Eastward Critic Reviews

Match all of the above with a mesmerizing soundtrack of hummable motifs, from cheerily playful ditties to dramatic dirges, and everything in between, and Eastward distinguishes itself handily within its heavily populated genre. While it's not without its shortcomings - in particular, a bit less variety in combat and puzzles than the genre often typifies - where it shines, it does so brightly. For RPG fans, Eastward is the real deal, and it’s an unmissable and impressive feat of indie design that deserves plenty of recognition amongst a sea of bigger releases in 2021.

The storytelling, art and music masterfully connect to create a real sense of the world that the Eastward characters inhabit.

Eastward will fulfill any action-adventure needs that have been missing in your life. The character writing is fantastic and enhances the more emotional moments as the killer Miasma rears its ugly head. This game is an investment, but you’ll be left with a genuinely standout gaming experience full of action, exploration, memorable characters, and a fantastic final chapter. So do yourself a favor and play Eastward.

Eastward leans on fantasy to flavor its story, without forgetting about its core, real-world values. Its fluid, well-paced progression, and control movements thankfully allow you to explore and admire the view before continuing because Eastward is all about the journey despite its fascinating destination.

Eastward feels comfortably familiar and strikingly fresh all at once, remixing the best elements of classic RPGs to produce something bold, brilliant, and altogether new.

All of that said, denouncing Eastward’s strengths and successes for any of the above would be disingenuous. It is a remarkable game that, while retro in ambition, will paradoxically go on to inspire the drive and uniqueness of future projects. It is clever, vibrant, and unapologetically original, and unless some magnificent twist of fate occurs over the next three months, it will undoubtedly go down as one of the best games of the year.

Eastward is an exceptional adventure game that does just about anything it does, and manages to hold its boat with a masterful hand in the 20 hours it takes to finish it.

A true Masterpiece. That's the word that comes after having accomplished this trip in the company of John and Sam. Varied level design, fascinating story, funny and endearing characters, fantastic visual and audio… Eastward has it all. Much more than a pale copy of its illustrious models, Pixpil's neo-retro game ticks all the right boxes to establish itself as a pure 2D action-adventure gem.

Eastward is not just the dazzling debut title of a very small development studio in Shanghai, just as it is not just a video game that closely resembles the best 2D Zelda in history. Don't call it Zelda-like: not because it's not a formally correct definition but because Pixpil's creature wants to be something more than the classic declaration of love to a title from the past. Eastward is one of the brightest examples of what are the true qualities of independent development: a real pearl that deserves to be discovered, perfectly capable of carving out its space in the niche of instant videogame cult. It is certainly one of the most surprising and impactful experiences of recent years, one of those titles capable of pointing the way to those who will come later.

Eastward pays homage to all things loved about SNES-era gaming, looking and feeling like the games of our childhood locked deep within our hearts. At times, I wondered if the experience would be enhanced playing Eastward sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a giant CRT television, tethered way to close to the screen by a wired controller. For gamers of a certain age, Eastward feels an awful lot like home, and one I didn’t realize I missed so dearly.

A wonderful homage to classic RPG gaming that takes classic concepts and polishes them up with a level of care that is rare to find.

With Eastward, Pixpil succeeds in extracting the essence of the Mother games and transposing it into a Zelda-like game that highlights the complementarity between Sam and John, a particularly endearing duo. A real success, absolutely beautiful and endowed with a unique, bewitching and carefully written universe, that we recommend you to explore urgently.

Eastward is an audio-visual masterpiece and a true indie gem in the action adventure genre, and even though it possesses relatively simple gameplay and puzzles, it oozes with great moments, beautiful world and heartwarming story with some of the most distinct and original characters in a while.

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.

Eastward is a satisfying Zelda clone, with a beautiful pixel art and a compelling story.

While the combat isn’t anything special and the puzzles wear out their welcome, Eastward’s characters, setting, and sounds craft an unforgettable experience. If you’re looking for something quirky, captivating, and somewhat surreal, you’ve found it.

Eastward is a beautiful travel with stunning 2D visuals, nice ideas and a good story that will stay with us for a long time.

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.

Eastward is a charming game, with the simplicity and "naivety" of JRPGs, but with its own unique personality.

Eastward might fumble the ending, but that doesn't stop it from delivering a fantastic journey.