This review contains spoilers
First bit of this will be spoiler-free. I'll label the spoilers when I get to them.
There is a lot to like about this game. There are also quite a few things to take issue with. I'm not sure how to feel on the overall experience.
Let's start with the good. First of all, the pixel art is PHENOMENAL. Hands down the best looking pixel art game I've ever played. Each character, even the unimportant NPCs all have their own unique animations. I can't imagine how fucking long that took. It adds so much to the characters.
Speaking of which, nearly every character you come across on your journey is great, actually introduced some new favs of mine, like Isabel and Alva. Isabel especially, she has a great arc. And then sam is just adorable, stealing the show for most of the adventure. She's great in every scene she shows up in. Her childlike wonder is infectious, and surprisingly doesn't come with the annoyances that usually accompany kids. She's all the good parts without any of the bad. Best character in the game. Not my favorite, but the best.
Sam is also the cornerstone of the whole plot. There's this entire mystery that surrounds her which keeps the story moving. It's clear she's not a normal kid... but then what is she? Very intriguing... although I'm not sure it was realized to its fullest potential. I'll cover that in the spoiler section.
The actual gameplay is pretty good too. I like swapping between John and Sam to solve puzzles or defeat enemies. Sam's ability to stun things is pretty fun to work with, albeit it does make most encounters ludicrously simple. Stun, smack with pan 6-7 times, dead. Boom, easy. Clearly, not the strong point of the game.
To help with combat, there's upgrades and cooking. Upgrades can be gotten after finding enough Gear Parts, which are scattered about the world. Adds an extra layer of exploration that I quite enjoyed. The upgrades themselves aren't terribly interesting, merely just "more damage" or "more storage" so that's something I felt could've been worked on. You may also find heart... orbs. I forget what they're called. Basically Heart Pieces, find four, get an extra heart. Easy peasy.
Food is also obtained as minor rewards, which in turn is used for cooking. Cooking's fine, it takes a little too long, and there isn't a whole lot of variety to it. Hell, I didn't even know you could add spices to it until I was an hour away from beating the game. I assume you're supposed to buy them, but I got through just fine with just energy drinks and whatever I found in chests.
(SPOILERS)
Alright. It's time for the bad. Let's start with the elephant in the room. John. From a gameplay perspective, John makes a lot of sense. He's your brawn, the other half of your puzzle solving duo, the... chef. (You can only cook with John in front, which is a little strange.) However, from a story perspective, John makes no godDAMN sense.
John is a silent protagonist, meaning he never talks. But the thing is, he doesn't even talk in-game. Characters literally point out how John never actually speaks. It's funny the first time, but after a while you're just like "please just talk". They don't even do a thing where they make the ending impactful by having him speak then. No, he doesn't say a single word the entire game. He doesn't even express EMOTION. He's just a solid brick wall you play as for some reason. Why do I play as him? I would MUCH rather play as Sam the entire time, she's clearly the main character. Let me play as her???
I get John's supposed to be Sam's parental figure throughout the story, but there's no fucking emotion there. There are two other characters who could've done that much better. William and Alva. William is just a nice, friendly dude who maybe isn't perfect, but he's still a nice guy. And Alva just jives with Sam so well. Alva gave her SHOES. Did John ever do that? NO. Fuck John.
At the end of the game, you're shown flashbacks of John's time with Sam. It's supposed to be really moving, but I felt nothing simply because John felt nothing.
Now, I don't hate silent protagonists. They can be done really well, a la Lea CrossCode, she actually emotes and has feelings. But generally, silent protagonists are simply inferior to ones that actually speak. John encompasses everything wrong with a silent protagonist.
There was a point early on in the story where I really thought John was going to die. That would've been really interesting. Advertise the whole game as making you think he's the main character, give him a whole bunch of slots for upgrades, then BAM. JK, he's dead. Here's Sam, go nuts with her bubble magic. Would've been a great way to progress the story. Give Sam some motivation instead of just kicking her out of the village. That's when you could've met William or Alva on the surface, and they could serve as your second character. But alas...
There's one small issue I have with the game around the midpoint. Right after the climax of the previous chapter, Sam, John, William, and Daniel head east towards Ester City. Before you get there however, there's this... weird fuckin' part where you get on this train called "Monkollywood". Basically an accurate portrayal of modern day Hollywood, filled with, you guessed it, monkeys.
It is by far the silliest portion of the game, and it does not need to be there. They KINDA justify it at the end, but it's really just filler. It's made worse by the fact that you go from the highest high of the game thus far, to... whatever the fuck this is. I'unno, it was a weird decision. I think I get why some people have gripes with Mother 3 now.
Now... those're really the only issues I have with Eastward. Granted, John is a BIG fuckin' issue, but y'know. However, there is one other thing I'd like to touch upon. There are three fake-out deaths in this game, and one real death, (at least in terms of important characters). John, who gets injured at the very beginning of the game. Daniel, who gets blown apart just before the final chapter. And Sam who… “sacrifices” herself at the very very end of the game. Now, I hate fake-out deaths, but there’s a bigger issue at play here. The only character who dies in this game is Alva, who, if you don’t know, is an explicitly gay character, (or at least wlw, I’unno, she could be bi or pan or something). Obviously that’s kind of an issue if you know how common that trope is. But that’s not all, the way she dies is in poor taste too, she gets inured off-screen, spends like half the game in a coma, and then dies off-screen as well. What makes it worse, is that Isabel doesn't even get a proper sendoff to her arc and character. It literally just fades to black and you never see her again.
