Eastward is a game that I desperately wanted to like. The pixel art and artstyle of the game is unmatched and I was blown away when I first saw it on a Nintendo Indie direct. However I’ve attempted to play this game multiple times and I just have not been able to finish it. I started it closer to its original release in 2021 but dropped it. Partially due to not feeling the game but also partially due other games pulling me away from it. I started it again this year and the same exact thing happened. This time I was playing it on my steam deck to hopefully help me get through it but it simply just wasn’t pulling me in. Then along comes Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3 and 400 hours of playing games later I still have no real desire to come back to it. I think this game has the potential to be someone’s favorite game. There’s a lot here to love but nothing fully clicks for me like I felt like it should.
TLDR at the end
What Is Eastward
Eastward is an indie game made by developer Pixpil. It’s largely inspired by both 2D Zelda games and Earthbound with some old school JRPG mixed in with it. I think this could be a major reason I don’t connect with it. As I haven’t played any of its major inspirations. I’ve never played a 2D Zelda and have not touched an Earthbound game. Without having played any of its major inspirations I’m unsure of how the game itself holds up to those. With the Earthbound inspiration it is mostly just the vibes and world of the game that are more like that. The game largely plays like a 2D Zelda. You get various items and weapons to help you solve puzzles and fight off various enemies. You also have items that are effectively heart containers and they essentially took the cooking system from Breath of the Wild (which is not a bad thing I love that cooking system). The game also operates with a dual protagonist system. That functions similarly to how the Mario and Luigi games work where you can control both John (your silent protagonist with a frying pan) and Sam (a cute little magical girl with a mysterious backstory). You can switch which one is in front or you can separate them to solve puzzles.
There’s also a whole other sub game in the game called Earthborn. It’s a game that is essentially a roguelike version of the old dragon quest games. The main character even kind of resembles the dragon quest artstyle. Which I’m sure is intentional. I played that for quite a bit on my original playthrough but I barely touched it on my revisit on the game this year. It is not by any means necessary for completing the game but I have heard that beating Earthborn in game does help contextualize the game as a whole. Which is a really interesting take on the idea of a true ending.
The Vibes
The vibes and artstyle of this game are really something else. I love looking at this game and the way the world looks and also the wonderful pixel art. Pixpil have done an outstanding job with the visual design of all the characters, the environments, the creatures and more. I truly can’t emphasize enough how much I love the way this game looks. It’s got a really cool and uplifting take on post apocalyptic. It’s so delightful and colorful. There are even creepy and bizarre moments in the game. One of the best creature designs I saw was one of the first bosses that’s rushing down John and Sam.
The boss design
I will say that in the aspect of vibes, what lacks a little is the music. The music that is in the game is actually really good but there’s not too much variety. A lot of the music is re-used, which of course is fine but I think a lil more variety in the music would’ve been nice. Which could very well be a result of me not getting far enough in the game. As I look up the soundtrack writing this there are 72 different tracks in the game. Which is actually quite impressive for an indie. So while it technically isn’t true I feel a little disconnected with what I’ve heard in game.
Story
As mentioned above, I did not finish the game. I usually like to try and finish a game before reviewing it. But sometimes a game doesn’t hit you right and I do feel like it’s a valid experience to write about if you did not mesh with it and did not finish it. It’s worth noting that I have 21 hours on record for the game. The average time for it on How Long to Beat is 20 hours. So I probably got about half way each time I played. I open this section with this just to let everyone know that I didn’t finish the story. There could be a huge plot reveal that makes it all worth it. And maybe I put it down right before it started to really real me in. Which does happen.
