Eastward

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 105 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 105
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 105
  3. Negative: 24 out of 105

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  1. Nashty208
    Nov 30, 2021
    1
    Felt like it would have be a good game, but it doesn't let you do anything creative. Follow story, go to next town, get more hearts, next town, more hearts. Long dialogue, slow pacing. Beautiful artwork and characters. I quit after 3rd town. Based on reviews it gets even slower. It could have been something, but it is not.
  2. giyaced686
    Sep 22, 2021
    0
    You have to praise the art and music in Eastward, if nothing else because there's nothing else to praise. But even the art and music get repetitive at a certain point, and that certain point is very early on in the game. What really kills any chance of Eastward being worth the player's time is a combination of flat, longwinded writing and gameplay so stale that there's nothing for the artYou have to praise the art and music in Eastward, if nothing else because there's nothing else to praise. But even the art and music get repetitive at a certain point, and that certain point is very early on in the game. What really kills any chance of Eastward being worth the player's time is a combination of flat, longwinded writing and gameplay so stale that there's nothing for the art and music to elevate. Honestly, I would love for someone who knows how to make a game to take the visuals and music in Eastward and make something playable out of it. At the moment, that's all there is. Music and art. There's no game.… Expand
  3. habened198
    Sep 20, 2021
    0
    Eastward is barely a game. It looks and sounds pretty but there is almost no gameplay and everything - EVERYTHING - happens so slowly and in such a laboriously boring manner that the nice visuals (and they are nice) can't even come close to salvaging the game overall. Eastward isn't just retro with its slow, plodding, dull, boring, time-consuming gameplay. Even retro games respected theEastward is barely a game. It looks and sounds pretty but there is almost no gameplay and everything - EVERYTHING - happens so slowly and in such a laboriously boring manner that the nice visuals (and they are nice) can't even come close to salvaging the game overall. Eastward isn't just retro with its slow, plodding, dull, boring, time-consuming gameplay. Even retro games respected the player's time and attention to some degree! I truly cannot stress enough how little of a game there is underneath Eastward's initially-flashy visuals. It's as deep as a dry puddle. Which robs even its better qualities of any impact. Yeah, it's pretty to look at - until you spend way too much time in an area with nothing to do. Its characters seem interesting - until it turns out they have nothing at all interesting to say or do. Flat writing is a real problem in this game. But the realest problem that actually puts this game in the ground is the gameplay. There's hardly any of it, yet it still takes a ton of time, and every last moment of it feels worse than if it was released 10 years ago for $0.… Expand
  4. webeda2748
    Sep 29, 2021
    0
    Painstakingly slow. Interminably long text crawls with no personality or wit. Little to do and what there is to do is duller than watching paint try. Lingering scenes that weren't worth starting in the first place. Hand holding through gameplay sequences that would have been woefully outdated 20 years ago. Each character has one personality trait which never grows, changes, or deepens atPainstakingly slow. Interminably long text crawls with no personality or wit. Little to do and what there is to do is duller than watching paint try. Lingering scenes that weren't worth starting in the first place. Hand holding through gameplay sequences that would have been woefully outdated 20 years ago. Each character has one personality trait which never grows, changes, or deepens at any point in the game.… Expand
  5. NFTLINS
    Sep 30, 2021
    0
    The story has a lot of problems and It was very frustrating... I just left the game.
  6. yitix43447
    Sep 28, 2021
    0
    Let's go from worst to best: the gameplay in Eastward is bad beyond belief; at no point does it contribute anything to the overall experience and every single moment of gameplay is an unsatisfying, clunky, ill-considered and poorly-designed waste of the player's time. Similarly, the dialogue is bland, basic, and takes a verrrrrry long time to get where it's going. The mindset behind theLet's go from worst to best: the gameplay in Eastward is bad beyond belief; at no point does it contribute anything to the overall experience and every single moment of gameplay is an unsatisfying, clunky, ill-considered and poorly-designed waste of the player's time. Similarly, the dialogue is bland, basic, and takes a verrrrrry long time to get where it's going. The mindset behind the writing seems to be "never use one word if twenty will do." The art is nice to look at but there is no depth to the locations, individuals, and overall world. With no gameplay to enable a greater engagement with and appreciation for the world, each level is a pretty basic piece of static pixel art that gives the player nothing after the initial cursory glance, while still demanding that the player trudge through each level time after time after time, wearing out what little welcome it might have received. Finally, the music. The music in Eastward is really nice. But if Eastward were an album, no-one would listen to it. The music in a video game, ideally, elevates the experience of every other part of the game. And every other part of Eastward really truly sucks. This is what happens when someone wants to make a beautiful game but at no point ever gets around to making the game part of the game.… Expand
  7. cociv28082
    Sep 29, 2021
    0
    Shallow, uneven, unrewarding, unimaginative, and by-the-numbers (except where a by-the-numbers approach would have benefited the player experience). The writing and character work is lazy and stereotype-heavy and never rises above the level of 'placeholder characters in a placeholder story'. The gameplay feels like an afterthought; something the developers slapped on the game in the lastShallow, uneven, unrewarding, unimaginative, and by-the-numbers (except where a by-the-numbers approach would have benefited the player experience). The writing and character work is lazy and stereotype-heavy and never rises above the level of 'placeholder characters in a placeholder story'. The gameplay feels like an afterthought; something the developers slapped on the game in the last few hours before release. The art would almost be interesting to look at, except there's nothing interesting to do, no-one interesting to interact with, and so every map area is ultimately just a still image. In that regard, Eastward is about as entertaining as scrolling through a Google image search of "moody pixel art." Finally, the music: it's pretty nice. It'd be nice music for a nice game. As it stands, it's like a nice salad dressing poured over a bowl of gravel.… Expand
  8. pahoxa
    Oct 13, 2021
    0
    Beyond the gorgeous anime-inspired opening sequence Eastward is shockingly devoid of personality. It might be the worst-paced game I've ever played.
  9. Sin2222
    Sep 27, 2021
    0
    The story of an adventure in an apocalyptic world, with the focus being put on the development of relations between two usually opposing type of characters, is again a well-worn cliche, an old formula that has been adopted in many other games and movies. However, developers of this game made a huge mistake by throwing away the consistency of the narrative in the process in a failed attemptThe story of an adventure in an apocalyptic world, with the focus being put on the development of relations between two usually opposing type of characters, is again a well-worn cliche, an old formula that has been adopted in many other games and movies. However, developers of this game made a huge mistake by throwing away the consistency of the narrative in the process in a failed attempt for try to “stand out” from other titles that shares with it a common theme. The end result, is something that is deliberately and unnecessarily deep and dark for the sake of deep and dark. As for the gameplay, in my opinion, it is only mediocre to say the best.… Expand
  10. Fanterrs
    Sep 19, 2021
    4
    Really really disappointed there is no way to go back to previous zones to get the chests you miss, literally missing several achievements.
  11. krutoj
    Dec 12, 2022
    0
    This game is really beautiful and in the beginning it develops an interesting kind of charme. But the gameplay completely destroys it. Especially when the time based trial and error stuff in chapter 2 starts. Unfortunately this game is just style over substance.
  12. ronadi7368
    Nov 2, 2021
    2
    It's hard to overstate just how underwhelming Eastward truly is. If you've never read a story, seen pixel art, or played a video game, maybe there is something in here for you. If not, prepare to be disappointed.
  13. Mandulum
    Oct 13, 2022
    4
    I was excited to play Eastward. It looked gorgeous. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is boring. After 7 hours it has lost my interested. The combat is rather repetitive and the story is moving at a snails pace.

