Eastward

Eastward is a great time capsule that very authentically follows the mechanics and style that were present in the games from the 90's. Maybe even too much because some mechanics have remained in the past for a reason.

Eastward is pretty and at first glance seems to have everything a good RPG needs, but its boring story and drawn-out conversations between clichéd characters made it harder to enjoy. [12/2021, p.58]

What starts as a great journey, reminiscence of some great 16bit games of the 90s, ends up severely slowing down its rhythm and pace thus losing its chance to shine.

Eastward contains phenomenal art and colorful writing, yet the plot meanders breezily from moment to moment with little care for pacing and an unoriginal core storyline. Factor in average combat and puzzle-solving and a couple bugs that should be addressed, and Eastward is not quite as fun to play as it could be. That being said, a lot of people are going to fall completely in love with it anyway for the things it does right, and you might be one of them.

Eastward absolutely radiates heart, which is why it is tough to be hard on it. So many little things, from random sprite movements, to the cooking, or RPG mini-game, are charming, yet, the core element of the game - the story - takes far, far too long for any payoff. Instead, it drones on and on in meaninglessness that torpedoes the pacing of the game. While the action and exploration are interesting, it's slowed down too much by banality.

The game’s aesthetic is wondrous, but you may remember Eastward most for its disrespect for the player’s time.

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.

The 2D visuals are absolutely stunning, but the simplistic action and pretentious storytelling undermine what could have been a true neo-retro classic.