You’re here to find the golden snapper, a legendary fish that, for some reason, is essential to John and Sam’s quest. After arriving at rocket scientist Alva’s mansion, John and Sam are tasked with venturing into Quake City, a sort of dieselpunk array of dumpsters and disease populated solely by ungodly creatures who know nothing more than senseless violence. I’ve played quite a bit of Eastward, but for this preview I’ll be focusing on one specific section around ten hours into the game. Eastward, however, is defined by exactly that – its core gameplay loop is so integral to the overall experience that everything else, while admirable in its own right, quickly becomes derivative of how and why you act, and how and why that affects the world around you. I’m not usually one to suggest that a game is defined by its moment-to-moment play – there are so many other elements to consider that extend far beyond what happens when you press this button instead of that one. It’s this combination – this partnering of a man with a frying pan fit to put a warhammer to shame and a girl with wicked powers that should be at odds with human capabilities – that allows Eastward to supersede its influences and become its own distinct story. But you also play as Sam, the young and mysterious girl who changes both John’s perception of life and purpose in it. ![]() You play as John, the aforementioned miner of few words whose 40 years beneath the Earth have been spent in involuntary ignorance. On the other, however, Eastward is comparable to Zelda in form and tone alone – once you get past the initial similarities, which you will do at blistering pace, this world will lodge its hooks in you like one of the weird Eastwardian crows that descends on you like a vulture on rotten meat. On one hand, it screams classic 2D Zelda – there are monsters and dungeons and puzzles and goofy dialogue that is somehow silly and witty at the same time. It is personable and warm and quietly confident in a way that lends it the ability to become palpable without ever trying overly hard. Together, you barrel upwards to Eastward, an apocryphal but oh-so-real and sprawling world packed with weird and wonderful mysteries – your insignificant existence immediately transforms into a plight against misinformation in the name of justice and truth.Įastward, to put it plainly, is charming. All of a sudden, your lonely meandering leads to you cross paths with a strange little girl bearing even stranger powers. ![]() Imagine you were a miner destined to live out your days in an amiable but ultimately unadventurous subterranean civilisation, battering rocks in solitude as the world around you becomes gradually smaller. You Are Reading : Eastward Preview A Charming Game That Successfully Evades The Shadow Of Zelda Sad tales, surprises, and secrets lurk off Eastward's beaten paths and there's always some kind of reward for being nosy – even if they don't always feel like a pleasant gift.Eastward Preview – A Charming Game That Successfully Evades The Shadow Of ZeldaĮastward is a Zelda-like adventure game that manages to put its own ambition front and centre – from what we played so far, it could be brilliant. Every place you encounter has little details that also make it unique, encouraging you to dive into every alley and cave to see what you can find. Their designs are so memorable too, with developer Pixpil's stunning art style adding unique elements to every single person you meet, from the jester-like Jasper to the simian robot Daniel. Even if your time with these characters is brief before moving on, there's a depth to their presentation that's unexpected and utterly absorbing. Through meticulously crafted underground dwellings to cities and the countryside between them, you'll meet a whole entourage of loveable rogues that will touch John and Sam's lives in various ways. As you're forcibly evicted from the starting area, you'll keep traveling east, initially – as I mentioned – with no goal beyond finding somewhere to lay your head. The game has a limited crew of permanent fixtures, with the story instead letting you get attached to the oddities and other creatures you'll meet on your travels literally eastward. ![]() What carries the game all the way through though are Eastward's characters.
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