I once again had an opportunity to play a game via Switch Online's Game Trials. What was in store for me this time around? BACKGROUND:
I vaguely recall seeing this game at one of those Nintendo indie game presentations, but I didn't remember anything else about it other than the name and the art style. I came in with pretty much zero idea of what to expect as a result. PLOT: The world of Eastward is a post-apocalypse where a phenomenon called the Miasma blankets the surface and has nearly wiped out humanity. The surviving humans have either fled underground or have made makeshift settlements on the surface, while the remnants of civilization have been overrun by the return of nature. Our story begins in Potcrock Isle, one such underground settlement where the people have been taught to fear the surface. One of its residents is a digger named John, who has taken in a young girl named Sam (whom he stumbled upon one fateful day at work). They seemed content with their life underground until a series of events persuade Sam to seek out the surface. She is adamant that the world aboveground is not the desolate wasteland Potcrock Isle's residents have been led to believe, and that belief leads to her and John's banishment from the town. John and Sam are sent to die on the surface, but as it turns out, Sam was right, and the world is mostly lovely. Sam and John's adventures take them through different settlements on the surface, where they meet all sorts of wonderful people and try to get used to their new life. It seems like everything's going great until reality sets in, and it's revealed that the threat of the Miasma is still present. Once it's established that the world isn't as safe as it first appeared, the duo works together with other characters in an effort to figure out how to stave off disaster in their new home. There are more than a few twists and turns that take the story and its world in a surreal direction, revealing some dark truths about how everything ended up the way it did. Admittedly, not all of these reveals stick the landing for me since the story doesn't take its time to explore these threads in a way that personally satisfies me, but for the most part, I enjoyed learning about the bleak underbelly that hid beneath the hopeful facade of a world that's rebuilding itself after such a devastating calamity. I liked that the first half of the story was simply John and Sam finding a new life together, so I was worried that the charm of that would disappear once they kick off the whole big adventure where a lot of things are at stake. What I appreciated when the story does switch gears is how that adventure kicks off by making John and Sam's motivations more personal than simply going "we have to save the world." While the pacing suffers at points by doing this, the game takes its time to let you get to know the people John and Sam interact with, and I think that's one of the story's strongest points. Many of the NPCs are memorable in some way, be it through their quirks or with how fleshed out they are. Some of the more prominent supporting characters have compelling arcs or backstories, and even minor NPCs get to stand out in brief moments. This reminded me a lot of Earthbound, which had a lot of NPCs that, even with just one line of dialogue, end up leaving a lasting impression in some way. Games with NPCs like that make going up to each and every one to see what they say worth every second. Of course, the stars of the show are John and Sam. Sadly, John is a silent protagonist, but the way other characters interact with him (especially Sam) ends up giving him a sort of character regardless. Normally, this sort of approach can be a hit-or-miss on whether or not I end up becoming invested in the protagonist, but what elevates John for me despite his lack of words is Sam's complete adoration of her father figure. The way Sam would talk to John or speak of him did more than enough to sell me on the notion that he's the best guardian Sam could ever ask for, and I'll always have a soft spot for loving father figures in any story. After spending an entire campaign with her, I think I can say that Sam is probably up there as one of my favorite video game characters ever. Her positivity and sense of childlike wonder are infectious, and it was an absolute delight to play a game where such a character is front and center. I truly enjoyed her interactions with the game's cast, from her always speaking highly of the people who she sees as cool or kind, showing her own kind nature (whether by showing concern, taking initiative to help, or standing up for others), getting excited over pretty much anything interesting, or even saying silly things because she's just a kid who doesn't know a lot yet. If I ever change my mind and end up having children, she is the daughter I can only hope I can raise. That is how much I liked Sam as a character. PRESENTATION: While the game goes old school and opts to use classic pixel art for its visuals, the execution is incredible. The sprites are impressively detailed, boast such fluid animations, and the game is chock-full of memorable character designs and striking environments that take full advantage of this aesthetic. Highly detailed locales like New