It fucking SUCKS because Alva is legitimately one of my favorite characters in the whole game. As a queer character, and even just a character in general, she is handled very well for the time she gets. Her interactions with Isabel are adorable and heart-warming, and she even acts like a mother figure for Sam (Which I guess makes it even more painful when she dies, and it works, but like… c’mon, you let JOHN live and not Alva?). You see the two conflicting forces at play here? To me, it sounds like there was some conflict during development with two very opposing viewpoints, and this is what they settled on. This whole scenario has me very mixed, if other characters had died and STAYED dead, I might not be as bothered by this. If we were actually shown how she dies, I might not be as bothered by this. And if she lived… well this wouldn’t even be an issue.
If I were to rewrite this whole shebackle, I would’ve gone about it in one of two ways.
1. Solomon, one of the (kinda) prominent villains in the game is shown injuring Alva before you fight him. (In the actual game, Solomon isn’t involved in the slightest, but you still fight him for some reason.) Then, towards the end of the game, after you’ve had your duel with Isabel, you’re shown a flashback of Alva’s final moments with her. Very touching, very heart-rending. Maybe you see Isabel kill herself after you leave, just so she can be with her. Or like, the implication of such so it doesn’t get too gruesome.
2. Starts the same as the first scenario, as I really enjoy the arc Isabel goes through, but instead at the end of the game, Alva is healed through whatever bullshit goes on with Charon. Maybe in exchange for Alva’s safety, she offers to be controlled by Mother so you still get your duel with her. Then at the end Alva could come in and bring her back to her senses… or something like that, I’unno. The Charon/Lab/Mother stuff is all super vague and I barely understand it. Point is, because it’s so vague, a scenario could’ve panned out like that and it still would’ve been believable.
Anyway that was just a long-winded way to say I don’t think Alva should’ve died, but if she were going to, there were ways to go about it that didn’t feel so empty and heartless. Who knows? Maybe iF JOHN WASN’T AROUND, THINGS WOULD’VE PANNED OUT DIFFERENTLY.
(SPOILERS END)
I think that pretty much wraps up my thoughts on Eastward. An otherwise great game marred by John. Definitely worth it if you can stand John though.
There is a lot to like about this game. There are also quite a few things to take issue with. I'm not sure how to feel on the overall experience.
Let's start with the good. First of all, the pixel art is PHENOMENAL. Hands down the best looking pixel art game I've ever played. Each character, even the unimportant NPCs all have their own unique animations. I can't imagine how fucking long that took. It adds so much to the characters.
Speaking of which, nearly every character you come across on your journey is great, actually introduced some new favs of mine, like Isabel and Alva. Isabel especially, she has a great arc. And then sam is just adorable, stealing the show for most of the adventure. She's great in every scene she shows up in. Her childlike wonder is infectious, and surprisingly doesn't come with the annoyances that usually accompany kids. She's all the good parts without any of the bad. Best character in the game. Not my favorite, but the best.
Sam is also the cornerstone of the whole plot. There's this entire mystery that surrounds her which keeps the story moving. It's clear she's not a normal kid... but then what is she? Very intriguing... although I'm not sure it was realized to its fullest potential. I'll cover that in the spoiler section.
The actual gameplay is pretty good too. I like swapping between John and Sam to solve puzzles or defeat enemies. Sam's ability to stun things is pretty fun to work with, albeit it does make most encounters ludicrously simple. Stun, smack with pan 6-7 times, dead. Boom, easy. Clearly, not the strong point of the game.
To help with combat, there's upgrades and cooking. Upgrades can be gotten after finding enough Gear Parts, which are scattered about the world. Adds an extra layer of exploration that I quite enjoyed. The upgrades themselves aren't terribly interesting, merely just "more damage" or "more storage" so that's something I felt could've been worked on. You may also find heart... orbs. I forget what they're called. Basically Heart Pieces, find four, get an extra heart. Easy peasy.
Food is also obtained as minor rewards, which in turn is used for cooking. Cooking's fine, it takes a little too long, and there isn't a whole lot of variety to it. Hell, I didn't even know you could add spices to it until I was an hour away from beating the game. I assume you're supposed to buy them, but I got through just fine with just energy drinks and whatever I found in chests.
(SPOILERS)
Alright. It's time for the bad. Let's start with the elephant in the room. John. From a gameplay perspective, John makes a lot of sense. He's your brawn, the other half of your puzzle solving duo, the... chef. (You can only cook with John in front, which is a little strange.) However, from a story perspective, John makes no godDAMN sense.
John is a silent protagonist, meaning he never talks. But the thing is, he doesn't even talk in-game. Characters literally point out how John never actually speaks. It's funny the first time, but after a while you're just like "please just talk". They don't even do a thing where they make the ending impactful by having him speak then. No, he doesn't say a single word the entire game. He doesn't even express EMOTION. He's just a solid brick wall you play as for some reason. Why do I play as him? I would MUCH rather play as Sam the entire time, she's clearly the main character. Let me play as her???
I get John's supposed to be Sam's parental figure throughout the story, but there's no fucking emotion there. There are two other characters who could've done that much better. William and Alva. William is just a nice, friendly dude who maybe isn't perfect, but he's still a nice guy. And Alva just jives with Sam so well. Alva gave her SHOES. Did John ever do that? NO. Fuck John.
At the end of the game, you're shown flashbacks of John's time with Sam. It's supposed to be really moving, but I felt nothing simply because John felt nothing.
Now, I don't hate silent protagonists. They can be done really well, a la Lea CrossCode, she actually emotes and has feelings. But generally, silent protagonists are simply inferior to ones that actually speak. John encompasses everything wrong with a silent protagonist.
