I would like to let everyone know that the developers have been pumping out a remarkable amount of hotfixes, literally one a day at this point, and they have ironed out a lot of bugs. Durability has been a point they have been working on, essentially making tools and such have a lot more durability, and they have also been working on the stuttering and lagging problems as well. It's not perfectly fixed yet, but they are being proactive with making the game as good as can be and are actively listening to the community for the fixes.

Game is honestly so much fun, the game got a balance patch in the first 24 hours and they clearly care about this game. Money well spent in my book. They fixed 3 problems he brought up in this video alone, more food, less durability loss, more repair powder, stamina cost reduction across the board. Think hes loving it now probably

God I love water color graphics in gaming. It's such a pretty style of animation.

Style wise and animation wise this game looks immaculate

Visually and aesthetically it’s incredibly beautiful. It looks like it has a great base to make something special

The ori series was the most beautiful games I ever played. The animation, story and music were FLAWLESS and only enhanced the gameplay.

In a time where AAA studios are stepping on every rake in the garden. Gotta love the quality of these $40 games coming out and absolutely showing how it's done. I loved the Ori games, and this game looks amazing, and from what i've seen of the game play is pretty unique. I bought it, but busy playing other stuff right now so happy to let them cook till I get round to this.. and i'm excited for when I do.

The Ori games are fantastic. I’m choosing to be optimistic.

I am so in love with this game, I had legendary 2h drop from first boss so I opted in to strength and oh man how satisfying it is to land charged attacks with 2h it's brutal and I love. Now I found so many new weapons and I wanna already try new builds because I know I can give those items to my alts. For early access I give this 9/10, it's amazing

They managed to make a beautiful game that catches eyes, it’s refreshing

I have full faith this will be awesome! They have already taken a bunch of feedback and made adjustments.. it's challenging and beautiful, and with a few improvements as identified it will be fantastic! A great starting point!

I haven’t been really excited about a game in a long time, but ever since I saw the trailer for this one it caught my eye. I really hope it gets cleaned up for consoles, looks like it has a ton of potential!

The voice acting, sound design, and art style/animation are absolutely incredible - as this is only the first act it took me 14hrs with exploration to complete, and theres still stuff to do - i love ot, goty when its fully released

I play mainly on console, and I did not know about this game. After seeing some gameplay, and watching this before you buy, I am really looking forward to getting it now when it gets a full release. This game looks BEAUTIFUL!

I really loved it. It needs a little bit more polish, optimization, etc. And of course more story/map expansions... But the core gameplay loop feels good to me - I like the chill moments of chopping woods and mining ores, managing inventory, upgrading the town contrasted with the tough tactical combat, etc. Good balance imo

Was waiting for this. Thanks Jake 👍🏽

Combat looks dope

This game looks fantastic

Wow, what a coincidence that you uploaded this just hours before I was looking for it!

One of the biggest problems I've seen with people who try to create their own soulslike is that they focus more on trying to make things difficult rather than try to make things fair Darksouls games and bloodborne are difficult but the catch is that the build you make is meant to help compensate stats with skill If you're a big tanking beast you can sit there and eat a hit or two then trade blows and if you're a light build you can get in and out while attacking and evading After that the boss may have giant swings or continous attacks but you have a brain and infinite retries to help you identify the pattern and match your style to their rhythm But thats where the problem occurs as many recent games have focused on trying to make you suffer needlessly A game I played called soldiers had this issue where it gave you limited dodges that had a 1 second cooldown but bosses that would have continous attack patterns, it gave a block but gave the boss a form of repeating super attacks and the craziest thing was it gave a mage and archer attacks with limited range on their attacks meaning they had to get into near melee range to attack which defeats the point of the class system All I'm getting at is that gamers like a challenge we like increased difficulty but the difficulty shouldn't come due to a restriction on your character that the boss is meant to exploit It should come at the method by which the player aims to challenge the problem. Make the difficulty come as a true test of skill not as some boulder that needs to be pushed up a mountain only to be brought down again

Looking interesting but wait for future updates and then jump in It has potential you can see it

Will you be doing another Before You Buy once it has a full release?