Dam City are a showcase of how intricate the pixel art can go, and the animations go a long way to give characters even more personality than they already had. The music is lovely as well, with a lot of cheery, melodic tunes to go along with you exploring the wide world of Eastward. While some tracks do have that retro chiptune flavor to them, most of the soundtrack has a more modern feel to me. GAMEPLAY: Eastward plays quite close to classic 2D Zelda games at first glance, where you explore the world from a top-down perspective, go through the equivalent of dungeons, fight enemies and bosses with mostly basic combat, and solve puzzles to move forward and uncover secrets. There are plenty of things that set it apart, though, and we'll get into that. As opposed to one huge, seamless world, Eastward is structured such that you focus your exploration on one of a bunch of separate, but still decently large areas in each story chapter. On one hand, it makes trying to check out every nook and cranny less stressful since you don't have to navigate a massive map, but on the other hand, this structure heavily preyed on my "avoid the main path at all costs" habit. Normally, that doesn't cause any problems, but the fact that you can miss optional collectibles and such just by progressing the story is its own brand of stress. If it's any consolation, there is a chapter select, but it's unlocked when you beat the game for the first time. Each of these areas feels truly distinct from the last both in terms of their overall aesthetic and vibe as well as what they have to offer in terms of lore and gameplay. You get mostly unique enemies per area, each area introduces a new key item that adds to both combat and puzzles, and very few NPCs make an appearance outside their home zone. All that combined with the fact that you can't revisit areas once you progress the story encouraged me to take my time and fully explore everything before I move on, and I mostly found that endeavor worthwhile. The first thing that makes Eastward stand out in terms of its gameplay is how you control two characters Donkey Kong Country-style. At first, you only play as John, but after a short while, you can also play as Sam. For most of the game, you're able to switch between which one is in control (the other character just follows along automatically), and there are plenty of moments that make fun use of this mechanic. John is your main guy when it comes to combat. His first weapon is a frying pan, which is your standard melee attack (with a powerful charge move), but he also unlocks ranged weapons like a gun, a flamethrower, and what I can only describe as a buzzsaw launcher. These alternate weapons give you options to deal with enemies that you can't easily approach, but they all use the ammo resource that you'll have to refill with drops or a consumable. The ranged weapons are also used in puzzles, though it's mostly some variation of "hit a faraway switch." The only one with a specialized purpose is the flamethrower (it burns bramble away), and I kind of wish the other weapons had niches like that to give them more utility. Outside of that, these weapons do a mighty fine job of wrecking enemies from afar, and each one has its advantages in combat (e.g. flamethrower is good for racking up damage, while the saw shooter's projectiles can ricochet off walls). As John, you also have access to bombs. They can be used in the usual ways (damage enemies, break walls), but the game has a fun mechanic where you can use the frying pan's charge move to whack bombs across gaps. There are also multiple bomb types, including a floating bomb that homes in on targets, and a remote bomb that you can detonate manually. Like the ranged weapons, the bombs are used in puzzles, which is neat. Sam can't hurt enemies (save for very specific exceptions), but that doesn't mean she's useless. Her main ability is shooting energy bubbles, which are tied to a meter that recharges over time. For the most part, this is used to activate special switches and interactables in the environment (like warp points and moving platforms), but if you hit enemies with it, they are stunned for a brief period. You can take advantage of this and swap to John when you stun an enemy so you can clobber it for free. Sam can also charge her shot to extend the bubble's range or keep enemies under for longer, and you can even take advantage of the bubble's boomerang effect for some trick shots. Sam also has access to special skills that are tied to a separate special meter (charged by whacking breakable objects and killing enemies) like an area-of-effect stun, a barrier that negates damage for a short time, and health regeneration. I found myself wishing there were more abilities than just this (I feel like Sam could do a lot more than just stun enemies), and I'm not sure having two of these abilities be completely optional is the best approach since players may end up skipping them entirely. The most fun puzzles in the game involve alternating control between John and Sam to navigate a room. There are points where the two must separate to interact with objects only one of them can interact with, like crawlspaces only Sam can go into, or John pushing heavy objects across a room. I