
While the combat isn’t anything special and the puzzles wear out their welcome, Eastward’s characters, setting, and sounds craft an unforgettable experience. While I’d love to elaborate more on this world, the less you know about Eastward going in, the more you’ll get out of exploring this enchanting landscape. Some of the coziness seeps into the gameplay with the cooking mechanic, where you can craft some amazing meals that provide potent buffs to help take on the more challenging bosses. These cozy lore elements probably would have worked with any art style, but Eastward’s combination of spectacular music and pixelated look creates an atmosphere that proves you don’t need 4K resolution and ray-tracing to make something magical. I can’t remember the last time I did that in an RPG, and it’s a testament to what a fine world Pixpil has created. The locations and characters that fill these environments are memorable, and I wanted to thoroughly explore the town to make sure I talked to every single NPC. At times, you also unravel other threads that have you exploring the world of organized crime, concepts of time travel, the pleasures of simple farm life, and making movies with a decidedly unusual crew. This journey across the world has you escaping an encroaching and deadly miasma. Refreshingly, Eastward goes in a bizarre and quirky direction and took me on a ride where I never knew exactly where things were headed. Many game worlds are crafted around archetypal building blocks that draw upon established fantasy, sci-fi, and other well-traveled ground. Eastward builds a world that feels real, heartfelt, and intriguing. Surprisingly, Eastward does not live and die by its combat or puzzles. Overall, controlling John and Sam both in and out of combat feels alright, but there are only a few truly interesting boss encounters and puzzles, and those are primarily found in the late game. Most of these puzzles are simple to figure out, but a few involve enemies that attack your characters while they are defenseless (forcing you to swap control between them) or involve time trials that overstay their welcome late in the game. Many dungeons include puzzle segments where the player must control the characters separately, moving them around to interact with the environment to get past elevators, overgrowth, and a multitude of other obstacles. The combat remains simplistic throughout the game and isn’t really satisfying. Sam can manipulate the world with energy blasts, and she gains even more powerful energy attacks that must be charged up before unleashing them throughout the journey. John takes care of the rough fighting at first and uses ranged weapons and a few types of bombs to break walls and take on bosses. Playable in English, French, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German and Spanish.The tale starts simply, with a frying pan weapon to swing furtively about, a Zelda-like structure of acquiring heart containers, finding keys to make your way through dungeons, and swapping between characters on the fly to solve puzzles and handle fights. These delicacies will grant health bonuses, power boosts and secret boons. Create deliciously authentic Eastwardian cuisine using (mostly) fresh, organic ingredients from toxic forests, infested mines and abandoned malls.Get to know a quirky cast of characters with oodles of personality, as you immerse yourself in this heartwarming story-driven adventure, packed with fun and wacky humour.Switch between controlling John and Sam to solve environmental puzzles and fight your way through formidable dungeons, separating to unlock hidden paths or sticking together as you traverse a perilous landscape.Fend off peculiar monsters and ferocious bosses with your weapon of choice - be it a gun, flamethrower or your trusty ol’ frying pan.


Jump aboard the cross-country railway which spans this decaying continent, stopping off to explore its bustling towns, curious campsites and shady forests. Discover the wonderfully weird world of Eastward.Can you uncover the truth behind Sam’s mystic powers and bring back harmony to Eastward’s ravaged lands? Escape the tyrannical clutches of a subterranean society and join Eastward’s unlikely duo on an exciting adventure to the land above! Discover beautiful yet bizarre settlements and make new friends as you travel across the world by rail.Ĭombine John and Sam’s skills to solve dungeon puzzles, take down unusual enemies, and survive the deadly miasma.