There was a point early on in the story where I really thought John was going to die. That would've been really interesting. Advertise the whole game as making you think he's the main character, give him a whole bunch of slots for upgrades, then BAM. JK, he's dead. Here's Sam, go nuts with her bubble magic. Would've been a great way to progress the story. Give Sam some motivation instead of just kicking her out of the village. That's when you could've met William or Alva on the surface, and they could serve as your second character. But alas...
There's one small issue I have with the game around the midpoint. Right after the climax of the previous chapter, Sam, John, William, and Daniel head east towards Ester City. Before you get there however, there's this... weird fuckin' part where you get on this train called "Monkollywood". Basically an accurate portrayal of modern day Hollywood, filled with, you guessed it, monkeys.
It is by far the silliest portion of the game, and it does not need to be there. They KINDA justify it at the end, but it's really just filler. It's made worse by the fact that you go from the highest high of the game thus far, to... whatever the fuck this is. I'unno, it was a weird decision. I think I get why some people have gripes with Mother 3 now.
Now... those're really the only issues I have with Eastward. Granted, John is a BIG fuckin' issue, but y'know. However, there is one other thing I'd like to touch upon. There are three fake-out deaths in this game, and one real death, (at least in terms of important characters). John, who gets injured at the very beginning of the game. Daniel, who gets blown apart just before the final chapter. And Sam who… “sacrifices” herself at the very very end of the game. Now, I hate fake-out deaths, but there’s a bigger issue at play here. The only character who dies in this game is Alva, who, if you don’t know, is an explicitly gay character, (or at least wlw, I’unno, she could be bi or pan or something). Obviously that’s kind of an issue if you know how common that trope is. But that’s not all, the way she dies is in poor taste too, she gets inured off-screen, spends like half the game in a coma, and then dies off-screen as well. What makes it worse, is that Isabel doesn't even get a proper sendoff to her arc and character. It literally just fades to black and you never see her again.
It fucking SUCKS because Alva is legitimately one of my favorite characters in the whole game. As a queer character, and even just a character in general, she is handled very well for the time she gets. Her interactions with Isabel are adorable and heart-warming, and she even acts like a mother figure for Sam (Which I guess makes it even more painful when she dies, and it works, but like… c’mon, you let JOHN live and not Alva?). You see the two conflicting forces at play here? To me, it sounds like there was some conflict during development with two very opposing viewpoints, and this is what they settled on. This whole scenario has me very mixed, if other characters had died and STAYED dead, I might not be as bothered by this. If we were actually shown how she dies, I might not be as bothered by this. And if she lived… well this wouldn’t even be an issue.
If I were to rewrite this whole shebackle, I would’ve gone about it in one of two ways.
1. Solomon, one of the (kinda) prominent villains in the game is shown injuring Alva before you fight him. (In the actual game, Solomon isn’t involved in the slightest, but you still fight him for some reason.) Then, towards the end of the game, after you’ve had your duel with Isabel, you’re shown a flashback of Alva’s final moments with her. Very touching, very heart-rending. Maybe you see Isabel kill herself after you leave, just so she can be with her. Or like, the implication of such so it doesn’t get too gruesome.
2. Starts the same as the first scenario, as I really enjoy the arc Isabel goes through, but instead at the end of the game, Alva is healed through whatever bullshit goes on with Charon. Maybe in exchange for Alva’s safety, she offers to be controlled by Mother so you still get your duel with her. Then at the end Alva could come in and bring her back to her senses… or something like that, I’unno. The Charon/Lab/Mother stuff is all super vague and I barely understand it. Point is, because it’s so vague, a scenario could’ve panned out like that and it still would’ve been believable.
Anyway that was just a long-winded way to say I don’t think Alva should’ve died, but if she were going to, there were ways to go about it that didn’t feel so empty and heartless. Who knows? Maybe iF JOHN WASN’T AROUND, THINGS WOULD’VE PANNED OUT DIFFERENTLY.
(SPOILERS END)
I think that pretty much wraps up my thoughts on Eastward. An otherwise great game marred by John. Definitely worth it if you can stand John though.
An incredibly slow Zelda-esque game… once it actually allows you to play. A completely uninteresting story gets in the way of the game actually being a game. I found myself asking why I’m still pushing forwards when I’m just sat there waiting to actually play (after 6 hours of total play time).
Pretty and pretty boring 😴
This review contains spoilers
i waited. SO LONG. for this game to come out. i was so fucking excited. the game was amazing in its first half, i loved all the characters, i loved every single thing about it.
the last half of this game might be one of the most soul-crushing experiences i've ever had in a game. there's genuinely nothing good i can say about it.
so let's get into it.
in chapter 4, the main city the player takes residence in during 3/4 is attacked by the MIASMA, however you manage to fight it off. it comes back, and this time, isabel and alva are both injured (but mainly alva)
what follows is the dumbest plot decision in any game i've played. Alva's fate is thrown around so much, changing from "she's injured" to "she's dead" to "she's injured" again. Isabel, because there are apparently NO hospitals or healthcare in one of the FEW REMAINING CITIES decides to take her to THE EDGE OF THE FUCKING CONTINENT JUST TO GET HER BACK TO HEALTH. SPOILER ALERT SHE DIES ON THE WAY THERE.