    Date Dropped: 2022-10-12
    Playtime: 7h
    Enjoyment: 4/10
    Recommendation: Nah
  14. hamik17594
    Nov 9, 2021
    2
    Every time Eastward has the opportunity to do something interesting, it will instead do something boring and predictable - and it will do it at half the slowest speed you could possibly imagine tolerating.
  15. j4ck_fl4sh_3k
    Jun 22, 2023
    3
    I'd have loved to enjoyed this game, but it was so "story and dialogue heavy" at the top that I couldn't progress. Its an issue that I have with most modern games, namely they want to tell a story rather then giving an experience.

    I cannot stand needing to sit thru bad comedy and over winded text bases speeches, every game I play now seems to have me put the gamepad on my knees for the    I'd have loved to enjoyed this game, but it was so "story and dialogue heavy" at the top that I couldn't progress. Its an issue that I have with most modern games, namely they want to tell a story rather then giving an experience.

    I cannot stand needing to sit thru bad comedy and over winded text bases speeches, every game I play now seems to have me put the gamepad on my knees for the first 30% of the game.

    Graphics look good.    … Expand
  16. Ivan97
    Dec 14, 2021
    3
    Noioso e inutile, un walking simulator, delusione del 2021, mi aspettavo di meglio per il suo bellissimo art style

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2021
54
#54 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Gamersky
    Dec 2, 2021
    85
    Excellent pixel art, profound plot and deep story background, as well as the complementation of puzzle solving and combat, make Eastward an excellent work worth experiencing.
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  2. IGN Japan
    Nov 16, 2021
    70
    Eastward’s action and puzzles play things a bit too much by the book, the plot and storytelling don’t really come together, and the dialogue lacks wit. But even with so many negative aspects, the top-notch pixel art is true craftsmanship. These wonderful graphics were enough for me to push through, and perhaps you will too.
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  3. Checkpoint Gaming
    Oct 29, 2021
    90
    Eastward is truly a gem of the pixel adventure-RPG genre. It is plain as day that Pixpil poured their affections for this genre into making this game. They’ve provided fluid and expressive animation rarely seen in pixel games, lively characters, quirky writing, and catchy chiptune soundtracks. It is visually enticing from the beginning and will continue to keep you hooked until you are satisfied with unravelling its narrative. Eastward has easily taken its place as my favourite game of this year. I highly encourage lovers of pixel JRPGs to try this game out for yourselves. John and Sam will cook you up a satisfying adventure you will want to devour whole.
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