Man...it's been quite a road to here. Eastward initially caught my eye two years ago in a Summer indie direct. The trailer music was banging, and the vibrant, detailed pixel art helped it stand out to me amongst all the revolving door of dull indie games.

If there's one thing I can't gush enough about Eastward, it's just how pretty it is. Seriously, I took like over 100 screenshots during my 23 hrs of playing because I could not help myself.  I really enjoyed the puzzles,  although it felt like the devs could have went a bit more ham with some of the level mechanics at points.

The combat really kills this game as it is just not very exciting or deep. The entirety of the game boils down to Sam for stun and john for job done. John's attack windup is also somewhat sluggish which makes dealing with swarming enemies a little annoying at times. I much preferred fighting the bosses over the mobs as I thought pretty much every boss was well designed, simple fun.

I am debating on whether or not if I like the overall story as it still feels very typical of the rpg "end of humanity/civilisation" trope. Regardless, I still found myself endeared to a couple of the characters and it helped me enjoy the adventure more.

This game isn't perfect but it is comfy, and sometimes that's all you really need.