HYPE
Ori’s maker returns with another Moon shot
Developer Publisher Format Origin Release
Moon Studios Private Division
PC, PS5, Xbox Series
Austria
2024 (early access)
A round this time last year, Moon Studios co-founder and CEO Thomas Mahler hinted via Twitter that not only was the studio’s next project “make or break”, but it was setting out to “revolutionise the action RPG genre”. A bold claim, given that broad umbrella could cover Diablo and Dark Souls, not to mention the latest iterations of Zelda and Final Fantasy.
As No Rest For The Wicked’s shipwrecked protagonist picks themself up off a stormlashed shore in the dead of night and the camera settles on a familiar isometric perspective, it’s only natural to assume that Blizzard’s series is the closest touchstone – not least since Mahler was working at that studio before going indie a decade ago. There are no starting classes to pick from, however. We instead assume the role of a Cerim, part of a holy order of warriors sent to the isle of Sacra with the charge of cleansing it of the Pestilence, a corrupting plague sweeping across the land.
Starting with the rags on our back, our build comprises whatever we can scavenge on the beach, while combat consists of punching crabs with our bare fists – until we find a sturdy mace that makes us better equipped to face the more formidable and human threats further inland. During these brutally methodical encounters it becomes apparent that Wicked’s action leans at least as much upon FromSoftware’s design sensibilities.
“When I say we want to revolutionise the genre, what I mean is bring in a lot of elements together that haven’t been brought together like that before, and try to create a new recipe,” Mahler explains. Indeed, it’s an approach the studio has already taken with its debut Ori And The Blind Forest – which, though ostensibly a Metroidvania, set itself apart with its precision platforming. He jokes that if that series was like the studio’s Mario then this is its Zelda – in which case Ori And The Will Of The Wisps was perhaps a prototype of sorts, with its introduction of sidequests tied to NPCs and an evolving hub area.
Combat has been the chief focus here, with Mahler referencing both Dark Souls and Monster Hunter’s attack animations, which play to the studio’s strengths: “We wanted to craft a combat system that looks as cool as what our animators can do.” There’s real heft in every blow as we dodge away from the enemy’s rapid sword swipes, before charging in to deliver a crunching blow of our own, the swing of our weapon accompanied by the whoosh of air and a cry of exertion.
This attention to fine detail is also present during moments of respite, as our Cerim arches their back before bearing an axe down on the base of a tree or lets out a long grunt