It's V-rising meets Elden ring if you ask me. Its tricky at the start. The first hour can be rough (I debated refunding) but glad I stuck around. Combat is weighty and satisfying, enemies can feel unfair at the start but once you work out parries and dodging to expose critical backstabs it becomes a lot easier. I'm currently level 17 and so far I can trivialise most mobs. Definitely some things to fix (no option to respec. certain materials don't drop often enough).

seems solid

I love how its not the regular zoomed out isometric view. its actually WAAAAY zoomed in for being isometric which gives it this cinematic feel it just looks so good

Never heard of this one, but I LOVE the chunky feel of the combat. Added it to my list!

Excited to play this

Wait ing for the full release but very excited for that

nice, this game looks awesome

Excellent format of content and the blunt, "raw" voice over

What’s your system build? It looks beautiful, but I can’t tell how likely I am to have this experience. That lighting seems awfully expensive

Looks awesome and I’ll probably get it, but honestly the weapon degradation mechanic is a huge downside for me personally

Played through it myself. Agree with absolutely everything said here. Also, I just want to reiterate how great combat FEELS. The swing of your weapon, how you get hit, and how you hit enemies is all very impressive for an isometric game. The most realistic isometric feel I've ever experienced, at least as far as I can remember.

Are you gunna review Harold halibut?! I’m very curious to know

A lot of the real and fair problems with the game is now fixed. Durability is not an issue anymore you can probably die 20 times now before repair and chop down like 20-30 trees/ veins etc before repair. You are already very very good at combat. But you are actually not exploring much. And therefore super underleveled. After 1st boss you will have 5 zones and some of the zone will have enemies you can farm. It’s not like Elden ring but you can still farm xp. Some areas will always have enemies. Upgrade and enchant/ infuse gear. Get 1or 2 health regen items or the health leach ring. Game becomes easy. One of the best games I played in a while.

I'm a middle aged man, who has been gaming since the Atari 2600... I don't want my video games to be hard now, I want them to be enjoyable and not frustrating. I will pass on this one, but I hope that it's great for those of you who enjoy these types of games!

Moon Studios have provided two hot fixes since the early access launch, both of which addressed many of the issues this review and others have talked about. They are not just working on the game, they are WORKING on the game.

Really looking forward to playing this.

great vid Jake! really what I want from an arpg is Path of Exile but more feature complete, like some form of PoB in game, along with loot filter customization, boss guides, item info, some form of combat log/description of how you died. I dont want to leave the game to do stuff in game, that is the worst and needs to stop.

I really enjoy the game and am glad I supported them financially now. But Jake is right, a lot of balancing and tweaks are needed. Fortunately they seem to be talking player feedback seriously so if you are fine playing unfinished game and helping by providing feedback, it is worth the money. If not, wait some time.

Love this game so far. Excited to see how it grows

Awesome vid, wanted to mention "reparation dust" or smth like that, you can both find them and craft them, it adds 50 durability to every item you have equiped ^_^

In my region was 15 USD with Raxx streamer discount applied.. Game is insanely good. I can ignore the rough spots cos it's in EA. Devs released 2 patches with a couple days of release addressing so many issue. Definately still needs a iron and some baking, but have high hopes for this one. Edit: 7700k +1080ti @ 1080p performance = ~60fps in town and area before town. After the town the fps is iffy for unknown reasons considering there appears to be less detail. And sometimes have to restart game to get frames back.

Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked Money don't grow on trees I got bills to pay I got mouths to feed There ain't nothing in this world for free

I really appreciate the honest reviews from you guys at gameranx, always well informed and unbiased. Thanks for another great one!

Damn. I really hope they remove or nerf the weapon durabilty system, and change the healing system too. From what I understand, all healing is consuables and you need to cook meals for better healing like in breath of the wild. I agree that one of the worst things that can happen in a game like this is to be fighting a good boss, and then you have to leave to go farm heals and repair everything. That just doesn't gel with a challeging action game where you're going to die a lot. I was excited for this game, but unless they change those 2 systems, I just don't see myself getting it. Otherwise it looks really cool.

Heyyy that was my starter clothes too Jake!! Stupid backpack thing lol

What I love about this game is that with all that it offers and all its potential, it was priced so affordably.

