No Rest for the Wicked is a cruel and beautiful action game

No Rest for the Wicked has a lot going for it. The upcoming action game already has me charmed me with its distinct sense of style. There’s just one thing that’s yet to win me over, and that’s its sometimes cruel gameplay.

First teased by publisher Private Division at The Game Awards 2023, No Rest for the Wicked is wildly different from what the studio has made before. (The game spent six years in development atOri and the Blind Forest developer Moon Studios, which has faced reports of misconduct.) This isometric action game influenced by The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls sports a painterly art style that doesn’t look like any other game I’ve played before, and this small taste of its fantasy world offered up lore that was intriguing, but not overwhelming.

Although No Rest for the Wicked didn’t entirely win me over on the gameplay front during the 90-minute early game slice I played ahead of today’s Wicked Inside show, it’s certainly a title for fans of intense action games to watch for this year.

Practice your parries

I only got a small taste of No Rest for the Wicked’s narrative via the demo’s opening and ending cutscenes, but they did get me hooked. It’s a fantasy game set in a world where a new king has ascended to the throne as the world is ravaged by a plague called the Great Pestilence. Players are a holy warrior called a Cerim sent to the continent of Sacra to defeat the plague as part of a colonialist inquisition.

It’s a captivating premise that doesn’t feel too bogged down in confusing lore and is propped up by No Rest for the Wicked’s gorgeous art style. Character proportions are unrealistic, but allow for bolder designs and effective framing in narrative-focused moments. The cutscenes’ vibrant color choices and cinematography are top-notch, matching the beauty of the Ori games. That unique look carries over into gameplay, which plays out from an isometric perspective where the world has a slightly curved shape.

At the very least, I’ll want to watch No