No Rest for the Wicked is set to hit Early Access on PC on April 18, and ahead of this highly anticipated release, Moon Studios, the developers behind Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps, are gracing the cover of Game Informer. After spending time with the game in Vienna last month, writer Marcus Stewart and I have a good idea of what to expect from the upcoming action RPG.
Both of us are excited for the release, as it offers a unique approach from Moon Studios. Gennadiy Korol, the tech and production director, along with studio CEO and creative director Thomas Mahler, are self-admitted perfectionists. This raises the question of how they approach an Early Access release, typically riddled with bugs and issues.
According to Mahler, the entire team had to shift their mindset for this Early Access release. He mentions, “Either you make smaller things and you don’t dare to take those risks, and then you can perfect it, or you can make a game of this scale and you’re okay with, ‘Okay, not everything is going to be immediately perfect.’ But I think that’s okay because, over time, it will be.”
He emphasizes that as long as the game is fun, players will forgive potential issues. The fact that No Rest for the Wicked is launching into Early Access first also helps set the expectation that it is a work-in-progress.
Korol admits that it’s a challenge for Moon Studios to set aside their perfectionist mindset when preparing for the Early Access release of No Rest for the Wicked. He explains, “So I think we’re both excited and kind of terrified because we’re very much being vulnerable as artists, and we have to show basically almost unfinished art.”
Despite the vulnerability, Korol believes that the team’s dedication to polish and perfection will shine through in the final product when it launches into Early Access.
Even though the game is set for Early Access release next month, Korol acknowledges that there are still areas to improve. He mentions that the team is constantly balancing between perfecting the game and releasing it to gather feedback. However, he is confident that No Rest for the Wicked will be a polished title upon release.
No Rest for the Wicked is set to hit Early Access on PC on April 18. Stay tuned for more updates and exclusive coverage on this exciting new action RPG!