i would go into the rest of the plot. how daniel and william's plot has the worst ending imaginable, how the Mother is not even slightly fleshed out enough or an interesting concept to begin with, how this game is honestly a fucking disgrace at "representation" when it treats its two lesbian characters so badly that one is left dead and the other is presumed dead (but they didn't care enough to follow up on what happens to her anyway so </3)
but i'm tired. i'm tired of talking about this game. i've explained to so many of my friends why I hate it. why it's the worst game I've ever played. so i don't fucking care to explain it again.
fuck Eastward.
the last half of this game might be one of the most soul-crushing experiences i've ever had in a game. there's genuinely nothing good i can say about it.
so let's get into it.
in chapter 4, the main city the player takes residence in during 3/4 is attacked by the MIASMA, however you manage to fight it off. it comes back, and this time, isabel and alva are both injured (but mainly alva)
what follows is the dumbest plot decision in any game i've played. Alva's fate is thrown around so much, changing from "she's injured" to "she's dead" to "she's injured" again. Isabel, because there are apparently NO hospitals or healthcare in one of the FEW REMAINING CITIES decides to take her to THE EDGE OF THE FUCKING CONTINENT JUST TO GET HER BACK TO HEALTH. SPOILER ALERT SHE DIES ON THE WAY THERE.
i would go into the rest of the plot. how daniel and william's plot has the worst ending imaginable, how the Mother is not even slightly fleshed out enough or an interesting concept to begin with, how this game is honestly a fucking disgrace at "representation" when it treats its two lesbian characters so badly that one is left dead and the other is presumed dead (but they didn't care enough to follow up on what happens to her anyway so </3)
but i'm tired. i'm tired of talking about this game. i've explained to so many of my friends why I hate it. why it's the worst game I've ever played. so i don't fucking care to explain it again.
fuck Eastward.
Eastward é um jogo 2D com uma Pixel Art incrível que conta a história de John, um minerador que é um cozinheiro habilidoso e cuja principal arma é uma frigideira, e Sam, uma menina fofinha com poderes cinéticos que John encontra e resgata enquanto explora uma mina. Ela estava "incubada" dentro de um trem, e parece que estavam fazendo experimentos com ela. O jogo tem diversas inspirações e referências, como Earthbound, Final Fantasy, Zelda Clássico e Zelda Snes/GBA. O combate principal e a exploração são inspirados em The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. O jogo apresenta um minigame chamado Earth Born, que é tão bem feito que poderia ser um jogo standalone. Nele, você joga com um protagonista chamado Hero, que precisa derrotar o Rei Demônio em sete dias antes que ele destrua o mundo. Earth Born faz diversas referências a Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy e ao Zeldinha Clássico.
A dificuldade do jogo base é seu ponto mais fraco, sendo muito fácil, especialmente se você usar e abusar do sistema de itens. Como John é um cozinheiro, é possível cozinhar usando materiais para recuperar sua vida ou ganhar buffs temporários. A arte do jogo é impressionante e muito bem detalhada, com expressões muito detalhadas dos personagens, especialmente Sam. Se você gosta dos filmes do STUDIO GHIBLI, certamente irá apreciar a arte deste jogo. A trilha sonora também é incrível, com destaque para a música tema do jogo, "Eastward", que transmite uma sensação de aventura épica e desafiadora. Outras músicas notáveis incluem "Go! Daniel!", que passa a sensação de "o que você aprontou agora?", e a minha favorita, a música de Sam, que transmite com perfeição a personalidade da personagem, uma criança ingênua, boa com todo mundo e muito curiosa. Terminei o jogo em 25 horas, ao longo de duas semanas. Recomendo fortemente o jogo, mas se você não tiver condições, sugiro que aguarde uma promoção. Há pouco tempo, o jogo estava com um desconto de 30% na steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/977880/Eastward/
OBS: Este jogo não tem tradução oficial. Usei a tradução do TraduçõesPKG.
https://pkgtraducoes.com.br/traducoes/
Aqui está o link para a minha thread no Twitter com alguns gameplays de Eastward:
https://twitter.com/evilbala/status/1649162915189075968
Porém, vale ressaltar que o link pode conter pequenos spoilers.
A dificuldade do jogo base é seu ponto mais fraco, sendo muito fácil, especialmente se você usar e abusar do sistema de itens. Como John é um cozinheiro, é possível cozinhar usando materiais para recuperar sua vida ou ganhar buffs temporários. A arte do jogo é impressionante e muito bem detalhada, com expressões muito detalhadas dos personagens, especialmente Sam. Se você gosta dos filmes do STUDIO GHIBLI, certamente irá apreciar a arte deste jogo. A trilha sonora também é incrível, com destaque para a música tema do jogo, "Eastward", que transmite uma sensação de aventura épica e desafiadora. Outras músicas notáveis incluem "Go! Daniel!", que passa a sensação de "o que você aprontou agora?", e a minha favorita, a música de Sam, que transmite com perfeição a personalidade da personagem, uma criança ingênua, boa com todo mundo e muito curiosa. Terminei o jogo em 25 horas, ao longo de duas semanas. Recomendo fortemente o jogo, mas se você não tiver condições, sugiro que aguarde uma promoção. Há pouco tempo, o jogo estava com um desconto de 30% na steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/977880/Eastward/
OBS: Este jogo não tem tradução oficial. Usei a tradução do TraduçõesPKG.
https://pkgtraducoes.com.br/traducoes/
Aqui está o link para a minha thread no Twitter com alguns gameplays de Eastward:
https://twitter.com/evilbala/status/1649162915189075968
Porém, vale ressaltar que o link pode conter pequenos spoilers.
Pls I don't want to read anymore, let me play the game.
I hate to abandon games, especially this one but...
