Former Blizzard president and Diablo co-leader says new ARPG from Ori devs is "exactly where the ARPG genre needs to go to stay relevant"

Moon Studios may be known for its hit Metroidvania games, but its new action RPG, No Rest for the Wicked, is now available in early access, and former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra believes its "bold direction" is what the genre needs to "stay relevant."

No Rest for the Wicked is quite a departure from Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, and boasts some noticeable Diablo-esque vibes. But, despite previously being the president of Diablo's developer Blizzard Entertainment, Ybarra clearly thinks that it and others in the genre could learn a few things from Moon Studios' newest release.

"No Rest for the Wicked (launched today in Steam Early Access) is taking on a bold direction – mixing classic ARPG with a Soulslike flavor," Ybarra writes on Twitter. "It's, in my opinion, exactly where the ARPG genre needs to go to stay relevant. Long way to go still for the team, but a big congrats to [Moon Studios] on the direction of No Rest for the Wicked! I can't wait to see where this goes from here."

As laid out in No Rest for the Wicked's Steam description, the devs' goal was to "reinvent the genre," so there's no doubt that Ybarra's praise here is a big deal, and is sure to be encouraging for Moon Studios.

No Rest for the Wicked certainly brings a lot into the mix that Moon Studios' previous games didn't. In our No Rest for the Wicked preview with the ARPG last month, we said that beyond the clear Diablo and Dark Souls vibes, "there are flashes of everything from Elden Ring to Nier: Automata, Baldur's Gate 3, and even The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom here too." 

One of the things setting No Rest for the Wicked apart from the ARPG crowd might be the fact that it's got "a very different level design" that's "much more Metroidvania" than most games in the genre, according to production and technical director Gennadiy Korol. "It's much more of creating these shortcuts, creating these interconnected moments, [and] having something that you can really get lost in in a good way," Korol previously explained. 

Despite Ybarra's praise, at the time of writing, No Rest for the Wicked is sitting with a 'Mixed' rating on Steam, with some reporting performance issues and sharing complaints surrounding the gear durability system, amongst other things. It remains to be seen if these issues will be addressed, but given that it's only just launched into early access, players can definitely expect improvements to be made over time. 

You can find more great games to dive into on our list of the top 25 best RPGs.