Jake playing a soulslike!?

One thing I can definitely say is... the art direction and atmosphere in this game will be absolutely timeless.

I'm having big performance issues which I believe is tied to the render distance and lighting but otherwise i absolutely adore the bones of this game and what it has going on

Man it’s been near a month since we had a before you buy! Crazy long lol

Bro can we all agree that durability is a game mechanic that should be erased? It's taking all the fun.

A review on steam: No rest for the GPU

Looks stunning! Love this kind of obscure yet colourful scenery with hurling wind, pouring rain and vivid light animations. The artistic landscape feels fantasy-like and real at the same time to me. Although it's a game i'd really like to explore, i'll take the advice on waiting it out a bit... probably until full release. At this point it seemingly needs more overall gameplay polishing and tweeking, so ama save my 40 bucks (bit high for an EA title imo).

No doubt, I was hyped for this one and it definitely came through. The foundation of the game is straight fire. Yeah, there are bugs, but that was expected, especially this early on. For half the price of a regular AAA game, I'm all in with this purchase. I got both Ori versions on my PC, Switch, and PS5, and I keep coming back to play. They really get what gaming's about. By the end of Ori, you’re running around like a boss. My character in No Rest is just at level 6 and the future looks promising. The potential for this game is pretty high.

Gives me Witcher 2 vibes

great game, you forgot to mention that you can buy a house and set fourniture in it to craft stuff and more, game had frame drops but didn't crash at all after over 7 hours of gameplay, i think it needs a fast ssd to run smoothly. money becomes less of an issue after getting to sacrament, i just think it has a very long starting area

When it comes to the Durability mechanic I kinda wish developers would lean into it to try and encourage players to use different weapons and thereby different moves and playstyles. For example, there are some games that will drop many different weapons that will do different things. That can be fun. However I’ve seen games that have such a thing in place yet have weapons with weapons that have stats and just get better. Which forces a player to be picky about what weapons they’d wanna pick up thereby conflicting with the want of the dev to have the player pick up and use different weapons. What I think would be neat to see would be a game that did have a durability system BUT when something broke you could take the pieces of said weapon and hold onto them that later on you can make a different weapon of the broken pieces. Like for example take a broken handle of a axe, the broken end of a hammer and then craft a weapon from it. And you could even attach stats to those broken pieces. Like say the handle gave an attack speed of say maybe 3. But the axe that was on the handle only did maybe 20 dmg. Well, adding the hammer end gives 30 dmg and you can add the handle. Further, you could also make it so that when things break you will probably NOT get back pieces. Like say the Axe head that came with the handle? That axe got demolished somehow and all you have is the handle. And further, any broken pieces you don’t really use could also probably be used to reinforce or add minor stat increases to weapons you’ve been crafting. There is a lot I feel devs could do with the durability mechanic but I suppose maybe the right game hasn’t come alone yet. I feel the idea I suggested is really meant for folks who not only wanna try different weapons but also appreciate crafting and just getting better weapons. As well as being big hoarders of items. Which admittedly is actually a lot of players all in one idea.

Definitely excited for the full game !

We get a house and the ability to craft extra inventory chests if we do the correct quest lines first.

This is my first early access game and I was looking forward to it this and I’m not disappointed but I do understand all the frustration ppl are having so far… like you I’ll adventure around the first main castle and stop right there and wait for a few updates before I get knees deep into it… but it has so much potential so I’ll let them continue to work on it before I say anything negative… great video as always looking forward to your update video on this game moving forward

100% agree with the backstab commnet. I found the window to use a backstab is way too small and hard to do if the enemy isnt stunned.

just in case you miss it , if you progress , you can rune your weapon with a health rune , so eating outside of bossbattles is zero need anymore ... dura cost was lowered alot but even before and now , you can buy a rune of durability , which repairs your whole items for 150focus ...there is even a rune which you can use as a townportal , if you dont like backtracking ...the game is mega rewarding if you keep your eyes up , but its the same as elden ring , you have to figure it put by yourself , or you wait for the big amount of guides coming ...right now everything is doneable and depends if the player plays the game or just try to rush like in an diablo

Is it digital only or will there be physical copies for ps5 and X

Durability is one of those things that CAN be immersive, but a lot of games end up making it feel like a chore, or make you think twice about using the Awesome Weapon you just acquired.

