Eastward Game Review: Is It Worth Picking Up?

Eastward is a 2D action-adventure RPG developed by Pixpil and published by Chucklefish. Set in a post-apocalyptic world and taking clear inspiration from the Legend of Zelda games, Eastward follows surrogate father-daughter duo John and Sam as they escape a life underground to discover what destiny holds for them. This Eastward game reviewer opines that the pacing of the game is easily its weakest point and can put many players off initially. However, the game eventually rewards you for giving it a chance as Eastward gradually reveals its charm through its wonderful world-building, gorgeous graphics and impressive soundtrack.

Eastward Game Review: Really Humble Beginnings

We start in the underground town of Potcrock Isle. Humanity above-ground has been nearly wiped out by a plague called “MIASMA”. You control John, a miner who has adopted a white-haired girl named Sam. The Eastward game opening sequence (which is stunningly good) shows that John discovered Sam while above ground, and that there is a lot more to her than meets the eye.

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It Feels Like We’ve Done This Before

The beginning of the game is easily the weakest part of the game. It feels like a bog-standard opening, slowly introducing familiar characters and basic mechanics like attacking and using bombs. The game feels outdated compared to modern RPGs like Deltarune which have found more inventive ways to onboard players.

The beginning is also very dialogue-heavy, with most of the townspeople giving you exposition. The option to fast-forward helps, but it doesn’t fix dialogue that often feels dull and lacking wit.

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We’ve DEFINITELY Done This Before

Furthermore, the amount of backtracking you do throughout Potcrock in the first hour or so is just too much. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were more things to do in the town. Unfortunately, there is very little to do besides following the objective marker from one place to the next. Overall, the beginning is dull as dishwater, although it may be intentional to increase the allure of the surface world.

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Joel and Ellie – I mean John and Sam

I would like to take some time to talk about John and Sam, the main protagonists of Eastward. They appear to share characteristics with The Last of Us’ Joel and Ellie, sporting a similar father-daughter dynamic. While John mirrors Joel’s gruff, reserved nature, their relationship starts off much closer, with a quirky side.

I have yet to complete the game, but I’m not quite sure what I think of John’s characterisation. Keeping John mute seems intended to help players project onto him. However, his animations clash with the stoic image he’s meant to convey. Introducing this later could have better shown Sam’s influence, making his character development feel more deliberate.

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Leaving Potcrock: Eastward’s Comeback

Once we start leaving Potcrock Isle, however, Eastward starts taking things into stride. It loses the handholding and drops you into its puzzles with nothing but a pan and some bombs to solve. This is a welcome change from the on-rails approach in Potcrock Isle, and I felt a lot more satisfied accomplishing the puzzles once I got into the habit of experimenting around.

The number of different ways to use these two mechanics in combination with each other for puzzles is quite commendable. Knocking bombs around with your pan to either open up pathways or blow up vacuum vents is a simple yet enjoyable experience. The game also doesn’t overuse a single mechanic (at least, not yet) and keeps progressing on at a steady pace.

Having played Animal Well recently, I must say that Eastward doesn’t have any comparatively groundbreaking ideas. However, it does the basics quite well and creates a familiar experience for those acquainted with RPGs.

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If You Do Things Right, Nobody Will Know You’ve Done Anything

The game also teaches you how to beat its puzzles without explicitly telling you. The Sandrupe golf minigame teaches you to move objects with your pan. This skill can be used multiple times later to solve different puzzles, encouraging the player to experiment.

Another good example are the Snapping Weeds, which you also encounter after leaving Potcrock Isle. These enemies are stationary but grow back after killing them, forcing you to run past them after they are disabled. During their first encounter, the player naturally notices that the Snapping Weed behind them has regrown. This gives players time to realize these enemies respawn and that they should run before the Snapping Weed returns.

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Leaving Potcrock Cont.: Beautifully 16-Bit

Another thing you notice when you leave Potcrock Isle is that the world becomes a lot more beautiful. The use of sunlight peeking through cracks in the ceiling, in particular, to signify the allure of the outside world is done quite well and contrasted against the dim but warm lamplight employed everywhere else.

Art design was clearly a core point for the development team. Once you reach the surface, the spritework just looks so crisp and alive that you want to keep going through the game to see what other designs they’ve come up with. The game reuses assets a little too frequently, so entering a new area can feel disappointing when it looks mostly the same.

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Despite this, Eastward‘s art direction is definitely one of the main selling points that sets it apart from other titles in the genre. Citing the Kowloon Walled City as an inspiration, Hong Moran and the design team nailed the density, contrast and motion of contemporary functionalist architecture commonly seen in Chinese cities like Hong Kong.

Yet, while games such as Katana Zero or Cyberpunk 2077 utilise these themes to convey a dark and imposing atmosphere, Eastward employs them to create an impression that is both homely and alive. The background junk doesn’t clutter the world—it shows people repurposing scraps, turning scarcity into resilience and ingenuity.

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Pulling You Back In With Music

One thing I did not expect to pull me back into the game after getting bored with the beginning was giving the soundtrack a try. The game really scores highly in the music department with a combination of chiptune, synth, cyberpunk and traditional instruments. In particular, the opening theme Eastward feels really fun and colours a lot of personality into the world.

It also does its quiet themes very well – Indoor, Life In A Pot and Ni Hao are perfect for the game’s slower slice-of-life moments with their Nintendo DSi-esque compositions. On the other hand, Rust is an awesome boss track that feels at home for something hardcore like Hotline Miami, yet works surprisingly well with Eastward‘s aesthetic. If you have the time, you should check out the full playlist on Spotify here.

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Eastward Game Review Conclusion: Is It Worth It?

It’s hard to say if Eastward will be up your alley. It doesn’t do anything particularly new, nor does it excel in the basics. The pacing is a pretty big turn-off and I find myself audibly groaning every time the marker sends me back to Potcrock Isle. However, the game has surprised me pleasantly quite a few times and, if you’re willing to give it a chance, there is a lot to discover inside Eastward. The graphics are great, the music is banging, and there are some pretty engaging gameplay segments to enjoy. As for the story, I will have to post another article reviewing it once I fully beat the game, so stay tuned for that.

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