was fully engaged with the puzzles that made the most of this mechanic, and I enjoyed the journey of figuring out how to get John or Sam where they need to go by making use of the other character's abilities. Most of the enemies aren't too troublesome, as they really only have one or two behaviors to watch out for. Once you figure that out, you can play around it and kick its ass with the handful of tools at your disposal. Bosses are mostly straightforward, too, but with tougher attack patterns and gimmicks you have to play around. Overall, combat isn't that complex, but it's still fun to stun-lock an enemy with Sam's bubbles and bludgeon them to death with a frying pan. Perhaps the only other thing I found notable with combat is how the last couple of boss fights have you parry the bosses with the frying pan. That would have been fun as a full mechanic. Also, you can deflect certain projectiles with the pan, but this mostly used in puzzles (if it's used at all). As you explore the world, you'll pick up salt, which is the game's equivalent to money. These can be spent at shops or vending machines for all sorts of things, from consumable items, ingredients (more on that later), upgrades for your weapons, and backpack slots. It's actually quite easy to get more salt than you know what to do with unless you're in the habit of hoarding items (which you can't really do since the backpack has a maximum of ten slots). Hidden all around are chests that have goodies in them. This includes bonus salt, gear parts (used for weapon upgrades), tokens (more on that later as well), extra ingredients, and even the equivalent of Heart Pieces to increase your max number of hearts. I enjoyed how cleverly hidden some of these chests are, and they made going off the beaten path to solve optional puzzles worthwhile. Ingredients, as you may have guessed, are used for cooking food. It's probably more convenient to just buy healing items, but cooking in designated spots (usually conveniently located next to a save point) lets you combine three of these ingredients for more potent healing items. It's not just more healing that you get from these foods; depending on your combination of ingredients and spices, your food can even provide bonuses like extra hearts or buffs like damage up or defense up. The recipe list is sadly not as expansive as something like Stardew Valley or Breath of the Wild, but that's not really a big deal since secondary effects don't make or break this game. It would be nice to actually get unique dishes, though. There's a minigame you can play called Earth Born, which is more or less an homage to Dragon Quest with its character designs. Like the game it pays tribute to, it's a turn-based RPG where you control a party of characters. Don't worry; it's rather short minigame with a small, easy to navigate map, and the goal is simply to recruit the party and gain enough levels and equipment in seven in-game days. Once that in-game week has passed, you are warped to Earth Born's final boss, and the goal is obviously to kill him. Figuring out where things are obviously takes some trial and error, but once you get past that, Earth Born ends up being a fun little diversion where the real challenge is making efficient use of your limited time as opposed to actual RPG strategy. There's not really a point to it once you've seen everything, but you can go for a high score by attempting to beat the final boss early, or try to find all the secrets. Beating Earth Born's final boss is actually quite tricky because he has all sorts of cheap gimmicks, but you can mitigate your disadvantage by spending tokens at the gachapon machines (which, conveniently, are often next to the Earth Born machines you interact with in the overworld). There's a collectible aspect here, too (get all 20 unique monsters from Earth Born), but the more important thing is how these collectibles also give you items in Earth Born. Between healing potions, stat-boosting elixirs, and more, you always get something useful whenever you pull, and they can help you beat Earth Born in a pinch. VERDICT: I had a delightful time exploring Eastward's interesting world. The visuals and the music are wonderful, I was a huge fan of the main characters (with Sam in particular ending up becoming an all-time favorite), the lore was interesting, and I enjoyed how both puzzles and combat made use of the core mechanic of switching between John and Sam. While I think certain aspects of gameplay could have been expanded, and the story's pacing could have been improved, I quite liked this game overall. I'd say this game shares general vibe with titles like Earthbound, so if you like a similar mix of quirky, heartfelt, and sometimes surreal or dark, Eastward ticks all those boxes (albeit in different ways). The game is also worth a look if you want a slightly different flavor of the 2D Zelda-style action-adventure game, or you're the type to get invested in a game's many colorful personalities. Here's Eastward on Steam: Eastward on Steam (steampowered.com) Here's the soundtrack on Spotify: Eastward (Original Soundtrack) - Album by Joel Corelitz | Spotify - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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