This game is going to end up being something special. It's a ton of fun already, even in the state it's in. Visuals are mind blowing. Moon studios artists are just on another level!

Do you guys make a before you buy for sker trial?

ill wait for for the finished game and see if it will fit in the time with other games im waiting for to play.

"flaws" and "tedious" were very prominently said in this video. What I heard was that the experience that Jake is looking to be tailored to requires more guidance for him personally. I feel like a lot from what I played is intentional. Obviously, there will be and should be more fine tuning in certain areas, but nothing that Jake really said. Inventory management is a big fix they need to work on for example. I never ran into issues with weapon degradation(if anything it was tool degradation). I hope that they don't over tweak anything and make the game a breeze. It already seems like if you grind through dailys and weekly quests, you can over level a bit.

I got this game yesterday, and I am now going to watch this happily

Wow an isometric Dark Souls. How inovative. Definetly never seen that before... Thank you very much for the video though. Always happy to see more from you. I love how you always try to be positive even with things you don't like.

As other people are saying, these indie games are carrying the gaming industry and releasing some awesome games. I will absolutely give these studios my money for that.

The Ori games are amazing, gonna have to check this game out.

God it looks so smooth and beautiful!

Would be awesome if they did an online hub system like diablo and POE where u can see others in towns and outposts but in the combat zones its solo or you can group. I also think this game could be awesome with a certain aspect of a runespace-like skills system. Could be the complete package.

Was very interested in this one but my main question was how much content there would be for the EA launch and there just doesn’t seem to be enough to justify buying it yet for me. Definitely gonna be one I get at some point but I’ll wait til 1.0 I reckon

I saw a trailer for this game pop up on my Facebook a little while ago. I love top down games like this, and as an artist myself, games with interesting and different artwork like this really intrigue me. I'm excited. I have it in my wish list on my PS5. I wish PS would dip their toes into Early Access stuff like this, but like you, Jake, said in the video, let it cook for a little longer before diving in. If I can wait for Cyberpunk, I can wait for this.

this game is really sick so far. has some performance issues but it’s been on the up and up with each patch. combat feels awesome and the loot system has me pretty excited

I think there is a lot of truth to what was said, but I've noticed with this latest build the higher level you are, the loot pools change. So I could see how the durability could be a drag, but with randomness to the chests and loot, I think it balances it out. I agree you can get beat on pretty hard in this game, but if you endure its pretty easy to build momentum and move past the tough spots.

Man I thought that at first about the health and eating system, but I honestly learned to save my food and healing items for when I need them like a boss fight. When you die you just spawn back at a check point, enemies don't re spawn after you beat them so you can make your way 1 enemie at a time if you have to. I just went into my boss fight once I was ready then only ended up needed 3 healing items for it haha I did great. (My only complaint is performance.... even on RTX 2070ti I don't care how low you set it its still choppy 😢). But I figured I'll hold off and let them get it where they want to get it and dive back in. Great game

I have always bounced off soul like games, but given Moon Studio's record and my love of Ori, I really wanted to support them in their efforts to do something different. I've actually found myself enjoying the game. I've had to re-calibrate how to play an ARPG, slower, more thoughtful in combat. I'm still dying a bunch, but I appreciate that using the rest sites don't reset the game and enemies, so i have felt like I can make consistent progress forward. I'm about 4hours into the game and really enjoying it. I will stay the separation of character from Realm is utterly brilliant. I really which other games would do this.

i think you shoud invest in runs you know ,there are healing runs even repair runs , IDK but it kind of making it easier for me ,you only need focus wich can repleshish by attackind or bloking

Honestly was super excited for this but after watching this I am definitely waiting for release to see if any of these systems change.

I picked up this game because I was super excited to try it out. I don't regret it but I'll be doing the same thing as Jake, putting it down for a while. There are some glaring issues. My biggest gripe is how tedious everything is right now. All the weapons feel a little too samey. The weight system is brutal in the early game. Everything weighs a little too much so you can't really wear / use what you want or equip the gear you want. The first town you encounter is a maze and a huge pain in the ass to figure out. There's just too much I don't like at the start. I'm hoping it gets a bit better.

