I’m an aesthetic girly, so when action RPG No Rest For The Wicked was showcased, I loved loved loved the graphics.

No Rest For The Wicked is Moon Studios’ (Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisp) latest take on the genre, with a twist of soulslike and survival games. It’s been out on Early Access on Steam for a couple of days now, and I’ve had a ton of hours to sink into it. Yes, the game has its similarities to Diablo, but it has more in common with the Souls genre. Is that a good thing or bad thing so far? Let’s find out!

Isola Sacra Is A Wonder

There’s no doubt about it: the world of Isola Sacra is absolutely stunning. From the moment you are stranded from the seas to exploring the lands. Unlike other Soulslike games, the land of Sacra is lush green and far from being ruined. It has a very dreamy look that looks straight out of a painting. Not to mention, it also has its own stylized look that can be seen through its environmental settings and lighting.

Even with the typical action RPG top-down view, the game has its own unique look and feel that really elevates the genre. You see this in the way the dark and/or light environments or foreboding atmosphere reacts around your character. For example, when you spawn in the thunderstorm, you can actually see your clothes getting drenched. You can see different interactions based on the weather or environment you are in, but I’ll let you find that out on your own!

As a lore enthusiast, I was a bit disappointed. The story was not as enthralling as I thought it would be. The king dies, the prince takes over, he agrees with the church taking charge to get rid of a plague, and so forth and so forth. People keep saying you’re special, but no one really tells you why. It’s just that you’re a special warrior, and that’s it. I wanted more! MORE STORY! More depth; at least when the game goes out of Early Access.

COMBAT-HEAVY

I’ll admit, when I started, I had no clue wtf I was doing, but you’ll eventually start figuring things out after a while. The first few hours were a nightmare, thanks to the limited amount of rescoures you have, but moreso your health and stamina pool being absolutely low. You can see the soulslike influence with the weight classes for combat.

You’ve got your typical selections of swords, greatswords, maces, bows and a whole lot more. These weapons all come with their own move sets and scale with different attributes. Enemies always seem fast, definitely faster than you and it can get a bit overwhelming.

Getting a faster weapon is definitely the play here. I’ve never been good at parrying, and even in this game, it felt more difficult since the enemies move fast and it felt worse with a heavy weapon. Thankfully, bosses didn’t feel too hard since I was worried about my awful combat skills. I can say that it is very satisfying to finish enemies. My only issue with the weapons is that it doesn’t feel rewarding to play heavy or larger weapons.

Another issue I have is that I really hate the stamina meter. The meter shows up beside your character and is not too visible. WHY ISN’T IT BELOW YOUR HEALTH METER? It’s unnecessarily confusing, obscured to a degree, and makes it harder for heavier weight classes to keep track of their stamina in combat. I honestly hope they tweak that.

ECONOMY SCHMECONOMY

Let’s talk about the loot and economy. Since this is sort of the baby of Dark Souls and Diablo, how does loot work?

So far, I hate it. In a Souls game, the loot is deliberately placed in certain areas. You’ll have to kill specific enemies to get certain drops. In a Diablo game, you get a shit ton of crap. They just throw a ton of loot at you.

In No Rest For The Wicked, it is completely random. When you start out with your cloth-torn gear, you really have no idea what options you have. The only thing you really are certain of is that all those attribute points you’re getting at the start, they will all be going into Health and Stamina.

I have always enjoyed playing as a mage, sorcerer or cleric, so you bet I went Intelligence-based. But damn, it took FOREVER to get my hands on an Intelligence-based weapon. For some odd reason, I kept getting strength weapons and it was frustrating. You’re also pretty much encouraged to enchant your gear to make it better, and even then it’s a gamble. You can still get good gear from enemy drops, but for the most part, a lot of better items will come from enchanting.

The Durability system has been very controversial since its Early Access release, which seems rightly so, as it’s pretty damn punishing for no reason. When you die, you only lose durability on your equipment and gear. The repairs can be costly, especially in your first few hours of the game. I find it a bit weird that enemies don’t respawn when you die. Both enemies and resources both spawn after a certain amount of time.

I’M A SURVIVOR

I personally enjoy the survival aspect of the game. You’ve got your usual gathering and crafting mechanics here. The biggest impact is probably with gathering herbs and cooking, since meals are really your only way of healing. Meals have to be prepared at fire pit. It can be a bit difficult if your resource nodes have yet to respawn and you’ve run out of food. Thankfully you can always check out other places you have visited earlier.

The hub city is probably one of my favourite places in the game. There is quite a bit to do, including decorating your own house. (SPOILER: Yes! You’ll get to buy your own house later!) Now with all those resources, you arechopping and mining about, you can contribute them to the local builder who will upgrade different shops, allowing you to have access to better services. You will also be able to navigate through the hub better by improving some things.

TRULY NO REST FOR THE DEVELOPERS

Honestly, after playing the game for a decent amount of time, I feel the game is brimming with potential, and a lot of it. I’m more excited about the co-op aspect! I’m also genuinely surprised at how responsive the developers have been with feedback. Since its launch into Early Access, there have already been a couple of hotfixes to improve balance, sort out performance issues, and fix some bugs.

I’m honestly already a fan of the world they’ve built and I want to see more. I’m confident that when the game launches at 1.0, it will have improved a lot more. It may not have a “wow” factor besides the art, but you can bet that I’ll be keeping my eye out on this one.

No Rest For The Wicked is out now for PC in Early Access via Steam. Preview code received by publisher & Keymailer.co