No Rest for the Wicked Early Access Review

06.05.2024 - 19:05 / mmorpg.com

When No Rest for the Wicked was released in Early Access, there was excitement, bt it wasn't without issue. Initially, the game had a staggeringly unsteady frame rate and other technical issues — which is to be expected from a game in Early Access. But developer Moon Studio has rolled out patch after patch, rectifying these issues and more or less changing the game over a series of weeks. I had the opportunity to play No Rest for the Wicked in its earlier stages, marred by frame drops and freezes, and more recently, as the game itself has evened out. And what I’ve found lies beneath is a game that blends the isometric and action RPG genres together in a tantalizing way that could shape up to be something exciting, even if it isn’t exactly original.

No Rest for the Wicked has the player assume the role of the Cerim — an ill-regarded warrior on their way to Isola Sacra, an island beset with a mysterious plague. Upon your journey home, the ship you have taken is accosted by raiders led by a fierce young woman who intends to keep the influence of a theocratic monarchy from its shores. These moments are punctuated with cutscenes, overexaggerated but gorgeous in their execution as characters are both hideous and beautiful in a deliberately muddied art style. Everything is rough around the edges, dirty and ugly, much the world of No Rest for the Wicked. As these series of events play out, laying an interesting foundation for the story, the ship you travel on is set ablaze, and you are thrown from its deck.

Scrambling out of the waves, I find the body of a drowned sailor, the gulls feasting on his entrails. A small ball of blue light hangs in front of his corpse, and I examine it to obtain a greatsword. Bereft of any equipment, clothed only in tattered leather and rags, I equip it — shouldering the weapon, trudging through sand and mud to get my bearings. The weapon is slow, ungraceful; crude yet effective as I smash my way through poorly erected barricades and fight my way through a fortress of well-armed soldiers barring my way to Sanctum, the last safe haven left on the island. 

Archers from broken and crumbling parapets shoot arrows at me as I sprint through a mostly empty courtyard. Several men bar my way, armed with swords and shields. I swing my sword, heavy strikes knocking them back as they slowly whittle away at my health with each stab, strike, and arrow. It’s a delicate dance, a trade that those who have played FromSoftware’s catalog of action games will be familiar with.

Because No Rest for the Wicked samples more from Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls than it does Diablo, despite its isometric perspective, stamina management, and weight are a huge component to the overall flow of combat and general