![]() ![]() Ride the RailsĪrmed with a frying pan (and later a little gun and flamethrower) for most of the game, John spends his time navigating dungeon-like areas, mostly in a relatively linear fashion, solving door, lock and sliding puzzles. An apocalyptic train ride across a world struggling to adapt to its newfound hardships, held together by the wonderous joy and tireless bond of Sam and John, Eastward draws you in almost effortlessly and keeps tight hold until the train has come to a complete stop. There’s far more to be seen by the end of some 5-6 chapters and around a 30-hour plot. What’s the saying? It’s not the destination that matters… They feel like lovable wholesome vignettes in a journey. There are episodes in certain towns that in a lesser game might be considered filler, but with Sam’s energy and joy permeating through, it never feels like that. But it’s the strength of the bond between John and Sam, the never-leave-each-other, do-or-die, you’ll-always-be-there-right love that really holds the whole thing together. It’s a pretty episodic framework by the time you get well into it, but there’s reasons for that I won’t go into here. It’s cute, quirky, not afraid to spend plenty of time setting up characters just to move on to the next town and never see them again. Add in the slow build of clues about Sam’s pod-child origins and you’ve got the makings of a great little story. As the miasma follows you and towns in your wake fall silent, there’s a sinister edge to things. Seems maybe the mayor was protecting his town from something after all. They get embroiled in each town’s story, helping out and making friends, but also encountering and investigating the sinister miasma – a black fog that rolls across the surface world and kills on contact. This is not much of a punishment, and so begins their adventure, riding the rails from town to town, exploring a post-apocalyptic world. However, with their new knowledge, they are now a threat to the town and are banished, thrown on a train going Eastward from which no one ever returns. Sam lives with John who takes care of her as her guardian, but when they venture through the Ancient Ruins (an abandoned shopping centre above the station) they find the way out of their tiny world. Ruled over by a tyrant mayor, no one is allowed to even mention the world above let alone leave. The story starts in Potcrock Isle, but don’t be fooled by its name it’s an underground Fallout-type bunker town that resembles an old train station. EASTWARD PLOT MOVIELike Ellie she has a destiny – the opening movie shows John finding her in a pod, and it’s clear even in the opening chapters that there is plenty afoot that involves the little energy child more than anyone could suspect. EASTWARD PLOT FULLIts two leads, John and Sam, are shoe-ins for Joel and Ellie respectively, but by way of a Japanese anime John is a bearded stoic silent protagonist, proficient in frying pans and getting the job done and his charge, Sam, is essentially a magical girl anime trope, full of boundless energy and curiosity. It’s an epic adventure, but one that doesn’t rely on a large party, instead framing itself much closer to The Last Of Us. ![]() It’s an action RPG, but eschews most of the genre mechanics in favour of simple Zelda-type combat. But is it all just shiny pixels, or is there substance at the end of the line? The Finger Guns Review.Įastward to the uninitiated, is a little hard to pigeonhole. Long-awaited, delightful pixelart adventure Eastward is finally here. But is it all just shiny pixels, or is there substance at the end of the line? The Finger Guns Review: ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |