Moon Studios just held their No Rest for the Wicked showcase, which gave us an in-depth overview of the gameplay, mechanics, and other features of the game. It was an impressive showing, though what came as a rather big surprise was when they revealed that the game would be playable in a little over a month for those on PC! That’s right, No Rest for the Wicked will be available on Steam early access starting April 18, with console versions planned to be released later.

For those who missed out on the plus 20-minute showcase, you can watch it in its entirety below, though if you prefer reading, we’ve also summarized everything in a bullet point below.

No Rest for the Wicked Showcase Summary

General

• The world is hand-drawn by artists; nothing is procedurally generated, everything is unequally crafted.
• Day/night cycle with dynamic weather.
• A special way of rendering was produced to always see further in the distance. If it looks like you can climb something, you can probably climb it
• Loot is RNG.
• Can move and control the character freely. It’s not a point-and-click game.

Combat

• Animation-driven means every attack you make should be carefully considered.
• Combat is inspired by several different genres.
• Timing and spacing are incredibly important. Need to pay close attention to enemies’ attacks and counter accordingly.
• Every weapon has its own unique move set, with stats being RNG.
• Parry system confirmed.
• There are four rarity loot levels.
  • White is common, and unlike in other RPGs, they are the most customizable.
  • Blue offers only enchantments.
  • Purple rarity is a curse; they offer very positive enchantment but come with a curse enchantment, too.
  • Gold items are unique and crafted by designers with unique enchantments.
• Every weapon has a chance to drop its own unique rune to be used on other weapons for players to create their own unique moveset.
• You can use the environment to take enemies out.
• Every weapon has a custom animated moveset created by the team.
• Deep rune system that gives special abilities.
• The team feels all these systems create a fun and engaging combat that allows players to create their own style of combat.
• Gear, armor and stats all affect gameplay and movement. Similar to other RPGs
• Some builds shown off were the traditional light, medium, and heavy builds, showing some being quicker than others while others being stronger.
• A soft-class system allows you to play the type of character you want to and come up with classes the team hasn’t even thought of. They don’t want to lock you into a class from beginning to end.
• All of these features come together to ensure each playthrough is never the same

Bosses

• It’s an intensely skilled-based game.
• Boss shown off had a very soul-like vibe, with the players having to study their moves and punish every mistake they made.
• Loot is awarded for taking down bosses.

Sacrament

• The capital of the game. A war-torn place that you can help rebuild as you progress through the story.
• This appears to be the hub that evolves over time, with the blacksmith and such improving.
• You can rebuild and put resources into certain things.
• You can purchase real estate.
• You can store loot in your house and do several other activities.
• Resource gathering can be used for furniture and such for your home.

Endgame

• The game has a traditional campaign, but the team wanted to make sure the game felt like a living and breathing world.
• They call this system “Alive.”
• New threats and resources will take over previously explored areas. The world is constantly changing, and each time you visit a region, you’ll be facing a drastically different experience.
• There’s a crucible where you can test your skills against the toughest enemies. This was teased towards the end of the showcase.

No Rest for the Wicked Early Access and Roadmap

What’s more, though, is that Moon Studios also announced that No Rest for the Wicked would be released in early access on PC. Just how soon? Well that’s the next surprise, as No Rest for the Wicked will be available in early access via Steam, starting on April 18. A roadmap, with no dates, was also provided with the first major update being the multiplayer update, since the game was built with multiplayer in mind.

Moon Studios mentions that they plan on releasing it on consoles, though you shouldn’t expect that until after the 1.0 update is out on PC. This means we’ll likely have to wait over a year before the console versions arrive. The team also outlined on Steam the decision of why they’re going early access and what players can expect from it at launch.

Why Early Access?

“No Rest for the Wicked is an expansive title with a wide variety of systems, features, and narratives. It is also a game that continues to be deep in development as we launch into Early Access in 2024. As our most ambitious game to date, we know that we will need your feedback to help us fine tune and build all of Wicked’s various systems and upcoming features into the best they can possibly be.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“The feature roadmap shown on this page is the main outline for Early Access. We’re excited about the road ahead, and we’d love to receive your suggestions and feedback. While we have an idea of how long Early Access development should be, this may change based on feedback and the desire to reach the Moon level of quality. We’ll be sharing updates along the way.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The 1.0 version of No Rest for the Wicked will be a significantly expanded version of the initial Early Access release. This version will take into account player feedback throughout its time in development, and may be different from what we already have planned. Upcoming features that will be included prior to 1.0 release include:

• Multiplayer: 4 player co-op
• Multiplayer: PVP
• Expanded story content and chapters
• Additional map regions
• Farming
• More weapons, armor, rare items, and gear
• New enemies and bosses
• Additional Crypt floors, Bounties and Challenges

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

• A rich first chapter of the narrative campaign
• Additional quests that reveal more about the world and its inhabitants
• Intense boss battles against plague-ridden creatures
• A large variety of weapons, armor, skills, and crafting options
• Gear can be upgraded, enchanted, runed and gem-ed to create your ideal character build
• Purchasing and furnishing of a modifiable home
• Daily and Weekly bounties and challenges
• Replayable Cerim Crucible dungeon

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“We are planning on a discounted price during Early Access that will then increase once the game hits 1.0 / leaves Early Access. If you purchase during Early Access, you will not need to make an additional purchase at 1.0 release.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We are committed to taking in as much feedback as possible from the community and incorporating it into the development of No Rest for the Wicked where it makes sense. We have a section on our Forums where we encourage our community to provide feedback which can be found here: https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/
In addition to the Forums, we have an official Discord server where we’ll be having more fluid conversations with the community, which can be found here: https://discord.gg/HPCDwq5Q9x

Other tidbits were revealed in the showcase, but those are the major highlights for the most. Overall, No Rest for the Wicked is looking to be an exciting title that we can’t wait to get our hands on. Luckily, that early access is just around the corner.