But the story of Eastward isn’t exactly a unique one. But it’s interesting and a good set up and the interest of the story largely comes from the uniqueness of the setting. It’s that of a single silent protagonist who’s a gruff looking man (maybe in their 30s-40s) who works in a mining post in this underground city. It opens up with Sam already being with John but it seems that John had found the girl. The girl has some sort of mysterious power and claims to have seen the surface. Which everyone in Potcrock Isle thinks is uninhabitable due to a deadly miasma. This turns out only to be partially true. There is a deadly miasma but it’s not everywhere. There’s pockets where people live. There is some sort of secret with Sam. There’s occasionally cutscenes where time freezes and she sees a red version of herself who is talking to her. And she has the power to travel during the frozen time. So when time unfreezes she’ll often have left. This is a mechanic explored in a lot of the puzzles with her and John being separated. She seems connected to the miasma somehow but I have never gotten far enough to see how.
The Issues
Here is where I end the praises of this game. I have a few main issues with the game. I think first and foremost is the pacing of the game. The pacing feels really slow when it doesn’t need to be. And since the story isn’t super interesting or unique there’s only so much the environment and world can do to combat poor pacing. There’s times when playing an hour that it feels like it’s very minimal gameplay and it’s a lot of talking. Which ordinarily with my love of RPGs I don’t mind but the story just doesn’t grip me the way I’d want it to to be able to sit there for an hour or so without playing. It especially feels bad once you get to New Dam City. To add to the poor pacing, the game likes to throw a lot of mini games at you. I'm never much of a fan of mandatory mini games in games. Even games with non mandatory mini games I rarely partake in them unless I’m really feeling it. And this game likes to use them a lot. My other main issue with the game is that it kind of just feels hard to play. I’m not well versed in the 2D Zelda style gameplay. So it very well could be a skill issue moment for me. And I accept that. But something about how it plays just feels a lil clunky to me. Not having much experience in the genre I don’t have much of a frame of reference of how it should feel.
TLDR
The game isn’t horrible and I think there’s plenty here that a lot of people will enjoy but ultimately the game just doesn’t do it for me. And that’s fine. I’m disappointed because the game is beautiful and I really wanted to love it. But after trying to play it twice and encountering the same issues and snags both times I figured it’s time to let myself drop the game. Since I didn’t finish it, it’s very possible the game could’ve grabbed at some point and I wouldn’t have been able to put it down. If none of the issues I wrote above bother you and you’re still interested I would recommend picking the game up and giving it a try but it just wasn’t a game for me in the end.
I usually try to finish the games I write reviews on and I think this is the first one that I’ve written where I haven’t. But I think it’s a good practice to write out my thoughts and feelings on games that don’t necessarily mesh with. Even if it’s not a scathing or super negative review.
TLDR at the end
What Is Eastward
Eastward is an indie game made by developer Pixpil. It’s largely inspired by both 2D Zelda games and Earthbound with some old school JRPG mixed in with it. I think this could be a major reason I don’t connect with it. As I haven’t played any of its major inspirations. I’ve never played a 2D Zelda and have not touched an Earthbound game. Without having played any of its major inspirations I’m unsure of how the game itself holds up to those. With the Earthbound inspiration it is mostly just the vibes and world of the game that are more like that. The game largely plays like a 2D Zelda. You get various items and weapons to help you solve puzzles and fight off various enemies. You also have items that are effectively heart containers and they essentially took the cooking system from Breath of the Wild (which is not a bad thing I love that cooking system). The game also operates with a dual protagonist system. That functions similarly to how the Mario and Luigi games work where you can control both John (your silent protagonist with a frying pan) and Sam (a cute little magical girl with a mysterious backstory). You can switch which one is in front or you can separate them to solve puzzles.
There’s also a whole other sub game in the game called Earthborn. It’s a game that is essentially a roguelike version of the old dragon quest games. The main character even kind of resembles the dragon quest artstyle. Which I’m sure is intentional. I played that for quite a bit on my original playthrough but I barely touched it on my revisit on the game this year. It is not by any means necessary for completing the game but I have heard that beating Earthborn in game does help contextualize the game as a whole. Which is a really interesting take on the idea of a true ending.
