Dear members of Moon Studio and Mr. Thomas,
Hello! I am a gamer from China and have long been a fan of Moon Studio’s games. Ever since Ori, your company’s unique artistic style has deeply fascinated me. After purchasing No Rest for the Wicked at launch, I have spent a great deal of time playing it. Its delicate art style and excellent combat feel have captivated me. I have always given No Rest for the Wicked high praise—it has brought me a great deal of joy. I sincerely hope you can overcome the current difficulties and ensure that this game leaves a mark in gaming history. Based on my personal experience, I would like to offer some suggestions (merely suggestions, of course—their implementation should be considered in light of the game’s development progress).
First, the game suffers from an identity crisis—or rather, it is unclear what exactly draws players in. For me, the most appealing aspect is exploring the game world and visiting every beautiful corner. However, the game does not seem to encourage this. I understand your intention to increase player engagement, but players have limited time and cannot commit to endless grinding. I believe it would be better to first create a fundamentally fun game, then enhance its social features and engagement through multiplayer content.
I heard you plan to introduce difficulty tiers, which is excellent. My suggestion here is to refrain from further lowering the base difficulty and instead focus the development on world exploration. Since death in No Rest for the Wicked only incurs minimal monetary loss, players can afford to explore the world through multiple attempts. I believe the current difficulty strikes a good balance between accessibility and challenge. For truly high-stakes difficulty, it could be reserved for multiplayer modes, where 3–5 players (typically friends) tackle exploration together. This could involve adding archer enemies, increasing enemy numbers and varieties, and raising the challenge level. When facing setbacks in co-op, the presence of friends would turn frustration into shared humor—teasing each other’s gameplay, strategizing over loadouts, and naturally forming roles like shields, attackers, and mages (non-mandatory class dynamics) while maintaining replayability. The single-player mode could serve as a foundation for resource gathering (e.g., crafting gear and food), while multiplayer could offer higher Fallen Embers drop rates to facilitate personalized loadout customization.
Regarding fast travel, I propose lifting restrictions in single-player mode, allowing players to teleport freely between any respawn points. This would enhance exploration and resource-gathering efficiency, aiding progress through the main story. In multiplayer, however, fast travel should be restricted to increase challenge and foster cooperative map-clearing dynamics.
For solo players, a dueling arena or similar PvP mode could offer an alternative way to obtain Corrupted Embers, ensuring both group and solo players can build their gear. Whether teaming up with fixed squads for exploration or tackling solo challenges (e.g., PvP battles, empowered monsters, unattackable NPCs, or player mirrors), all players would have viable resource acquisition paths.
I am not a professional game reviewer, so my insights may lack polish, but I hope they are helpful. Finally, I sincerely wish you all the best in completing this great game—please allow me to use the word “great,” as I truly adore it. Please make sure you finish it.