No Rest for the Wicked Early Reviews Are Mixed: Here's Why

No Rest for the Wicked is a fresh take on the souls-like genre, approaching the hack-and-roll experience from an ARPG-style top-down camera perspective. The keenest fans of souls games worldwide were itching to dive into No Rest for the Wicked the moment it entered Early Access on April 18. However, not all players have been inspired by the experience so far.

No Rest for the Wicked Early Reviews

Early Steam reviews for No Rest for the Wicked stand at a questionable 'Mixed.' While the game appears to hit the mark for many players, most of whom praise the art direction and combat gameplay, negative reviewers cite poor optimization and keybinding options as their biggest gripes.

No Rest for the Wicked Positive Reviews

First off, the combat. All in all, folks appear impressed by the blend of souls-like dodges and parries, and satisfying ARPG hack-and-slash, with some even describing No Rest for the Wicked as something between Hades and Dark Souls.

Combat is solid and just the right amount of difficult. The game isn't designed to be a dodge and swing game. This isn't a souls game. It is an ARPG.

Carlos mangood (Steam user)

Next, the graphical style. The most overwhelming praise amongst players rings out for the art style of No Rest for the Wicked. The world feels eldritch and atmospheric, the weaponry heavy, and the characters grim. 

Looks gorgeous, and sounds amazing just like the other games from Moon Studios. Feels pretty darn good as well. Hits have heft to them, and the feedback is great on a controller.

OneHP (Steam user)

No Rest for the Wicked Negative Reviews

And now for the bad, starting with reported performance issues. Being an Early Access title, it's not uncommon for games to require further optimization to iron out FPS problems and, in more severe cases, client crashes. For some players, this reality hasn't made the experience any less frustrating.

I want to like this, but the performance is just not in a good enough place for me to recommend it right now.

Jordan (Steam user)

Another user chimes in with the added concern that performance issues are doubly worrying in a game of this style.

The optimization is pretty bad even on a 4070 on Medium. This can be improved at least but stutters pretty bad which isn't a good fit for a game like this.

Foxon (Steam user)

The final biggest aspect of feedback has been the lack of keybinding options in No Rest for the Wicked. While the developers made a post on Steam the day before the game launched into Early Access describing custom keybind options as an upcoming feature, this post was seemingly too little too late. The result is the bulk of frustrated Steam reviewers honing in on keybinding issues.

If on PC without a controller don't waste your money. Can't change key binds at all, and movement is not smooth. This is definitely a console-designed game, not for PC.

Tolkender (Steam user)

Is No Rest for the Wicked Worth It?

In my opinion, if you've enjoyed the look of No Rest for the Wicked's gameplay, are confident in your PC's power, and have a USB gaming controller, then it might just be a worthwhile buy.

However, if your PC isn't the hottest and you don't have a USB controller, then you're probably better off holding back and giving the developers of No Rest for the Wicked time to optimize the game and add keybinding options. But hey, that's just one man's two cents.