Eastward Reviews
Eastward is the epitome of a role-playing game that pays homage to retro classics. Not only does it boast gorgeously drawn pixel art and an addicting soundtrack, but it also features a thought-provoking narrative and a world that will have you thinking about it long after you've finished the game.
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
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
An atmospheric adventure with a beautiful world and great characters who carry the game over some long-winded passages.
Review in German | 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.
She has an immediate chemistry with Eastward's cavalcade of supporting characters, which are numerous and varied in their importance. I wish the game paid more mind to letting her character breathe, and allowing her to engage with the plot on her own terms. Instead, I'm left feeling like Eastward is a bunch of beautiful puzzle pieces that fail to come together.
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
Look at “Eastward” as a love letter to EarthBound, Zelda and Japanese RPGs. You can tell a lot of love was poured into this game and years of work. But the game’s art, music and format all work in service of a story that doesn’t actually say much. “Eastward” just doesn’t connect those last few dots.
There’s no denying that the team over at Chucklefish pulled off Eastward’s art direction quite well with the game’s bizarre and retro elements. Eastward is for people who want to bring back their gaming nostalgia in the 80s and 90s era. At the same time, this game also captures an audience who prefer this kind of great storytelling without choking your machine’s specs.
It's a good game that takes inspiration from places you might not expect. For its specific blend of genres and its low price point, you can't do much better.
Whether you do or don’t recognize these callbacks, though, Eastward feels like a game charting its own course. Rather than the bucolic paradises of Studio Ghibli movies or the sword-swinging fantasy fare of Dragon Quest, the dominant aesthetic of the game is a sort of cutesy calamity. The apocalypse it depicts through gorgeous pixel-art graphics is vibrant, warm, and almost hospitable.
For me, this marks a 10 out of 10; it checks off everything that should work in a game, and to an excellent standard. Eastward is made with love and care, and it definitely shows with a perfect final package. I wouldn’t change a thing.
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.
For as gorgeous as Eastward‘s graphics are, and as endearing as some of its characters become, and as much as I need its soundtrack on vinyl as soon as possible, it also falls short in some ways that leave its conclusion feeling a bit off. It’s one of the more promising debuts I’ve seen, and Pixpil has ensured I’ll be incredibly interested in whatever they do next. Eastward is something a fan of pixel art and good music, with a weakness for video game nostalgia, deserves to check out. It’s just also a journey that left me wanting a little more.
Worth playing for the atmosphere even though its pace and plot are uneven.
An old-school mix of adventure and RPG in the immortal pixel-art 2D style. Only that compared to similar titles, Eastward can pull in completely providing great fun for more than a few evenings.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Overly beautiful graphics, overly long dialogues.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
It’s impressive that something as charming, gorgeous, and lovingly constructed as Eastward even exists; at least when it has the good grace to stop talking for a second.
Eastward wouldn’t be this frustrating if it didn’t get so much right when the narrative stays on target. There are numerous moments here that are truly alive to the strangeness of this world that might have truly inspired our awe, even our empathy for the characters, if we weren’t also being saddled with the frustration of wondering when the game is going to get on with the program. The payoff for the player’s patience isn’t without its power, but it’s also a bit of a missed opportunity. There are riches aplenty scattered across its protracted campaign, but you may remember Eastward most for its disrespect for the player’s time.
Eastward is a remarkable achievement in a number of ways. Those for whom the world, story and characters really click will likely regard it as a minor masterpiece. A more general audience can revel in the visuals and music, and also get a lot out of the combat, exploration and puzzles, but may find the game frustratingly talky and slow-moving. Ultimately, it is the prospect of the game’s script that will help players determine if a trip Eastward is one worth taking.