I so badly wanted to love this game. The art style, the humor and the gameplay all seemed perfect to me. This game looked like it was made for me. I first played this towards the end of last year and for the most part I was enjoying it but then I played it more..
As I write this review I have 17 hours into it. In the nicest way possible this game is SO boring... (storywise). My favorite parts about this game is exploring, the combat and the puzzles. I could literally care less about the story unfortunately. I didn't see this game as anything longer than like.. 8 hours, and me being at 17 hours and barely being halfway.. this game is a slog. It has too much for what it is. Filler areas that the game can do without, all these characters and such that don't give an emotional pull.. Thank god that this game has a fast forward button and you can pretty much skip all dialogue. It's unfortunate because this game is absolutely beautiful, stunning even, but lacks in so many ways. When it comes to music, it's terrible and very annoying. I swear there's like only 4 songs and they play over and over and over to where I had to eventually play the game on mute. The music just fills me with rage I don't know why LOL.
Also.. this game kinda runs bad. I don't know if me playing on switch has anything to do with it but the game stutters from time to time and there's input lag..? You'll be walking around and the game skips like a scratched dvd or something, it's weird.
The pluses about this game are the bosses, they're actually a challenge and it's rewarding when you defeat them. The pixel art is gorgeous, very reminiscent of the Mother series and I love that. Anything other than combat/artstyle is really a hit or miss with this game AND there's dlc that I'm not gonna check out even though it's just like a farming sim? I don't know..
I don't find myself picking this game back up because I genuinely was not having fun, it feels like a huge chore to get through which is not what I was expecting. Not the worst, it's just so mediocre that even ragging on this game makes me feel bad.
I so badly wanted to love this game. The art style, the humor and the gameplay all seemed perfect to me. This game looked like it was made for me. I first played this towards the end of last year and for the most part I was enjoying it but then I played it more..
As I write this review I have 17 hours into it. In the nicest way possible this game is SO boring... (storywise). My favorite parts about this game is exploring, the combat and the puzzles. I could literally care less about the story unfortunately. I didn't see this game as anything longer than like.. 8 hours, and me being at 17 hours and barely being halfway.. this game is a slog. It has too much for what it is. Filler areas that the game can do without, all these characters and such that don't give an emotional pull.. Thank god that this game has a fast forward button and you can pretty much skip all dialogue. It's unfortunate because this game is absolutely beautiful, stunning even, but lacks in so many ways. When it comes to music, it's terrible and very annoying. I swear there's like only 4 songs and they play over and over and over to where I had to eventually play the game on mute. The music just fills me with rage I don't know why LOL.
Also.. this game kinda runs bad. I don't know if me playing on switch has anything to do with it but the game stutters from time to time and there's input lag..? You'll be walking around and the game skips like a scratched dvd or something, it's weird.
The pluses about this game are the bosses, they're actually a challenge and it's rewarding when you defeat them. The pixel art is gorgeous, very reminiscent of the Mother series and I love that. Anything other than combat/artstyle is really a hit or miss with this game AND there's dlc that I'm not gonna check out even though it's just like a farming sim? I don't know..
I don't find myself picking this game back up because I genuinely was not having fun, it feels like a huge chore to get through which is not what I was expecting. Not the worst, it's just so mediocre that even ragging on this game makes me feel bad.
Scoring 0/5 on my “one star means it’s stuff worth it” method, eastward is upsetting.
It’s beautiful!
The character designs are charming!
The music is a constant rotation of bops!
The gameplay, when you get to, ya know, play it, is fun!
Unfortunately every single time you get into the groove it SCREECHES to a halt for several minutes of inane dialog. It’s no epic tale, no real story so much. Just blah blah blah.
I really wanted to like this one but I just cannot be bothered to try to stick around.
It’s beautiful!
The character designs are charming!
The music is a constant rotation of bops!
The gameplay, when you get to, ya know, play it, is fun!
Unfortunately every single time you get into the groove it SCREECHES to a halt for several minutes of inane dialog. It’s no epic tale, no real story so much. Just blah blah blah.
I really wanted to like this one but I just cannot be bothered to try to stick around.
With its beautiful art style and its enjoyable combat system I really liked Eastward. The characters were likeable and the world was cool. I did feel like the game went on a bit longer than it needed to be but otherwise I really liked this one!
This review contains spoilers
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.
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.
This zelda-like started super strong with great presentation and unique characters but throughout the half point the pacing starts to drag and the story becomes nonsensical with some clear plot holes and questions that never get answered.
Adding to that, there are some weird difficulty spikes throughout the game that almost made me drop the game several times before powering through them. The game was almost on track to become great but it sadly falls short.
Adding to that, there are some weird difficulty spikes throughout the game that almost made me drop the game several times before powering through them. The game was almost on track to become great but it sadly falls short.
Maybe it's my fault that my expectations were too high but beside the art which is amazing everything else is just a mixed bag
Bloated experience with fantastic art, music, and animation. The dialogue is usually well written, but the story was a major letdown. Intentionally vague story about some god or other. Inspired by Earthbound of course, a superior game.
The combat was fun for a bit, but wore thin. Some cool boss battles. Kinda challenging at points.
One amazing surprise was one of the best minigames I’ve ever played: a turn based rpg with beautiful pixel art.
The combat was fun for a bit, but wore thin. Some cool boss battles. Kinda challenging at points.
One amazing surprise was one of the best minigames I’ve ever played: a turn based rpg with beautiful pixel art.
extremely underrated masterpiece. 2021's goty for me. voted for this game in almost every single category on steam's goty award.
the graphics and visuals are un-fucking-believable, if i open up the game now, ill be flabbergasted, even if i've already played 40 hours of it.
