Moon Studios, the studio behind Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Whisps, have just held a presentation on their upcoming title. No Rest for the Wicked is an ARPG that looks to move the genre forward much like how the Ori games did for metroidvanias. Let's take a look!

World

The game is set 841 years after "The Embrace", though what that is is not revealed. King Harold is dead, and his son, Magnus is next in line. Meanwhile, there are rumours of The Pestilence, a great plague that has devastated the land before, are starting to pop up. Which gives Madrigal Seline, a ruthlessly ambitious member of the church, a chance to prove herself before her god.

Long live the ki-oh... Bad time?

Got all that? There'll be a test later. Those are some of the major of Isola Sacra, the main setting of the game. You play as Cerim, a holy warrior imbued with magical powers who is sworn to stop the Pestilence, no matter the cost. Surely the previously mentioned players won't complicate things, right? The game proper begins as your ships is torn apart by what are called The Risen, and you end up washed ashore, battered and unarmed.

 An omen of what's to come. A pretty bad one, too.

The game's world has a painting-like art style that pops in a unique way, and fits great with the game's fantasy setting. The world is fully hand-crafted, with no element of the world being procedurally generated. There's a ton of verticality, allowing you to climb all over the place, and the camera is pulled back in a way that lets you see what's in the distance. The game also has a day/night cycle and weather system, which changes how the world looks, but doesn't seem to affect gameplay.


Great view, great visual, not so great weather.

Movement & Combat

Much like more modern ARPGs, the game can be controlled with the WASD keys on a keyboard or the analogue sticks on a controller, allowing the player precise movement in the world. The other keys/face buttons are used for attacking, interacting with the environment, and using abilities, 4 of which can be slotted in at any time.


Big sword deals very big damage.

The game features a fluid class system, driven by so-called Runes, allowing you to re-spec into any other build on the fly. While the world is hand-crafted, the loot is randomized, allowing for a unique experience for each player. Runes can be extracted and moved to other weapons. There are 4 types of items in the game, divided by rarity:

  • Common, white in colour, which doesn't come with any perks, but is the most customizable.
  • Rare, blue in colour, which comes with a positive enchantment.
  • Cursed, purple in colour, which comes with a very positive enchantment, but also a negative one.
  • And Gold, which are unique items in the world, handcrafter and with unique enchantments.


The 4 rarity colours: White, Blue, Purple, Gold. It's basically law.

The combat itself is animation driven, allowing for fluid movement and easy-to-read attacks from enemies. In terms of melee, you can dual wield small weapons, have one small weapon and a shield, have a very big weapon, and any combinations in between. The smaller weapons deal less damage, but allow for quicker damages, while the big ones hit very hard, but make you sluggish. There's also a parry system, allowing you to get under an enemy's defences and deal a ton of damage.


Parry, dodge, and deal a ton of damage.

We also got a brief glimpse of a mage-like character, who wielded a staff and had access to 3 spells: a blink for quick movement; a fireball for direct single-target damage; and nova for dealing with large groups surrounding you. You can also use the environment to take care of foes, like "This is Sparta!"-ing them off a ledge. There's also a crafting system in the game, allowing you to break down and make new weapons. 

Can't take the heat? Stay out of the fire circle.

Bosses

The bosses, known as The Torn, in the game have a souls-like quality to them, both in terms of design and scale. The one boss shown in the presentation, Warrick, was very aggressive, jumped around all over the arena, and hit like a truck. That said, the combat of the game looks to be a lot more nimble than most souls-likes, so your chances of survival aren't bad.


Uhh... Are we interrupting something?

Sacrament

Sacrament is the capital of Isola Sacra, and a city you'll invest quite a lot of time and money into. There's a plethora of characters you can interact with, like a blacksmith or a cook, and investing into their business will allow you to gain various perks throughout the game, like better equipment and higher upgrades.


Filmore here really likes the new furnace I got him for Christmas.

You'll also be able to buy property in the city, which you can then furnish with a variety of... uhm, furniture. Some are purely cosmetic, while other, like a workbench to craft and upgrade items, serve gameplay purposes. You'll be able to get materials for both your home and the rest of the city by exploring the world and gathering resources.


A spinning wheel? In this economy?!

Previous Areas & Endgame

The game features a system called Alive, which changes the various areas you've previously visited so that they're not the same as the first time you walked through there. This includes new, tougher enemies, new loot for you to find, and even some instant deaths if you're not careful. In terms of endgame, not much was shown, but there will be a crucible that will have some of the hardest enemies in the game. If you want to test your mettle properly, that sounds like the best place to go to.

The game goes into Steam Early Access on April 18. One of the fist major updates for the game will be multiplayer, both co-op and PvP. Once the 1.0 version of the game releases, the game will also come to consoles. Be sure to check out the official stream.

Are you excited for No Rest for the Wicked? What aspect of the game looks the most interesting to you? Let us know in the comments below!