find a balance between the two.

As can be expected with any half-decent RPG release, you’ll likely start with some character creation, and No Rest for the Wicked doesn’t disappoint but you also won’t have a near endless string of options to pick from. This could be due to the game still being in Early Access or maybe it’s for the sake of keeping things somewhat simple for the world’s sake, both are possible and not at all a bad thing if you look at it from a different perspective. Limited customization options might be seen as somewhat sad by some, but the real fun comes with the gear you equip, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much of a difference it can make.

There is one huge thing to keep in mind with No Rest for the Wicked, you’re definitely not immortal and your Stamina doesn’t last forever either. Sadly, this does mean you might have to treat combat like a souls-like simply due to how unforgiving it can be. Simple enemies can easily chop off huge chunks of your Health, and Stamina might as well be part of your life because dodging, blocking, and even parrying are key to survival but they all come at the cost of Stamina. Sadly, attacking comes with the same cost and it’s almost unnerving how fast you run out of Stamina. Granted, it’ll at least recharge pretty quickly, but it doesn’t help much when you run out the very second you need to dodge an attack that’ll casually chomp half your health. Sadly, a bit more balancing might be needed in this regard.

Luckily, while we wait for some balancing on health and stamina, there are some interesting ways to keep you going for longer. Potions and lotions are one way to do it but those are more aimed towards late-game, early games will have you running on meals. It’s a fun realistic touch when it comes to No Rest for the Wicked, though getting your hands on some of the more interesting meals that buff health and stamina is easier said than done. You’ll be limited to basic meals at first that you can make at any firepit at first, these mostly serve as quick healing when you need it and ingredients are mostly easy to come by. There is a slight catch with this though…

No Rest for the Wicked takes crafting to a new level because you’ll need to find or buy recipes and blueprints for anything you’d want to create, while this is an interesting crafting base, recipes and blueprints are difficult to get and expensive as all hell to buy. The ability to experiment with ingredients for food would be a nice touch that’ll allow you to discover cooking recipes, making the early game a bit more forgiving at the very least. Sadly, cooking will always require a recipe and without it, your massive haul of ingredients will just sit there until you can eventually use them.

Crafting in No Rest for the Wicked falls under the same issue if you don’t have a blueprint, however, things become a little bit more complicated. While exploring Sancra, you’ll eventually find the town of Sacrament, which is the main hub for everything from storage to buying and crafting, even quests. Unfortunately, the town is in serious disrepair and you’ll need to gather resources to rebuild the many respective shops and broken-down pieces of it before you can make use of the services they provide. For example, you’ll need to upgrade the Blacksmith before you can use the anvil and craft your weapons or armor, further upgrades are needed for more advanced blueprints. This effectively puts you into a progression lock to intentionally slow you down.

Luckily, you’ll still be able to make use of the shops in No Rest for the Wicked where you can buy gear, runes and so much more to create your build. However, as mentioned before, buying just about anything is hellishly expensive and money doesn’t grow on trees. Currency in No Rest for the Wicked is a bit odd since it’s divided into 3 types, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, each one being a higher value than the other. Now for the fun part, getting money is a grind of note because you’re only options to get gold are through quests, selling items, or loot. All of these options are somewhat lacking and don’t really pay off or simply aren’t worth it.

If you’re up for the grind, there are some major benefits you can use and abuse, and you’ll have to if you want to make life in No Rest for the Wicked a little easier. Materials and money make the world go round, but they also play a huge part in upgrading your gear. What’s nice is you don’t have to buy new weapons or armor constantly, you can either pick up new gear from loot drops or upgrade it once you’re happy with what you have. Both are sustainable to an extent, though upgrading does take a bit more work and comes with more benefits.

Now for the heart of No Rest for the Wicked, glorious combat, be it coming out victorious or dying. The combat system is honestly really well fleshed out and smooth as butter, aside from the stamina drain issue, every swing of the sword or hammer is almost satisfying to watch. Lucky for you, you’ll have your basic attack and a charged attack, though how you use them really depends on the weapons you use as some weapons are faster than others. However, if hacking and slashing isn’t your thing, you’ll also be able to use Runes and this is where things take an interesting turn.

Each weapon will usually come with a Rune already attached and every Rune brings its own fun twist to combat, but using them comes at the cost of Focus which builds up as you fight. Now, you’re not limited to one Rune per weapon and you can add more if the weapon has available slots for them, but you’ll need to be careful when slotting Runes. On the other hand, you can also mix attack types melee and magic by switching between weapons on the fly. However, there is a slight caveat when it comes to what you can equip, and it seems a page was taken from Elden Ring for this part.

No Rest for the Wicked has attribute scaling similar to Elden Ring for weapons and gear in general, raising your attributes after a level-up will give you perks in the form of bonus damage or armor for those respective stats. Although combat and gear come with a different side too, you’ll need to keep an eye on your loadout weight too as this can affect your attack speed and dodge speed too. Your weight class will usually fall between Light, Medium, and Heavy, and these can make a world of difference in terms of survival and DPS. Luckily, there’s an attribute for that too and you’ll definitely need it if you want to maintain your weight class while jumping between different pieces of gear.

On a completely unrelated note, No Rest for the Wicked has a pretty solid UI but the one thing it desperately needs is a minimap. There’s a massive world to explore and only having the full-sized map isn’t always convenient when you’re on the run or rushing to get a few quick materials to finish off what you’re building. Aside from that, a simple quest tracker would be a nice typical RPG addition to have as well which we don’t have at the moment.

On the visual side of things, you’re in for the treat of a lifetime with No Rest for the Wicked. It features a brilliantly implemented top-down gameplay style with what looks to be a painted art style while maintaining a very 3D look and feel along with incredibly smooth animations. It’s clear a lot of care went into the details with the world and character designs to bring them to life but the highlight here is the almost souls-like combat, along with how closely you’ll need to pay attention to counter at the right time. Regardless of how you look at it though, the whole world of No Rest for the Wicked is a delight to look at and could be considered as eye candy.

Now, No Rest for the Wicked already has drool-worthy visuals, but it gets tied together in all the best ways with sound engineering, music, and voice acting. Any RPG has a story to tell and throwing some amazing voice acting is always a must, but No Rest for the Wicked has some of the best voice acting we’ve seen in ages and this brings each NPC to life without making them overbearing. On the other hand, there is some great background music to tie it all together that relies heavily on simplicity while maintaining a very somber theme that builds an overall great aesthetic.

Overall, No Rest for the Wicked might have a few small issues, but they’re easily overlooked with just how close to a masterpiece this release is. There’s already a gripping story that’ll have you coming back for more but the stunning visuals and voice acting are what tie it all together to build Moon Studios’ next masterpiece. With the constant stream of updates still coming, we can likely expect life in No Rest for the Wicked to just keep getting even better as it goes.
 

Jay Claassen (@R3GR3T_3NVY)
Senior Editor, NoobFeed