The OST, too, is fucking PERFECT, you have perfectly writed songs for EVERY situation in the game.
I CAN NOT express enough, how good the artistic side of this game is.
the gameplay is simple, but it works wonders and it's simply fun, without unnecessary video-game-complexity. reminded me of old zelda games.
The story is really good, it isn't any MGS tho, it's like an old japanese anime or movie. It's kinda dark, silly, and keeps you entertained through the whole game. A good father-"daughter" relationship, as well as a dark mystery.
I should say tho, it isn't perfect, obivously. Sometimes, the pacing of the game gets completely fucked up because of some situation in the story that should be a side-quest or something. You are right at one of the climaxes of the story, and suddenly, you have to cook to some mafia mob??? what the fuck??? i know that they put that in the game so you could appreciate the little moments, but still... it should be a sidequest.
writing this while listening to the game's ost made me remember how good this shit was. from the bottom of my heart, a masterpiece.
literally everyone should at least give it a try, SPECIALLY folks who likes indie/old games and japanese things.
the graphics and visuals are un-fucking-believable, if i open up the game now, ill be flabbergasted, even if i've already played 40 hours of it.
The OST, too, is fucking PERFECT, you have perfectly writed songs for EVERY situation in the game.
I CAN NOT express enough, how good the artistic side of this game is.
the gameplay is simple, but it works wonders and it's simply fun, without unnecessary video-game-complexity. reminded me of old zelda games.
The story is really good, it isn't any MGS tho, it's like an old japanese anime or movie. It's kinda dark, silly, and keeps you entertained through the whole game. A good father-"daughter" relationship, as well as a dark mystery.
I should say tho, it isn't perfect, obivously. Sometimes, the pacing of the game gets completely fucked up because of some situation in the story that should be a side-quest or something. You are right at one of the climaxes of the story, and suddenly, you have to cook to some mafia mob??? what the fuck??? i know that they put that in the game so you could appreciate the little moments, but still... it should be a sidequest.
writing this while listening to the game's ost made me remember how good this shit was. from the bottom of my heart, a masterpiece.
literally everyone should at least give it a try, SPECIALLY folks who likes indie/old games and japanese things.
Great pixel graphics plus a soundtrack that’s charming and genuinely catchy go a long way, but this ultimately needs an editor to chop it down by at least half. The writing just isn’t good enough for there to be so much of it, sort of like a 700 page book that could have been great if only it were 300 pages instead. The plot is ambitious and odd, which was exciting for a while, but it just kept going without going anywhere particularly interesting, and then it decided to make me slog through not one but two different tedious Groundhog Day time loops in the final third when the story should have been accelerating to a finale instead. The combat and puzzle-y dungeon gameplay are similarly plagued by just not being deep enough to avoid becoming tedious well before it passes the twenty hour mark.
This might have been a really great 10 hour game, though, and still might be if you can make yourself stop after chapter 5 (of 8ish total).
This might have been a really great 10 hour game, though, and still might be if you can make yourself stop after chapter 5 (of 8ish total).
Eastward is a good game that falters in a few key moments- but lets be real your main reason to play this game is because you saw the beautiful sprite work and wanted to join in on a beautiful world. That's what I wanted out of this game and that's what I got, the locations are beautiful, the characters are spectacularly animated giving them tons of life- visually this game is oozing with charm, and the music adds to it well.
The combat is simply enough, it's a top down zelda so its relatively solid- for some reason I enjoy this style of gameplay more when its not a zelda game but that's not really here nor there. I think they did a good job with having interesting boss fights where you always kind of know what to do but its still different and unique each time- coupled with that great animation and sprite work and most big fights feel dramatic.
Where Eastward fumbles is in various parts of the narrative, which isn't a bad story in the slightest but every so often it relies on telling us over showing us, and then sometimes refusing to show us leaving the player confused on exactly what's going on. Its not as big of a deal at the start of the game when you're still being capture by the mystery but as you get to the back half of the game you find you're not certain what fate felled characters that are the driving force of the story. By the time you get to the end of Eastward's journey it starts to answer questions... but the answers it gives you are ones you've been able to deduce and the questions you STILL have go unanswered which takes away from the experience.
a story doesn't need to answer every question but it needs to answer more than Eastward did- if it had answered more clearly about the miasma the subject matter that went with it I would be able to accept the ending events of the game better, because I had more closure for other parts of the story- having unanswered questions followed up by an extremely open ending is what creates some dissatisfaction in me, as I don't feel accomplished in more aspects of the narrative.
That said maybe there's stuff I missed that would explain more, I can't claim to say that I've seen every inch of this game- No I spent more time cooking because I loved the cute little animation that made me feel like I was making a meal for my child. And honestly all I need out of a game is a dad and their child so i was fulfilled in that aspect from the start.
The combat is simply enough, it's a top down zelda so its relatively solid- for some reason I enjoy this style of gameplay more when its not a zelda game but that's not really here nor there. I think they did a good job with having interesting boss fights where you always kind of know what to do but its still different and unique each time- coupled with that great animation and sprite work and most big fights feel dramatic.
