Thomas Mahler, the head of Ori and the Blind Forest and No Rest for the Wicked developer Moon Studios, has claimed that the latter being “review bombed” could mean his studio will “have to shut down”.
Speaking on the official No Rest for the Wicked Discord (via Windows Central), Mahler says that players who are enjoying the game should leave a positive review, because if they don’t, a “review bomb” could lead “to people not buying the game”, which in turn would mean Moon Studios is “not making any money”.
The review bomb in question appears to refer to negative reviews on No Rest for the Wicked‘s Steam page, some of which point to the developer’s anti-“woke” political positions. Mahler says that if players want to see No Rest for the Wicked finished, it’s “detrimental” (sic; I assume he means “essential”) that the review score be improved.
I have to say, though, that combing through the most recent “helpful” negative reviews seems to throw up just as many legitimate criticisms of the game’s mechanics. Perhaps ironically, some negative reviews even mention Mahler’s desire for positive reviews as motivating factors without mentioning anything political.
In response, Mahler says that in fact, “pretty much everyone” who’s played No Rest for the Wicked following recent hotfix patches was “extremely positive”, and that the Discord post containing his comments was left up “to push back against some of the bullshit reviews”.
Mahler goes on to say that while Moon Studios is “not in immediate financial danger”, he should be “allowed to speak up” about issues within the industry that he finds “unbecoming”, referring to apparent calls to review bomb No Rest for the Wicked because “according to those folks, [Mahler is] a Nazi”.
No Rest for the Wicked is available right now on PC via Steam Early Access (and we know Mahler’s feelings about Early Access). You can check out our Austin’s preview of the game from back in April right here.
