The bad stuff aside, I did really enjoy the boss fights pretty much across the board. Since you have two characters who can both take damage, your partner following you can still take damage even if you successfully avoid an attack as the one you're controlling, which makes it feel pointless to do anything but have a DPS race with the enemies. At best it's passable, at worst, being so sluggish can make rooms full of enemies feel like a big mess. The combat is okay but nothing particularly special. To pluck out one more positive though, there is a dungeon theme they start using later on that's one of the best I've ever heard, called 'industrial'. I was hoping this feeling of urban exploration would be expanded upon in future dungeons and I could have forgiven the simplicity of the level design if so, but there were only 1 or 2 others that were interesting. You're not just following a straight line through sewer tunnels, you're exploring the floors of a long abandoned shopping mall. The manner in which it was constructed made it fun to explore. To highlight a dungeon I liked, one of the first ones 'Ancient Ruins' was probably my favorite. I guess if you hate dungeons then you'll like the game more for being that way. Linear, straightforward and require very little thought, finding a key is a minute detour every single time, and the majority of them are over in 20 minutes. Coming from Zelda titles, Alundra, Crosscode etc, the dungeons here in Eastward seem to have been designed without much care. Where this game lacked for me is the gameplay. Stretches of dialogue are not uncommon to last over an hour or even close to 2. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, music, visuals, atmosphere etc, the only strike I'd make against the story is that it's a bit overwritten at times. Coming from Zelda titles, Alundra, Crosscode etc, Was looking forward to this and finished with mixed feelings. Was looking forward to this and finished with mixed feelings. I'm giving it the highest of the negative scores because I have a negative view of it, but think there's potential. It's a shame because the art is gorgeous, but after multiple sessions of trying and trying to enjoy this, I have to admit that focusing on playing this is killing my motivation to game. After 30+ minutes of mashing b through the bad dialogue I'm given a mediocre action puzzle experience. I haven't enjoyed any of them to this point and I'm now in the second city. To make matters worse, the puzzles and combat are entirely forgettable. There are some weird oddities too, like when Jon discovers the pods in the first town, why doesn't he alert them? The writing feels juvenile and broken in continuity and logic at times. Every time I turn on the game I'm stuck reading text for 5+ minutes and it's not enjoyable. The game is overloaded with dialogue and none of it has been exciting at all to me. I am at 7 hours and am bored out of my gosh darn mind. I struggled with giving this a score because I didn't finish the game. ![]() This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To say anything about the gameplay is to give it more thought than was given to its creation. The music elevates nothing because there is absolutely nothing going on with any of these characters and none of the tension is well-managed. But the art communicates nothing about the characters and little about the world they live in. ![]() Eastward really didn't have to have much of a story or even remotely imaginative gameplay to skate past on the strength of its aesthetic again, it has decent art and music. The story and gameplay are bottom-shelf product that aren't just half-baked but have never even seen the inside of an oven. The story and gameplay aren't in any way informed by the music and art. They don't elevate or inform the gameplay. Except that they don't support or enhance the story. The story and gameplay are bottom-shelf product that aren't just half-baked but If you ever thought that music and art are all you need in a video game, Eastward is here to correct you. ![]() Without violations.If you ever thought that music and art are all you need in a video game, Eastward is here to correct you. ![]() Notice, Bandcamp gives you opportunity to freely listen to this album. Sounds like Electronica - that's what we can say about this album. Soundtrack consists of 71 tracks tracks with duration over more than 2 hours. Album was composed by Joel Corelitz and was released on September 16, 2021.
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