Where Eastward fumbles is in various parts of the narrative, which isn't a bad story in the slightest but every so often it relies on telling us over showing us, and then sometimes refusing to show us leaving the player confused on exactly what's going on. Its not as big of a deal at the start of the game when you're still being capture by the mystery but as you get to the back half of the game you find you're not certain what fate felled characters that are the driving force of the story. By the time you get to the end of Eastward's journey it starts to answer questions... but the answers it gives you are ones you've been able to deduce and the questions you STILL have go unanswered which takes away from the experience.
a story doesn't need to answer every question but it needs to answer more than Eastward did- if it had answered more clearly about the miasma the subject matter that went with it I would be able to accept the ending events of the game better, because I had more closure for other parts of the story- having unanswered questions followed up by an extremely open ending is what creates some dissatisfaction in me, as I don't feel accomplished in more aspects of the narrative.
That said maybe there's stuff I missed that would explain more, I can't claim to say that I've seen every inch of this game- No I spent more time cooking because I loved the cute little animation that made me feel like I was making a meal for my child. And honestly all I need out of a game is a dad and their child so i was fulfilled in that aspect from the start.
I was convinced I knew what this game was by the 20 hour mark, even with the erratic pacing, then it suddenly takes a very weird turn and had me feeling like I'd missed hours of events and story all through to the credits rolling.
I'm sitting here in a B&B at 1am feeling pretty deflated because it's left me with more questions than I thought I'd be holding. I really loved these characters, and there is no sense of payoff for most of them.
I don't know what else to say. I'm not sad, just kinda annoyed. Clearly the devs were going for something different to what I expected, which would be fine if that was a realisation I had in the first few hours, but for it to only hit in the last quarter of the game is disappointing shit. Some of the lushest pixel art I've ever seen, mind you.
I wish it had hit me like it did others, but it veers off the tracks too often for stuff that feels pointless. There's a lot of love and heart in here, but for me the foundations slowly crumble beneath that, and it never makes it to the station.
I'm sitting here in a B&B at 1am feeling pretty deflated because it's left me with more questions than I thought I'd be holding. I really loved these characters, and there is no sense of payoff for most of them.
I don't know what else to say. I'm not sad, just kinda annoyed. Clearly the devs were going for something different to what I expected, which would be fine if that was a realisation I had in the first few hours, but for it to only hit in the last quarter of the game is disappointing shit. Some of the lushest pixel art I've ever seen, mind you.
I wish it had hit me like it did others, but it veers off the tracks too often for stuff that feels pointless. There's a lot of love and heart in here, but for me the foundations slowly crumble beneath that, and it never makes it to the station.
Absolutely lovely. Story leaves something to be desired in places, and some character models and characterization lean a little too heavily on caricature and stereotype at times, but the vibes are immaculate.
The dungeons and puzzle design are fun, if short and few, the main characters are charming, the art is gorgeous, and the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in my life.
The warmest, most inviting game I've played in some time.
The dungeons and puzzle design are fun, if short and few, the main characters are charming, the art is gorgeous, and the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in my life.
The warmest, most inviting game I've played in some time.
there's something great in here being smothered in its crib by story and dialogue. there's like 4 games worth of story in here and i'm not even finished. you just can't get into a flow with the repeated lengthy exposition dumps. it's really beautiful though
Eastward é lindo. Uma pixel art incrível com bons personagens e uma história interessante. Combate é bem simples, do inicio ao fim, mesmo quando temos novas ferramentas o combate do jogo continua bem simples com um ou outro inimigo mais chato. Puzzles bem legais, nada muito complexo, mas são bem interessantes.
O ponto negativo é a quantidade de vez que o jogo poderia ser mais direto e ele faz o jogador andar em círculos para resolver alguma quest. Tem alguns lugares que isso é bem frequente e parece que o intuito foi de inflar o jogo.
O ponto negativo é a quantidade de vez que o jogo poderia ser mais direto e ele faz o jogador andar em círculos para resolver alguma quest. Tem alguns lugares que isso é bem frequente e parece que o intuito foi de inflar o jogo.
3 years from now someone, somewhere on youtube is going to release a video essay about this game and title video is gonna be call something like, "Eastward, a flawed masterpiece"
RPG with slow and nonsense story, good graphics, good animations, good color palettes.
El juego es muy bueno y el pixel art es precioso.
El gran problema del juego es que dura demasiado para lo que es la historia haciendo que puedan llegar a ser tediosas algunas partes.
Es un juego que disfrute gran parte, pero veo poco probable que lo juegue denuevo.
El gran problema del juego es que dura demasiado para lo que es la historia haciendo que puedan llegar a ser tediosas algunas partes.
Es un juego que disfrute gran parte, pero veo poco probable que lo juegue denuevo.
Lots of ambition and promise that mostly lands or pays off. The game feels let down by its combat, should have been turn based imo
Played up until the last part of the game… then dropped it. Don’t know why. It was your fun and charming and the pixel art is AMAZING! Character were charming and I really wanted to learn more about them and the world. Oh well maybe I’ll return to it someday.
At times I was enthralled with Eastward, but it's just too slow, too overwritten, and overall lacks enough compelling gameplay ideas to keep my attention after nearly 25 hours in with what seems like many more to go. I want to finish it but the game simply isn't giving me enough motivation to do so.
Calling this game gorgeous, charming, emotional and funny is not enough. People I know did not like the fact that gaming site called this "Mother-like", but what they don't understand that this game is not trying to be Mother: is made by people that loved the series (and Mother 3 especially), but also other games, and tried to make their own game from the passion that they had for this title. Inspiration is way different from copying guys, and if you play the game you feel it.
Some people I know also told me that it is boring, slow to set in motion. I can promise you, if you think it is boring at the beginning, it will always be boring for you. This game takes it time, wants to tell a story, wants you to read its dialogues. AND THEN also do really cool dungeons and fight bosses like I have not see for a long time in games like Zelda.
