Accompanied by strains of vocal-led orchestral music, the Moon Studios title rises into view. For many, this is reason enough to sit up and take notice of No Rest For The Wicked. For the studio behind the sublime Ori series, a visually arresting and emotional pair of platformers, this is the tricky third album: a new IP, a new direction, and a launch into Early Access along with it. Taking a swing at the action RPG genre, there’s echoes of From Software alongside Diablo here, and yet, Moon Studios’ enigmatic outlook shines through. On first impressions alone, there’s nothing to be worried about for fans of the studio – excusing the decadent horrors that lie within.
You’re a Cerim warrior. Bound for the dark shores of the island of Sacra, your first experience of this world is the brusque conversation of the crew of the ship that’s taking you there. They’re none too happy to be doing so, and that is played out when the craft is beset by raiders. These fearful warriors, led by Odessa, are there to teach you to leave Sacra alone, and in doing so you get your first taste of No Rest For The Wicked’s combat.
This is where people will find the Dark Souls and Elden Ring comparisons clearest, with heavy, taut, stamina-based combat that can leave you battered with a few misplaced steps. Initially, you’re granted a sword and shield, and you learn how to parry, block, and swing devastating charged attacks at your foe. Parrying is particularly difficult to time, and I hope that during the Early Access they see fit to expand the window a little. Or, it’s just meant to be that tough and I need to get better at it. Probably the second one.
Having fought your way through the invading hordes, the ship is dashed upon the rocks of Sacra, and you wash up on a bleak and rain-drenched shore. No Rest For The Wicked is dark fantasy at its finest, and there’s a loving sense of decaying hostility running through the landscape and the creatures populating it.
The tale centres around the rise of The Pestilence, a malady that takes hold of people and turns them into monsters and savages. That said, those who retain their sanity seem pretty hell-bent on murdering you and anyone nearby, so at times it might be hard to tell who’s afflicted and who’s not. The new king, in league with the church, sends his holy knight Seline to dispatch the plague-ridden denizens, and you get caught in the middle.
The visuals are so characterful and, in some cases, explicitly grotesque, and I found it immediately captivating from the off. There’s a painterly touch to everything here, and an amplified vision of its characters that is just the right side of the human/inhuman spectrum.
Through exploration, you start to get a handle on both combat and the need to craft food to keep yourself alive. Your character’s inventory plays an important part too, and you’ll willingly put on a series of odd, misshapen and downright disgusting clothing in order to gain a few more points of protection. It all lends No Rest For The Wicked a very unique feel, and one that retains a sense of self despite being able to see elements and ideas from other games.
Upon this new shore you’re granted a taste of wielding magic, although it’s a taste that’s severely limited by the length of time your spells take to recharge. Fortunately, you can still hit things with your staff while your fireball recharges and it means that, at least at the opening, you can’t rely too heavily on blasting enemies from afar.
As you gain experience you level up, and each new level grants you three skill points to spread across your desired stats. Pouring early points into stamina, health and strength seemed like an obvious choice, but as you progress there’s undoubtedly going to be things you need to specialise in to maximise your build, with some weaponry and armour requiring stats in attributes you might not expect. As with the Souls games and Elden Ring, this is likely to be almost as much fun as playing the game itself.
It is, of course, unbelievably tough at the outset. Even if you’re well verse in timing your attacks, biding your time, and being wary of even the lowliest foot soldier, No Rest For The Wicked will put you on your arse. It manages the feat of not making things unfair though, and you’ll whoop with genuine glee when you finally beat the sole enemy that’s been standing in your way, though you’ll probably find three more lurking around the corner.
While we don’t have the loss of your inventory or currency upon death, avoiding that trek back to your corpse, what No Rest For The Wicked does give you is equipment degradation. Your weaponry and armour all have their own strength stat, and when you take damage it wears down. It adds an all-new danger to encounters, and you realise that as you get stuck on a particular section that you’re also steadily losing your best equipment to boot.
Fortunately, you can take these things to a blacksmith and have them repaired – though this comes at a cost of course. There’s danger around every corner, and with each loss that danger is only amplified. Moon Studios seem to revel in making sure you’re never comfortable, and it’s a glorious feeling. That said, one thing they will absolutely have to tune through Earl Access is the balance between difficulty and item degradation, which is sure to be as controversial as yeast extract spread on toast, but delve in and engage with the systems alongside it and you can relish the challenge it presents.
No Rest For The Wicked is a beautiful dark fantasy epic, and here at the outset of it’s journey through Early Access there’s very few reasons for you not to experience its dangerous charms.
