Summary
No Rest for the Wickedis an intriguing game in the sense that it’s an action-RPG with all the bells and whistles the genre could want to incorporate, and yet it also plans to add multiplayer co-op and PvP and reap the rewards of an early shelf life in early access. Early access certainly isn’t anything out of the ordinary nowadays, but each game experiencing early access is different concerning how transparent developers are with players and what they plan to achieve across an early access roadmap leading to a full release at some point.No Rest for the Wickedhas its own roadmap, but one unrelated and subtle detail stands out chiefly.
Many games are better for having an early access period beforehand—HadesandBaldur’s Gate 3being exemplary proof of that—and it’ll be interesting to followNo Rest for the Wickedon its way to a full release and whatever content may be added thereafter. Based on what’s been shown already inNo Rest for the Wicked’s dedicated showcaseand some early preview builds it seems as if player choice will have a massive role, particularly regarding classes. In fact,No Rest for the Wickedpurposefully doesn’t have any build or class presets as a way to help players pave their own path without too much structure bogging them down and that may be Moon Studios’ most brilliant decision.
No Rest for the Wicked Seems Familiar Yet Refreshing
Fantasy action-RPGs come in all shapes and sizes now with fewer elements actually delineating one from another, ranging from anything as nonchalant as a camera perspective or as significant as a gameplay loop.Elden RingandDiablo 4are both action-RPGs and share hardly any similarities, for example.
No Rest for the Wickedis an amalgamation of many action-RPG trappingsand will likely be much different when it fully releases compared to how its humble beginnings will take shape this month, but it’s already terrific to see how dynamic its gameplay aims to be. An unexpectedly large part of progression seems to be how players can own property and fill it with gameplay-oriented and ornamental furnishings, but how players build their characters will also be markedly authentic due to a lack of rigid ‘classes’ to spec stats into.
No Rest for the Wicked Lets Players’ Classes Become Their Own
With many action-RPGs prematurely dictating or guiding how playstyles or preferences will need to be decided on early, it’s a relief thatNo Rest for the Wickedis making that structure more loose. According toMoon Studios, the idea behind having no actual classes offered inNo Rest for the Wicked’s custom character creator is that players can decide how they like any weapon they come across and create their own build or class from then on.
No Rest for the Wicked’s weapons apparently all create unique playstyles and, while that’s nothing new for most action-RPGs, it is kind of clever to not also label a character with a class before players can decide how they’d actually like to go about the game. This is perfect for if players decide they like one weapon more than another at any given moment—depending on how rigid and unforgiving stat allocations are inNo Rest for the Wicked, it sounds as if players have thefreedom to change their desired playstyle and ‘class’ on a whim.
Of course, this meansNo Rest for the Wickedneeds to sell its promise of weapons all being authentically rare and diverse, but randomized loot will hopefully help each experience feel dramatically different.
Either way, it might be wholly refreshing to dive into an action-RPG and build a makeshift ‘class’ as players progress and explore. However, what will be challenging inNo Rest for the Wicked’searly access stateis making that promise compelling. If only so many weapons or abilities are available in its opening chapter and throughout subsequent updates it might appear limiting, regardless of what content is available when it launches fully in the future.
No Rest for the Wicked
WHERE TO PLAY
From Moon Studios, the award-winning developers of Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps comes No Rest for the Wicked, a visceral, precision Action RPG set to reinvent the genre.The year is 841 – King Harol is dead. As word of his death echoes throughout the kingdom, the crown passes to his arrogant, yet untested son Magnus.Even worse, the Pestilence, an unholy plague not seen for a thousand years, has returned. It sweeps across the land, corrupting everything and everyone it touches. Madrigal Seline, a ruthlessly ambitious figure in the church, sees the Pestilence as a chance to prove herself in the eyes of her god.These forces converge on the backwater Isola Sacra, where rebel groups and the provincial government fight for control amid the isle’s crumbling ruins.You are a Cerim – a member of a group of mystical holy warriors imbued with remarkable powers and sworn to defeat the Pestilence at any cost. But the task will prove increasingly challenging as you become entangled in the people’s plight and the vast political struggle of this downtrodden land. Chaos will pull you in every direction as you seek to cleanse the land of wickedness and shape the kingdom’s fate.