Finally, the art. EVERY character, every character is charming, with a little animation made only for him. There are people you don't even need to talk with that will be more interesting to look and talk to than the average "Nintendo seal of Quality" game. I'm serious, I can remember more characters from this game than from the last Zelda (and I loved the last Zelda).
So, yeah, try it. The only problem I had were with SOME fights in which it was hard to not smash the buttons in order to try to survive. But overall a great game!
Some people I know also told me that it is boring, slow to set in motion. I can promise you, if you think it is boring at the beginning, it will always be boring for you. This game takes it time, wants to tell a story, wants you to read its dialogues. AND THEN also do really cool dungeons and fight bosses like I have not see for a long time in games like Zelda.
Finally, the art. EVERY character, every character is charming, with a little animation made only for him. There are people you don't even need to talk with that will be more interesting to look and talk to than the average "Nintendo seal of Quality" game. I'm serious, I can remember more characters from this game than from the last Zelda (and I loved the last Zelda).
So, yeah, try it. The only problem I had were with SOME fights in which it was hard to not smash the buttons in order to try to survive. But overall a great game!
Sam e John, uma dupla maravilhosa.
Eastward é um jogo incrível, gameplay, historia, personagens, musica e arte incrível.
Mas ele tem muitos puzzles, e alguns bosses, principalmente na parte final, pode te fazer passar raiva, mas num geral, é um jogo incrível e que merece sua atenção.
Eastward é um jogo incrível, gameplay, historia, personagens, musica e arte incrível.
Mas ele tem muitos puzzles, e alguns bosses, principalmente na parte final, pode te fazer passar raiva, mas num geral, é um jogo incrível e que merece sua atenção.
Eastward feels like a natural, smooth step up from Mother 3, (although a small step down in a slightly more simplified story and focused, uh, focus,) a perfect blend of more mature references and modern gameplay applying. It hits a number of similar beats, having a very familiar Chapter structure, and deals with its themes and characters both seriously and humorously, switching/blending easily.
Combat is simple while still having room for variation in playstyle, ammo rarely being a problem. The inspirations are clear and references hit nicely, feeling well-integrated and never taking you out of it. Puzzles and exploration are smart and exciting, secret passages and stray chests abound! Lighting and sound design are of special note, 3D rumble does some really subtle things with heartbeats pumping and train tracks clacking along...
It isn't perfect, a few little loose ends stay that way, a couple beats can be confusing, the combat stays simple and clean, but has no room for much personality or improvisation. But pretty much all of these things are negligible, barely affecting the strength of the experience.
The depth, feel, character and score create an incredible world teetering on the brink, a real place with people I learned to care about...
Well done PixPil, what a fantastic experience, and only your first game as well! An excellent addition to the Motherlike genre!
Combat is simple while still having room for variation in playstyle, ammo rarely being a problem. The inspirations are clear and references hit nicely, feeling well-integrated and never taking you out of it. Puzzles and exploration are smart and exciting, secret passages and stray chests abound! Lighting and sound design are of special note, 3D rumble does some really subtle things with heartbeats pumping and train tracks clacking along...
It isn't perfect, a few little loose ends stay that way, a couple beats can be confusing, the combat stays simple and clean, but has no room for much personality or improvisation. But pretty much all of these things are negligible, barely affecting the strength of the experience.
The depth, feel, character and score create an incredible world teetering on the brink, a real place with people I learned to care about...
Well done PixPil, what a fantastic experience, and only your first game as well! An excellent addition to the Motherlike genre!
Completed with all achievements unlocked except for Earth Born "new game+". Eastward is a 2D action RPG, somewhat styled on the classic Legend of Zelda games and Earthbound. Heavily story-driven, the game follows a pair a protagonists - John, a seemingly mute miner, and the young girl Sam - as they travel eastward, to escape and eventually confront a spreading miasma that's devastating the world. Gameplay is divided between towns where the story plays out and 'dungeon' areas focused on puzzle-solving and combat, and overall it's quite a gentle experience, with only rare occasions of significant challenge - arguably to the game's detriment overall, as some greater complexity to the dungeons would have been nice to see. Alongside this, the story segments take quite some time in character development for the core cast, which is a mixed blessing - this allows a real sense of investment in each of them, but means that the game can become really quite slow at times, with lengthy, uninterrupted story sequences. That story can at times also be quite difficult to follow properly and a fair few aspects aren't fully explained even by the end of the game.
More praiseworthy are the game's graphics, a definite standout feature as these are genuinely stunning, with incredibly detailed, beautiful pixelart throughout - even in seemingly unimportant areas of the game's world. This strong presentation is backed up by a nicely catchy soundtrack, with recurring motifs alongside fitting variety to suit each area that John and Sam travel to. Further demonstration of the impressive attention to detail can be seen from a few supplementary systems that feature throughout - particularly so a cooking mechanic used to produce healing meals and a fully-built roguelike take on the classic Dragon Quest games, available as a diversion within each town.
More praiseworthy are the game's graphics, a definite standout feature as these are genuinely stunning, with incredibly detailed, beautiful pixelart throughout - even in seemingly unimportant areas of the game's world. This strong presentation is backed up by a nicely catchy soundtrack, with recurring motifs alongside fitting variety to suit each area that John and Sam travel to. Further demonstration of the impressive attention to detail can be seen from a few supplementary systems that feature throughout - particularly so a cooking mechanic used to produce healing meals and a fully-built roguelike take on the classic Dragon Quest games, available as a diversion within each town.