No Rest for the Wickedhas always stood out in the RPG landscape for its memorable visuals and melee combat, and withthe recent Breach Update, Moon Studios is diving even deeper into its strengths. Narratively, what began as a dark, plague-ridden medieval world has been cracked open to reveal far more corruption and dread than anticipated. The world has literally expanded, and the gameplay itself has grown incredibly. No Rest for the Wicked’s Breach Update includes thousands of changes, and that is felt in every fiber of the game.
Game Rant recently spoke with Moon Studios founder Thomas Mahler, gameplay programmer Patrick Williams, and story/cinematics director Jeremy Gritton about the development of the Breach update and its impact onNo Rest for the Wicked.The team discussed the process of expanding the game’s world both narratively and geographically, and the challenge of balancing customization with risk and reward. They shared insights into building one of the best ARPGs in the genre and the crafting of a game that is capable of standing side by side with some of the industry’s biggest titles.This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
This interview originally took place close to the release of The Breach Update.
How Feedback and Vision Shaped No Rest for the Wicked’s Newest Update
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the Breach update’s development process? How did you narrow down what to include in it?
Williams:We knew players were hungry for more content, and we wanted to release the second chapter of our story, so our development process revolved around expanding a lot of the systems we had already developed to make the new areas more exciting. We also wanted to address issues or tweaks that the fanbase wanted us to revisit while taking feedback and new ideas from our own team. We also knew that there were going to be larger changes in the game’s systems that were going to necessitate a character wipe, so we thought of how we could make playing through the content that players have already seen more engaging or different this time around. We did that by including new areas and mechanics in the places that players already played while adding new weapon archetypes and enemies to the game.
Q: How does this update grow the in-game universe, both in terms of physical space and narrative/lore?
Gritton: The Breach update allows players to visit two new zones, the Lowland Meadows and Marin Woods, along with two new communities: Hunter’s Vale and Marin Village. The overall footprint of the game has doubled - with new enemies, bosses, quests, and more than 40 new NPCs to interact with. We’ve also added more state changes to the world, so ithasn’t only grown in size, but evolves over time.Our narrative continues with robust quests that revolve around 3 of our main characters. Odessa, Ellsworth, and Madrigal Seline each have new storylines to follow, touching on themes of family, duty, and faith. We also learn more about the Dasha people of Sacra, paired with the introduction of another important character to our story - Mender Irmgard. But it’s not only character development: There’s political intrigue lurking in the shadows, and the ever-growing threat of the Pestilence as we dig deeper into its lore. The Breach update takes everything we’ve been building in our initial release and carries the momentum even further. There are large-scale epic moments and quiet emotional ones, too - all while promising so much more to come.
How the Breach Update Reinvents Progression and Exploration
Q: The Cerim Crucible will open much earlier in the game now. How does this change impact the pacing and flow of early progression?
Williams: The crucible was released as a way for players to interact with our systems in a different environment than what they were used to while providing a few fun new mechanics to make it feel like almost a game of its own. In a way, it was almost a temporary endgame for players to have fun with while we improved on our real endgame that we felt was not quite ready, that endgame being the plague system into which players can dive into this update. We have also integrated the crucible into our normal gameplay loop a bit closer now and if players feel that they are up to the challenge, they can dive into it pretty much as soon as they stay their first night in Sacrament. Examples of this include some new mechanics at the Seneschal (crucible’s vendor) that we feel players will be pretty excited about.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the expansion of the Black Trench and Nameless Pass? What was important to include in these locations?
Mahler: We’re just generally always looking into how we can expand zones that existed already, how we can surprise players again and again even if they make their way through areas they’ve played through many times before. When I was a kidplaying Zelda: A Link to the Past, I always wondered what would be behind the treesat the border of Kakariko village. I didn’t understand that there was nothing there because that’s just the end of the map. I always wondered how I’d get behind that area. So with No Rest for the Wicked, I love the idea that another little Thomas might just have the same fascination about some area, and then he ultimately finds a way to get to that place they always wondered about!
Q: With the introduction of Exalted gear and extended regions, can you speak to how the game balances risk vs. reward? How much does this change the core experience?
Williams:This update really opens the floodgates to player customization in terms of their builds, weapons, and their playstyles. With fallen embers, you can reroll enchants on your weapons totry your luck at getting that perfect enchant that really synergizeswith your build. Or it might be a worse enchant than what you just had, so it is a bit of a risky mechanic that can pay off big time if it hits just right. As far as other systems, the world of Wicked scales with the player’s progression throughout the game, meaning that an area you might have cleared the other day may not be so easy the next time you go through. We want Wicked to feel like an alive world with ever-changing bounties, challenges, moment-to-moment combat, and much more that will challenge you as a player. You might even find some trapdoor passages that take you to more challenging areas that you may or may not be prepared for, but you are always welcome to take that risk and try. And yes, exalting your gear later in the game can give you that extra boost that you might need just to get the edge on that miniboss you have been struggling on.
The Breach Update Is Community-Driven
Q: What changes/features/fixes in the Breach Update are a direct result of the community?
Williams: We have lots of features and fixes that started with discussions in our community. It’s the reason why I love early access and our Discord because we get to see how others experience the game and we all collaboratively work to make the game better as a whole. For example, we now let players destroy runes that are on weapons so they can replace specials that may not fit with their playstyle. This came about from a player asking on our Discord if we could add such a feature. We added all sorts of things from big changes like allowing players to invest at Danos to make project build times faster to small changes like having a custom mouse cursor in the game. I wish I could list them all here; we really do have a great community.
Q: Can you speak to the team’s plans once the Breach Update launches? What can you say about what’s next for the game or the studio?
Mahler: I can’t really say all that much, but we have a lot of good stuff in the oven! Our immediate plan is to justensure that we’re crafting one of the best ARPGs ever madewith No Rest for the Wicked. We want to show the world that our insanely talented, but fairly small team can compete straight up against the Blizzards, From Softwares, etc., of the world. We want players to know that if a Moon Studios product releases, you really should buy it because some insanely talented people tried their best to craft a masterpiece while trying to innovate and change the status quo. We think we have a lot to contribute given our expertise and can craft games that are truly special.
Q: Personally, what are you most excited to see as part of this new update?
Mahler: I am excited to try out the new gauntlets on a full monk-style run; being able to dropkick bosses and perform wrestling moves on the Risen is loads of fun. Also, a lot of the new cinematics are just gorgeous, and I can’t wait for players to see all the work our incredible artists have done with the new story content as well as the passes that they have done on some of our previous existing cinematics as well.
Q: Any final thoughts or tips for players to make the most out of the new content?
Mahler: My advice would be, don’t think that just because youexplored a part of the game before, it won’t be different in the Breach update. We added so many new things to existing areas and tweaked pretty much every part of the game based on feedback we have received. And with all sorts of ways to customize your builds like rerolling your weapons and re-speccing your stats, do not be afraid to test new weapons and experiment with playstyles that you have not before.
[END]
