It's a loving rendition of a world that's somewhere between a Studio Ghibli film and a classic JRPG – Castle in the Sky meets EarthBound. I loved details like laundry on lines between buildings, boats overturned and made into houses, and countryside in the distance from train windows. Much of it is alive with little animations like running water, glinting metal, or spinning fans. The vibrant pixel art landscapes are so creative and so packed with detail that I often found myself stopping to just look at a city street or a new railway station. The vibrant pixel art landscapes are so creative and so packed with detail that I often found myself stopping to just look.Įastward's real draw is its world. There's also a pretty detailed roguelite JRPG game-within-the-game, called Earth Born, to play – and it was fun enough that I spent about six additional hours on it. In fact, Eastward's overall story is good enough that I've judiciously avoided spoilers in this review, to the point of being overly vague in some spots, but trust me, that’s for your benefit. It took me a few more than 30 hours to beat the main quest, but I know there are secrets to explore and little NPC storylines I skipped over that are worth going back for. John does most of the fighting via simple but satisfying hack-and-slash action, but Sam's powers – like freezing enemies inside big psychic bubbles – are useful for fights and vital for puzzles. The trek to the east is pretty linear, but the areas you explore are laid out like little dungeons, with curling paths to find your way through as you battle goofy monsters and solve simple puzzles. Baseball, river rafting, slot machines, and ever-present cooking. There are a lot – a lot – of silly little minigames along the way. Along the way you play through discrete story chapters and explore the stories of the people you meet. I loved switching between the two as they travel through a cute but dangerous apocalyptic world of small towns and dam-cities. They set off from their home under dubious circumstances, and, eventually, find their way. They're lovable characters with a bushel of personality and a kind of timeless appeal. Our headliners are John – a silent protagonist wreathed in messy hair and a bushy beard – and Sam, an outrageously precocious girl with budding psychic powers and a penchant for getting the two into trouble. Even where the story dragged for a time, or the simplicity of the challenges felt patronizing, the parts of Eastward that spoke to me more than made up for them. John and Sam's triumphs and mistakes take place in a charming pixel-art landscape that's rich with lovely characters and intimately designed places. With all the stylings of a retro JRPG, you might expect Eastward to play like one, but this chill action-adventure is more Zelda than Dragon Quest. Frying pan and psychic powers at the ready, they might stumble into saving the world as they explore it. A man and his adopted daughter find their way through a whimsical, post-apocalyptic landscape.
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