![]() ![]() It is the third area that John and Sam escape to after evading The Miasma in the forest town of Greenburg. This might come later, but initially a lot of it is left for the player to imagine.New Dam City is a bustling urban-scape filled with merchant shops, food vendors and even a casino run by gangsters. Perhaps she’ll turn out to have world-saving super powers - let’s see! So far, not everything has been explained in the story, such as how the apocalypse happened, or what the characters’ deeper motivations are. The game seems to hint at a deeper mythology - for example the title screen shows (what I think is) a stylised version of Sam resembling some kind of Mayan god. I’m certainly curious as there’s a lot of promise for a bigger story, and a bigger world ahead, so I’m holding out for that. Hopefully the stakes will be raised soon, but initially it’s mainly curiosity that’s driving me to continue playing. This is where yet another Stardew Valley comparison comes in - despite the post-apocalyptic setting the story is very pleasant, so there’s an odd tonal contrast. The stakes seem perpetually low.Įven though John and Sam have left their long-time underground homes behind and are exploring the surface for the first time, they’re just kind of wandering, helping out people they meet, taking odd jobs. They’re just bumbling from one accidental situation to the next. There’s no real ‘life or death’ motivation for the characters to move forward. Bear in mind, I’m only around 5 hours into the game, so things might change, but so far the story is a little… meandering. So while everything is rosy so far, this does bring me to my first gripe with Eastward. Source: Author It’s not all perfect in Eastward There’s love interests too (again, a Stardew Valley comparison), a flamboyant side-character who joins the duo after escaping from a prison together, and every town seems to have an oddball mayor.Ĭaptured From Eastward. The NPCs are delightful too, each with their own stories and personality. Certainly, the surface is post-apocalyptic, but it’s not a wasteland there’s forests and flowers and villages. The pair start out living in an underground town that’s somewhat of a hideout from an apocalypse on the surface and, after several missions getting to know the townsfolk, they venture to the surface only to discover it’s not as bad as they imagined. John’s basically her de facto father figure. EASTWARD REVIEW IGN FULLAs a character, Sam exudes cuteness she’s small, brave, smart, mischievous, and full of enthusiasm. ![]() And, like Last of Us, somebody you have to rescue on occasion.Ĭertainly the one thing Eastward exudes is charm. I’m sure her powers will come in handy more often later in the game, but at the moment she’s very much a support character. John is the base character who handles melee and ranged attacks, while Sam is all about magic she has a ranged lightning bolt which stuns enemies and causes obstacles to shrivel up. Each character has unique abilities, so you’ll be swapping characters to get past obstacles and solve puzzles. The controller triggers are assigned for switching and this makes it very fluid. The gameplay starts to get more interesting when it splits your actions between John and Sam, and you have to juggle between them. I’m definitely getting some Metal Slug vibes from the enemy design. The boss designs are interesting too, lots of variations on the giant underground cyborg crab motif. The boss fights have tended to be more pattern based you memorise the movement pattern and strike at the right time. I’m 5 hours in, and have just been handed a pistol which I’m looking forward to using. EASTWARD REVIEW IGN PLUSThe first five hours you’ll have nothing but a saucepan to work with for melee combat but on the plus side, it does have a satisfying whack to it. Source: Author Gameplay and combat design There’s a compelling sense of mystery lurking underneath Eastward’s opening three hours, and it’s certainly grabbed my attention.Ĭaptured From Eastward. I’ve been compelled to play on because I want to see how it all unfolds, and how the dynamic between the two unusual lead characters plays out. Now this is definitely not a bad thing the story is unique and charming. It’s all about story, and I wasn’t expecting it to be so narratively driven instead I was hoping for a more open-world design, with quests and chests and loot-based gameplay.Įastward certainly masquerades as a top-down 2D RPG, and while it has elements of that, so far it’s turning out to be more of a linear adventure. I keep expecting Eastward to settle into a routine gameplay loop that hooks me in and triggers that dopamine surge that so many RPGs offer. Surprising because it’s completely subverted my expectations. The first word that springs to mind with Eastward is surprising. ![]()
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