Eastward Reviews
Eastward pays homage to all things loved about SNES-era gaming, looking and feeling like the games of our childhood locked deep within our hearts. At times, I wondered if the experience would be enhanced playing Eastward sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a giant CRT television, tethered way to close to the screen by a wired controller. For gamers of a certain age, Eastward feels an awful lot like home, and one I didn’t realize I missed so dearly.
Eastward is a gorgeous looking adventure game that features a great mechanic of synergy-building between characters during fights and puzzle-solving, and a welcoming combat system. Its level design is mostly simple, but the settings look so beautiful it's worth just to marvel at the art style. While there are some performance issues on a television screen when there's a lot of characters on display at the same time and there's a lot of backtracking involved, Eastward is a very interesting and captivating experience for anyone looking for a good adventure game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Eastward is a game of adventure and action combined with puzzles, in the purest 'The Legend of Zelda' style, set in a near future where society is beginning to collapse.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The game’s outer shell, the visuals and audio that still tantalize me at first (and second, and third) glance, are really incredible. Beneath the exterior, however, there is only a game that barely manages to surpass my notions of mediocrity. I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.
Eastward invites us to go on a unique and beautiful journey. The biggest highlight is the setting: the locations are fascinating and full of unusual and charismatic characters. The stunning pixel art look and attention to detail bring the world to life, making it very immersive. As an adventure, the game offers snippets of exploration punctuated by puzzles and combats in which we alternate between two protagonists to advance. The dungeons are nice, but the simplicity and repetition of the mechanics makes them uncomfortable after a while. The real focus is on narrative with numerous non-interactive scenes and a story full of mysteries. Unfortunately, the balance is not good, resulting in too many drawn-out moments and dialogues that barely develop the plot. Even so, Eastward manages to transport us to a peculiar universe with its exceptional setting. The game is far from perfect and may require insistence for some players, but it is still a unique and immersive experience to some extent.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Eastward is a spectacular adventure well worth the wait. Hell, my complaints are all subjective, so they, to most, won’t even apply. That’s a testament to how mechanically sound it is. I enjoyed every second of it.
Eastward is generally a no-fault title. It is beautiful, it is very careful, and it oozes love and know-how everywhere. Only the language barrier should prevent you from playing it, because it is plain and simple fantastic.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Eastward takes you on a journey that gives you a fantastic story, great pixel art visuals, magnificent music and a classic RPG gameplay that although it takes hours upon hours to reach the its finish line, you will be having so much fun that you'll never feel tired and want to keep going forever.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Eastward is a great game. It’s beautiful, it’s a story well-told, and it’s very fun to play. But for me, the entire experience was tainted by what I quickly and inescapably perceived as racist and sexually exploitative depictions, which is just such a monumental shame of a thing to tarnish an otherwise incredible experience. I mean, this game has an entire virtual RPG video game built into it that you can play. But I simply can’t rate this experience highly with how tarnished my view of it all is. I love playing it, I recommend playing it, but I also insist you judge for yourself these character depictions and whether they meet the standards we should expect from games.
Eastward will fulfill any action-adventure needs that have been missing in your life. The character writing is fantastic and enhances the more emotional moments as the killer Miasma rears its ugly head. This game is an investment, but you’ll be left with a genuinely standout gaming experience full of action, exploration, memorable characters, and a fantastic final chapter. So do yourself a favor and play Eastward.
This is an impossible game to rate on a numbered scale. The score below ultimately reflects an arbitrary placement, one that makes the game seem merely middling when it’s really like a full-course meal that was delicious but an absolute pain to work through. Eastward is far from the YIIK class of terrible “Earthboundlike” games, and certainly deserves more attention than that mess. If you have a lot of patience, this is an easy recommendation. And if you have none, I would stay far away. I’m not sure if I’ll ever head Eastward again, but the journey will always remain fresh in my mind.
All the pieces are here for an engaging JRPG with real-time dungeon action, but weak writing and repetitive gameplay drag down what could have been an excellent game. If the aesthetic doesn't speak to the depths of your soul, you're better off skipping this one.
Simultaneously a throwback and a breath of something new, Eastward is a magic trick of blending familiarity with novelty and grim apocalyptic sci-fi with wide-eyed fantasy. In the future, if there's any justice, we'll be referring to similarly spirited and stylish games as "Eastward-like."
A post-apocalyptic action-adventure framed as a train journey through a cute heartfelt story of discovery, loyalty, and the bonds we form with others, Eastward shines like a diamond on the Switch. It’s wholesome, it's original, it's quirky, and it's full of that special ingredient that turns a little indie into a must-play. Eastward's graphics, narrative, and characters draw you in almost effortlessly and keep a tight hold until this train has come to a complete stop.