Summary
To celebrate its second launch week anniversary, Moon Studios releases its first Early Access patch forNo Rest for the Wicked, a massive update that addresses performance concerns, bug fixes, quality of life updates, and much more. It has been a busy couple of weeks for Moon Studios, after launching its ARPG title in Early Access on Steam. The release ofNo Rest For the Wickedwasn’t as smooth as many had hoped, however, with various issues both on the technical side and certain gameplay mechanics as well.
Being part of an Early Access launch, player feedback has been constant, helping Moon Studios to release a number ofsmaller hot fixes forNo Rest for the Wicked, allowing the developer to quickly address some of the more pressing issues. There have been plenty of balance changes that have happened in the past 14 days, along with bug fixes, and minor changes to core gameplay mechanics like loot, gear durability, as well as combat mechanics. However, Moon Studios saved its biggest changes for itsfirst major update.
The first Early Access patch comes on the heels ofNo Rest for the Wicked’s second week launch anniversary, a massive patch that impacts nearly every aspect of the game. In addition to over 45 bug fixes, Moon Studios has made quality of life changes to make the player’s experience smoother, which includes allowing vendors and crafting tables to access storage resources in addition to what’s in the player’s inventory. Housing is available sooner, sorting within inventories has been improved, the last equipped food/quick item is now saved between leaving and rejoining the realm, and cinematics can now be skipped with a button press instead of a hold.
For many players, the biggest part of this update is the performance tweaks and changes. Patch 1 optimizes a whole slew of settings, including what Moon Studios calls “significant CPU and GPU” improvements, especially when the player is traversing the world or visiting areas with a lot of enemies or objects being rendered. In fact, the performance changes were so substantial that Moon Studios adjusted the PC requirements, lowering the minimum and recommended settings, which should makeNo Rest for the Wickedmore accessible for all players, even for those who may not have a top of the line PC.
There’s little doubt that the Early Access release has been hugely important for Moon Studios. Not only has the studio been able to release multiple hot fixes thanks in large part to feedback from players, but the studio has been outspoken in its praise for the development model. In fact, one Moon Studios employee even suggested that classic games likeDark Soulscould have benefited from an Early Access period. Creative director Thomas Mahler indicated that an Early Access period would have given From Software additional time to develop and polish the experience and hopes that more developers adopt this method considering that games are getting more complex and sophisticated all the time.
No Rest for the Wicked
WHERE TO PLAY
From Moon Studios, the award-winning developers of Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps comes No Rest for the Wicked, a visceral, precision Action RPG set to reinvent the genre.The year is 841 – King Harol is dead. As word of his death echoes throughout the kingdom, the crown passes to his arrogant, yet untested son Magnus.Even worse, the Pestilence, an unholy plague not seen for a thousand years, has returned. It sweeps across the land, corrupting everything and everyone it touches. Madrigal Seline, a ruthlessly ambitious figure in the church, sees the Pestilence as a chance to prove herself in the eyes of her god.These forces converge on the backwater Isola Sacra, where rebel groups and the provincial government fight for control amid the isle’s crumbling ruins.You are a Cerim – a member of a group of mystical holy warriors imbued with remarkable powers and sworn to defeat the Pestilence at any cost. But the task will prove increasingly challenging as you become entangled in the people’s plight and the vast political struggle of this downtrodden land. Chaos will pull you in every direction as you seek to cleanse the land of wickedness and shape the kingdom’s fate.