Can you guys do a before you buy on sker ritual?

You echoed every thought I had about the game. I was surprised, and glad at the same time, that it wasn't just me who had problem with those issues, and at the same time would loved if the game was more approachable, cause it had so much potentiall. I've bought both Ori games, but sadly as it is right now, this is not for me.

Thanks for this review. I would have gotten it for the art and been a little disappointed at it's progress. Art candy doesn't equal finished. I am eager to see it progress however.

I know you want Before You Buys out as soon as, but man I wish this could have waited a few days. It's worth saying a lot of the balancing issues you mentioned Moon have already sorted or are well on their way to be (e.g. weapon durability). I agree the game looks stunning and has a lot of potential. In terms of performance, I think it's more the game hasn't been optimised for higher end hardware. A few things I didn't agree with. I feel enemy attacks are telegraphed plenty when you really watch them and learn their attack patterns. Fighting multiple enemies does feel a bit unfair, but then 3 against 1 should feel that way with souls-like combat IMO. Maybe I misinterpretted what you meant there. I also find the fact climbing walls and shimmy ledges are less obvious quite refreshing when normally in games they're highlighted a little too much. It makes exploration just a tad more challenging. Upgrading the 'Equip load' attribute helps massively with wearing stronger and heavier gear too. All in all, I am enjoying my time with this. Haven't experienced many performance issues at all (just a couple minor frame rate drops here and there). I look forward to their future updates and content 😁

Totally agree with the food heath thing maybe they could do something like if you die to a main boss then you get your healing back, but only for main line bosses other tough foe and fight you have to farm, that could be a balance

So one thing that people were hating alot (early on, but they buffed it significantly, really quickly) was the durability. But even without buffing it, all you needed (then) was to add the (repair) rune on a 2nd or 3rd main hand. Build up 150 focus, swap to it, repair and Voila. Now though after all the durability buffs, that rune is sort of obsolete to me. You have to repair very seldomly, and when you need to repair it only cost like 40-60copper (I remember before the first buff to durability I needed to spend well over 2silver to repair everything!!!) So yeah, the devs have been quite actively making adjustments. Can't wait for more of the story to be unfolded, and to see what's next cuz right now it's like if you were to start Path of Exile, and play through act 1 and only act 1. So much more to uncover.

8:40 I suddenly remembered margit all over again!😂 this game look awesome❤

WIll you do another video once the game fully drops and give your final thoughts?

The originality in this game was enough for me to already make it memorable. 100% worth the experience even if it never was developed further! Yet, they're pushing out updates almost daily for it. I think this is going to take a place in my favorite games book right next to Dark Souls 1. Note to @GameRanx, really polished video and I like the information presented. Pretty in-depth, good sound quality, and smooth transitions. I'd love to hear a different presentation though. Instead of pros & cons it was definitely a cons & pros approach. Felt like, 'these minor bugs here and there just are annoying me... but it's an AMAZING GAME (as an afterthought)'. Thanks for making the video none-the-less! Good work (:

I've either never played a game like this before, or have in the past and hated it. But I really enjoy this game quite a bit. However I also agree with all of your critiques and flaws with the game. What would you recommend I try if I want something "like" No Rest For The Wicked but without the issues.

this game reminds me of the rpg games back in the early 2000's. this style isnt new, in fact, its quite old i still remember i use to play a rpg that was almost exactly like this but less polished and in team form

Thanks for sharing your personal opinions on this, great review as always! Personally I'm really excited for this game, but I'm one of those people who never purchase early access games. I just hope the game developer nail this once it got a complete release.

Buying the early Access, do I need tô buy the rest of the game after its beeing completed?

This is one of those reviews from Jake that I completely 100% agree with. This game has phenomenal potential to be one of the greats, just needs tweaking in the spots he mentioned and I am very excited with the planned updates and performance fixes to get back into it.

Gonna buy it 💯% gonna play with the 2 hands daggers, dex and strength build, these have fast attacks!!