The Vibes
The vibes and artstyle of this game are really something else. I love looking at this game and the way the world looks and also the wonderful pixel art. Pixpil have done an outstanding job with the visual design of all the characters, the environments, the creatures and more. I truly can’t emphasize enough how much I love the way this game looks. It’s got a really cool and uplifting take on post apocalyptic. It’s so delightful and colorful. There are even creepy and bizarre moments in the game. One of the best creature designs I saw was one of the first bosses that’s rushing down John and Sam.
The boss design
I will say that in the aspect of vibes, what lacks a little is the music. The music that is in the game is actually really good but there’s not too much variety. A lot of the music is re-used, which of course is fine but I think a lil more variety in the music would’ve been nice. Which could very well be a result of me not getting far enough in the game. As I look up the soundtrack writing this there are 72 different tracks in the game. Which is actually quite impressive for an indie. So while it technically isn’t true I feel a little disconnected with what I’ve heard in game.
Story
As mentioned above, I did not finish the game. I usually like to try and finish a game before reviewing it. But sometimes a game doesn’t hit you right and I do feel like it’s a valid experience to write about if you did not mesh with it and did not finish it. It’s worth noting that I have 21 hours on record for the game. The average time for it on How Long to Beat is 20 hours. So I probably got about half way each time I played. I open this section with this just to let everyone know that I didn’t finish the story. There could be a huge plot reveal that makes it all worth it. And maybe I put it down right before it started to really real me in. Which does happen.
But the story of Eastward isn’t exactly a unique one. But it’s interesting and a good set up and the interest of the story largely comes from the uniqueness of the setting. It’s that of a single silent protagonist who’s a gruff looking man (maybe in their 30s-40s) who works in a mining post in this underground city. It opens up with Sam already being with John but it seems that John had found the girl. The girl has some sort of mysterious power and claims to have seen the surface. Which everyone in Potcrock Isle thinks is uninhabitable due to a deadly miasma. This turns out only to be partially true. There is a deadly miasma but it’s not everywhere. There’s pockets where people live. There is some sort of secret with Sam. There’s occasionally cutscenes where time freezes and she sees a red version of herself who is talking to her. And she has the power to travel during the frozen time. So when time unfreezes she’ll often have left. This is a mechanic explored in a lot of the puzzles with her and John being separated. She seems connected to the miasma somehow but I have never gotten far enough to see how.
The Issues
Here is where I end the praises of this game. I have a few main issues with the game. I think first and foremost is the pacing of the game. The pacing feels really slow when it doesn’t need to be. And since the story isn’t super interesting or unique there’s only so much the environment and world can do to combat poor pacing. There’s times when playing an hour that it feels like it’s very minimal gameplay and it’s a lot of talking. Which ordinarily with my love of RPGs I don’t mind but the story just doesn’t grip me the way I’d want it to to be able to sit there for an hour or so without playing. It especially feels bad once you get to New Dam City. To add to the poor pacing, the game likes to throw a lot of mini games at you. I'm never much of a fan of mandatory mini games in games. Even games with non mandatory mini games I rarely partake in them unless I’m really feeling it. And this game likes to use them a lot. My other main issue with the game is that it kind of just feels hard to play. I’m not well versed in the 2D Zelda style gameplay. So it very well could be a skill issue moment for me. And I accept that. But something about how it plays just feels a lil clunky to me. Not having much experience in the genre I don’t have much of a frame of reference of how it should feel.
TLDR
The game isn’t horrible and I think there’s plenty here that a lot of people will enjoy but ultimately the game just doesn’t do it for me. And that’s fine. I’m disappointed because the game is beautiful and I really wanted to love it. But after trying to play it twice and encountering the same issues and snags both times I figured it’s time to let myself drop the game. Since I didn’t finish it, it’s very possible the game could’ve grabbed at some point and I wouldn’t have been able to put it down. If none of the issues I wrote above bother you and you’re still interested I would recommend picking the game up and giving it a try but it just wasn’t a game for me in the end.
I usually try to finish the games I write reviews on and I think this is the first one that I’ve written where I haven’t. But I think it’s a good practice to write out my thoughts and feelings on games that don’t necessarily mesh with. Even if it’s not a scathing or super negative review.