Moon Studios reveals action-RPG No Rest For the Wicked, and it's coming out on more than just Xbox
Ori and the Blind Forest developer, Moon Studios, reveals its newest project at The Game Awards – and this one isn't just coming to the Xbox family.
The Ori and the Blind Forest developer, Moon Studios, has announced its latest game at The Game Awards.
The game – No Rest for the Wicked – is an action-RPG that's been in development for a while, assumedly with the team moving to work on it full-time after the launch of Ori and the Will of the Wisps back in 2020.
"We have been dreaming of being able to contribute to the ARPG genre that we all grew up with and love. After the success of Ori, it was clear to us that Moon was now mature enough to finally realize those dreams,” said Moon Studios cofounder Thomas Mahler. “We can't wait to see how players will react to this entirely new take on the genre!"
A king's passing creates a chaotic fight for succession in a fantasy world set in 841. Simultaneously, a plague hits the island setting of Sacra – so you will need to defend yourself against insurgency, rebellion, plague, and god knows what else... all in up to 4-player coop.
Moon Studios' previous titles were available on only the Xbox family of consoles at launch (though they did end up on Nintendo Switch, a little further down the line), but this latest game is coming to other platforms, per Moon's publishing deal with Private Division.
You can check out a trailer below.
No Rest for the Wicked is coming to PC early access in early 2024, and then, later, a full release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X is planned.
We've heard about this game before – back at the start of this year, Moon Studios' creative director Thomas Mahler touched on the company's next game (which we already knew was an action RPG), where he compared Ori to Mario, and this next title to Zelda.
"Ori was our 'Mario,' this is our 'Zelda,'" Mahler wrote on his personal Twitter account. "That was my first thought when I first started prototyping our new project back in 2015. We then committed to Wisps, which allowed us to give this project more time in the oven so that we'd then be able to turn it into a full-blown ARPG."
Mahler noted that he is aware of how people feel about the art style of his games, noting that the Ori titles recieved much love for their unique take on visuals and style, and promises that same focus has carried forward into his team's latest game.
"It's important that our games have a unique artstyle where you know that this is a Moon Studios game even if you just see a thumbnail," he said, back in February. "There are too many games out there that look the same. Art direction matters. A lot."
That's why it looks so nice, then!
Almost a decade ago now, Moon Studios released its first title, Ori and the Blind forest – a charming Metroidvania that was a smash hit for the Xbox One. From the off, the game was well received by critics and fans, and Moon Studios carried that momentum forward with aplomb in 2020's Ori and the Will of the Wisps.