Moon Studios, the developer behind the beloved Metroidvanias Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, is working on No Rest for the Wicked. The action RPG is set to launch this month on April 19 and is a bit of a departure from the Ori series that made the studio famous. But what prompted the studio to trade platforming for dark, fantasy-themed RPG gameplay? It seems like the studio felt it said all it needed to with the first two Ori games, but that might not be the case forever.
In an interview with Game Informer, Moon Studios co-founder Gennadiy Korol said he believes that the Ori series’ story is complete after Will of the Wisps.
“I think we were pretty happy with where it left off,” Korol said. “I think we were able to complete the story of Ori. It’s a complete arc now; if you play both games, it’s a complete story. So it felt like the only way we would come back to Ori 3 is if we have more to say, more story to tell.”
Despite that, CEO and creative director Thomas Mahler told Game Informer he has some ideas for a third Ori game, including a title, but No Rest for the Wicked is currently front of mind at the studio. Without getting into spoilers, if you’ve played Ori and the Will of the Wisps, you know it ends on a pretty definitive note. But that’s never stopped companies from finding a way to make another thing from a beloved series before.
Both Ori games are available on PC, Xbox, and Switch. The Ori games were early examples of Microsoft-published releases coming to third-party platforms, but No Rest for the Wicked isn’t being published by the Xbox company, so it’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S when it launches next week.
Back in 2022, a VentureBeat report laid out internal issues within Moon Studios, including accusations of an “oppressive” and “sexist” work environment.