However, there isn't nearly enough space in your backpack to store your cooked items or enough stoves to cook at, making it hard to heal up in dungeons.Īs a tribute to RPGs of the '90s, Eastward is wonderful, with an atmosphere to be savoured. Cooking and finding new recipes to create healing items is another fun distraction and features a lovely bouncy animation that's as joyous as the one in Breath of the Wild. It's surprisingly deep, and hearing various characters enthuse about it on your journey makes the world Sam and John are exploring feel even more real. John's stoic steadfastness stands out because he's the only one who never speaks.Īlongside the main story are terminals that let you play an old-school 8-bit RPG called 'Earthborn' that features classic turn-based combat like in early Dragon Quest games. It’s a shame as individually the cast are all brilliant, but they have to compete with each other for your attention. They're unnecessary and overbearing-without this whole bit out the story would flow a little better. Relatively early on John attracts an admirer called Uva, and the romance element is sudden and simplistic, with a group of grannies who meddle in it, each one needing to have their own 'bit' as part of the comedy. Plus, getting to really know certain characters only for them to never be mentioned again means it becomes hard to feel attached to anyone. It feels like being hit with a constant wall of chatter where it's hard to tell what's important, because everything is given equal weight. The downside is that when everyone in the room is weird and kooky, no one really stands out. Eastward is brimming with unique characters, and even NPCs who are just going about their days get to shine.

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