No Rest For The Wicked REview

Early Access

Few games have truly made me feel like the experience that I was having was singular and the world was bespoke for me as No Rest For The Wicked does. Then again, there shouldn’t be much surprise as Moon Studios, the team behind the beloved Ori series, have crafted another magical experience and continue to solidify their place as one of the best indie studios around. The grain of salt, or chunk of salt in this case, is that No Rest For The Wicked is the definition of Early Access. Much like the Cerim that you step into the shoes of, the journey has just begun for the studio as there is plenty of work to do before leaving Early Access.

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An Unexpected Adventure

Moon Studios made some large claims leading into the release of No Rest For The Wicked. Although, the game did just launch in Early Access and we are a long way from a finished product where we can make the final judgement call, I think the studio might achieve some of these lofty goals.

The game feels unique, it feels innovative and despite numerous crashes and bugs, there is a level of addiction in No Rest For The Wicked that is nearly unmatched. The best way to encapsulate this, is that playing solely on Steam Deck, in every session, the game has frozen, and every time, we go right back in.

WORLD

The history of Moon Studios designing interconnected metroidvania worlds with Ori has paid dividends for No Rest For The Wicked. The level design is immaculate as the environment is full of verticality and interwoven paths, which in addition to the stunning visuals, bring the world to life.

Then you have to town of Sacrement, which feels alive and the way the city was designed feels authentic. The poor live near the bottom, the rich live near the top and when you finally unlock the ability to purchase property, the house values vary drastically depending on location. The fixer upper near the homeless area under the bridge is considerably cheaper than the house that is right off the main courtyard with loads of natural light that is easier to find. There is an opportunity to fully realize the immersion in Sacrement, it would by having the citizens and vendors sleep during certain hours, although I can see how that might be inconvenient from a gameplay perspective.

VISUALS

Few games immerse you as instantaneously as No Rest For The Wicked. Moon Studios have crafted such a detailed world that feels so engrossing, you almost feel seasick aboard the wooden vessel as the waves toss it around and the moonlight dances beautifully through port holes. It’s not a hyperbole to say that the visuals in No Rest For the Wicked look like concept art, especially in the cutscenes. The world is stunningly beautiful, even by Moon Studios standards.

The immersion goes beyond the visuals as there is attention given to the little details. When you return to areas for different quests, it has changed as new enemies have moved in, which makes retreading the same areas feel unique upon second visit. An area that was safe the first time, might not be safe when you return and this creates an adventure that is always unexpected.

Unfortunately, not every major story beat has a cutscene and hopefully upon the full release we will see are few more added. Luckily, the voice acting is sublime and even when some of the major story beats don’t have cutscenes, the words still resonate due to the emotion and truth conveyed in the performances.

BESPOKE JOURNEY

It was often unknown if a mission was a side quest or main objective because everything in No Rest For The Wicked is given the same amount of care. Every quest on your journey is lengthy, challenging and well written. The game also features Destiny-like descriptions for most of the weapons and armor in the game, which is a nice touch.

Every quest is extremely rewarding and everything in No Rest For the Wicked is hard earned. Every dollar earned, every fight won and every mission completed. This sentiment is continued into the levelling system and the economy. Money is tight, you have to think before spending and the same thing goes when distributing your three points every time you level up.

ISSUES AND IMPROVEMENTS

There are plenty of obvious improvements that need to happen from the performance of the game, building out the world with more areas as well as fulfilling the promise of a satisfying story that the start of early access has delivered.

Then there is the refining and quality of life changes. Everyone will likely have a different list of what they would like to see changed, but it seems like there is a slight resource issue. One of our major gripes was finding fish, wood and minerals can be cumbersome to track the items down and it might just not have enough spawns around the world or maybe chopping down a whole tree could provide more than one wood.

When you break enemies stance they collapse. In most games with demanding combat like No Rest For The Wicked, you have the opportunity for an execution move or a immense damage dealing move and it would have been a nice touch to include some type of execution. Being lit on fire by an enemy is never good, but it would have been great if certain elements don’t work as well in the rain or if I roll through water.

Some weapons and consumables are supposed to do elemental damage, but it never felt like it was truly to the players benefit. It would be nice to see an elemental damage bar fill up on the enemy like it does on me. Finding a cursed sword with plague damage was a fun moment and although it took a while to level up the attributes needed to wield it, to really see it come to fruition would be to see enemies dying from the plague damage being inflicted on them. This might be happening in the background, but in any case, it needs to be communicated better to the player.

Verdict

The current state of No Rest For The Wicked, leaves a lot to be desired. However, it’s Early Access and the good news is the Moon Studios are very aware and have already been vigilantly working hard post launch with nearly a patch a day.

The table has been set for the story with interesting threads left dangling, and we have been teased with an endgame mode known as the crucible that studio believes can rival Hades. There is an amazing game here, but at the moment, your experience may vary drastically.

No Rest For The Wicked is a game I can’t score a ten due to its present condition, but I’ve never been more confident that when a game leaves Early Access it will.