I've started playing Eastward

Post 00005 | July 18th, 2022

Available on Switch, PC, and Mac. Verified for Steam Deck.

There's no doubt we're spoiled for choice these days when it comes to gorgeous sprite-based games. Indie developers seem to outdo themselves with every release and Eastward is no exception. Quite impressive, seeing its developer, the Shanhai-based studio Pixpil, have designed their own game engine despite only employing ten people!

I haven't made it far into the game yet and apart from a few promotional screenshots I am going in mostly blind. The game centres around John, a miner of few words and Sam, a little girl with magical powers, who John found one day. They live in a trailer underground town run by an oppressive mayor. Talk of a better life up above is strictly forbidden which lands Sam in trouble on more than one occasion.

Gameplay-wise it's your run-of-the-mill top-down action RPG. If you've ever played a 2D Zelda, you know what to expect. You're supposed to control the game using the analog stick, which takes some getting used to. Of course, if you're playing on Steam, you can map the game to also support the D-pad.

I'll probably post more screenshots as I get further in the game (I will try to avoid spoilers). In the meantime here's a Sam 'Item Get' pose:

Did I mention the sprite work is bloody gorgeous??