I just read a news story about the financial crisis and instability the studio is facing due to the impact of negative reviews. That’s why I’m writing this post, to share my opinion.
No Rest for the Wicked is spectacular and has the charm of a game made with love. Now, Moon Studios’ advantage and disadvantage has been attracting a more engaged, critical, and demanding community than is usual in this industry. I’ll be brief: I think this happened because, in a way, when most of us discovered the game, it sparked a great sense of wonder, a feeling very few games manage to create. And that, in a way, has been its downfall, because every change introduced to the game was strictly measured based on the enormous expectations each player had.
I regret that we weren’t able to give the game and its team the time and trust necessary to move forward calmly and carefully.
My conclusion is summed up like this: if NRFTW fails, and I truly hope it doesn’t, the blame won’t lie solely with the developers. It will also fall on us, the community. That’s why, for the first time, I’m writing a review in Steam (this same message), hoping to ease, even if just a little, the difficult situation in which this wonderful game and its studio currently find themselves.
Beautifully written and agree. This is one of those few rare games that is made with love, and I love to explore every inch of it. But made with love does not equate to perfect. I have been following the development and the feedback since launch, and it seems the main complaints stems from different expectation from different players, namely Diablo/hack-n-slash players and then souls-players. Diablo players thinks the game is too hard and unfair, souls-players don’t like constantly crafting food before boss fights. This is not either a souls or diablo like game, so nobody is fully satisfied. Personally I appreciate they take a risk and trying to do something new a fresh, and I enjoy it for the most part, but some grinding become tedious, and lack of fast travel late game also becomes tedious.
I also left a positive review today, I don’t leave reviews at all, but I also just wanna see this game succeed and I can’t wait to play 1.0, and probably every update anyway
That’s right. The development team has made some questionable decisions and others that were outright bad (the biggest one, in my opinion, being the rushed release of the game in Early Access), but despite that, the truth is they’re offering us a wonderful game. And I’m one of those who agree with you, this isn’t Diablo, nor is it a Souls game. NRFTW aims to have its own identity. The game isn’t perfect, but as you rightly said, it’s one of those rare cases where the love for video games clearly outweighs the pursuit of money. Then came the panic.
What the project needs now is good pacing, stability, and support.