Relatively early on John attracts an admirer called Uva, and the romance element is sudden and simplistic, with a group of grannies who meddle in it, each one needing to have their own 'bit' as part of the comedy.

Plus, getting to really know certain characters only for them to never be mentioned again means it becomes hard to feel attached to anyone. It feels like being hit with a constant wall of chatter where it's hard to tell what's important, because everything is given equal weight. The downside is that when everyone in the room is weird and kooky, no one really stands out. Bear in mind that It's quite a long game, so strap in for quite the journey if you do pick it up.Įastward is out now on Nintendo Switch and PC.ĭisclaimer: Tested on Nintendo Switch, with a copy of the game provided by the publisher.Eastward is brimming with unique characters, and even NPCs who are just going about their days get to shine. The whole game is presented with such charm and personality that I was easily able to overlook its one or two little shortcomings.

The game has a beautiful simplicity to it that's calming. Watch the video but all in all, Eastward is just a cozy game that helped me relax and did not once produce a stressful moment. If you're looking for a cozy game akin to classics like the 2D Zelda games, Earthbound and Dragon Quest then this is definitely the game for you, and I'm sure you'll fall in love with the main characters John and Sam, and get a few laughs out of the quirky NPC Dialog. In the video above it's all aboard the hype train as I give you 5 reasons why you need to play Eastward.įrom the chroma tint to complement the modern pixel art style to the eargasmic synthwave soundtrack, Eastward is just dripping in style. I have a lot of time for indie games these days, especially ones as well executed as this.

Steam eastward