One of the best and most beautiful platform games of recent years has been Ori, available only on Xbox and Switch, but which initially came out exclusively on Xbox. And by making these two very good games, it's obvious that we'll always expect more from the studio that developed them.
And for many years we've been hearing about the action-adventure game being developed by Moon Studios, this time without the partnership with Microsoft. Until about four months ago, we finally got a glimpse of what the game was all about, both visually and in terms of gameplay.
And so we come to it, early access to No Rest for The Wickedwhich I had access to via a key that was sent to us. Originally, I wasn't going to do this initial review, and the reason for that was that I don't have much taste for souls-like games. But for reasons of scheduling, I did the test and to my surprise, I really enjoyed what I saw.
Visual on point
Starting with the visuals, it's very similar to what we see in Ori, a very characteristic, stylized look, but in this case, we don't see as many colors as in the platformer. The perspective changes too, it's a game with an isometric view, unlike the side scroller we've seen before.
As I said, the game doesn't have as many colors in these early hours, with the exception of a few specific scenes, but this is very well matched to the aesthetic feeling that the game wants to convey. Bringing the feeling of dirt, but without losing the brightness that is one of the factors that put this studio on the map
In terms of gameplay, we have some common moves, which may or may not appear depending on the style of weapon we're wielding. You can basically walk/run in all directions, strike, dodge blows, defend and parry them, as well as some interaction with the scenery during crossings. You can also prepare and consume certain items.
Various enemies
At the start of the game, we had access to a good range of enemies, with short- and long-range strikes, and some that were good at both. Each enemy needs a different strategy, and when they're in packs, you have to be very careful. Above all, if you die, you'll have to restart the whole stage.
But I felt that the game isn't extremely punishing, even though it's souls-like, because when you defeat the enemies, even if you die and come back, they're still dead. And there's also the possibility of finding intermediate locations in the stages that can keep you ahead after death.
The scenery is very large, making it possible to explore the game, especially with the secrets hidden in the game's perspective. As you progress through the scenery, you can see them on the map, but it's good to know that after a while, the map returns to total darkness. But it is possible to mentally map them out over time.
Promising start
Although it requires caution, the combat is not at all complex, which is why No Rest for The Wicked is a lot of fun, making this one of the most promising games in the genre, making even me, who is generally averse to the genre, interested in it. Everything I saw seemed very promising, and I haven't even commented on the story, which has some very charismatic characters, but I can comment on that better if I'm responsible for reviewing the final game. Overall, the balance was very positive.
No Rest for The Wicked will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X and PC.
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