Anime Eastward - 90s anime inspired sci-fi action adventure/RPG

[LESS T_T]

Cute looking thing with vibrant pixel art. Developed by Shanghai-based studio Pixpil and published by Chucklefish:

https://blog.chucklefish.org/introducing-eastward-by-pixpil/

Eastward is an adventure game combining RPG elements, with a visual style inspired by 90s Japanese animation. The game was built around pixel artist Hong Moran’s original intricate post-apocalyptic pixel designs, and the team’s joint love of the Mother and The Legend of Zeldaseries, inspiring them to create a narrative-driven RPG with a soft sci-fi storyline.

In the not-too-distant future, the world around is falling to ruin, as the human population shrinks to an all-time low. You play as a hardworking digger named John, who discovers a mysterious young girl in a secret facility underneath his digging site. After being exiled from his village, John must guide this girl through dangerous decaying cities, inhabited by hordes of monsters and a quirky cast of characters!



Eastward’s emotional story and beautifully rich and vibrant world has been brought to life using a combination of 3D lighting and retro-pixel style artwork, powered by a game engine of Pixpil’s own making. Development on the game started in 2015 with only 3 studio members, and since then has grown to match the game’s ambition, also bringing on board the talents of soundtrack composer Joel Corelitz (Hohokum, The Unfinished Swan & The Tomorrow Children, Gorogoa) and sound design from Irish studio, Hyperduck Soundworks.

You can find out more about Eastward on the game’s website and twitter, or follow the developers on the Pixpil twitter and tumblr.

 

[Epsilon]

I like the graphics, but come on. Another mysterious child with a mysterious past. Can't they atleast try to think up something original for these JRPGs?

 

[Max Edge]

Hey! It looks better than 99,5% western "pixel art" games. Only this hipster light little annoy me, but it could be true development 90s ideas (most of pixelshit games stay step back before games to which they refer).

 

[LESS T_T]

Steam page:

Eastward is a beautifully detailed and charismatic adventure game with RPG elements, from Shanghai-based indie developers Pixpil.

In the near-future society is starting to collapse, with the human population shrinks to an all-time low. As the world around falls to ruin, a hardworking miner called John discovers a young girl named Sam deep underground in a secret facility. After escaping the town, the unlikely pair embark on an emotional journey to discover the strange truth about her origins and the mystery behind the sinister creatures who descend on the local towns, devouring everything in their path.

Inspired by 90s Japanese animation, the vibrant world of Eastward is brought to life by a combination of innovative modern 3D lighting techniques and soulful retro-pixel artwork.

Game Features

Discover the wonderfully weird world of Eastward. Jump aboard the cross-country railway which spans this decaying continent, stopping off to explore its bustling towns, curious campsites and shady forests.

Fend off peculiar monsters and ferocious bosses with your weapon of choice - be it a gun, flamethrower or your trusty ol’ frying pan.

Switch between controlling John and Sam to solve environmental puzzles and fight your way through formidable dungeons, separating to unlock hidden paths or sticking together as you traverse a perilous landscape.

Get to know a quirky cast of characters with oodles of personality, as you immerse yourself in this heartwarming story-driven adventure, packed with fun and wacky humour.

Bop along to a wonderfully upbeat soundtrack composed by Joel Corelitz(Hohokum, The Unfinished Swan, The Tomorrow Children, Gorogoa), with sound design from Irish studio, Hyperduck Soundworks (Dust: An Elysian Tail, Kingdom Rush)

 

[HeatEXTEND]

characters look like some kind of weird animu/western cartoon hybrid

 

[Lutte]

the team’s joint love of the Mother

Here we go again, yet another hipster pile of crap only people who do LSD and weed could possibly enjoy.

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[agentorange]

i thought this forum was for prestigious japanese games, not hackneyed chink rip-offs

 

[Jacob]

I like the sprite's animation, but its gameplay looks like a bore. Also it's set in Chinaland but the characters' names are John and Sam? How soyful.

Also, stop this:

a hardworking miner called John discovers a young girl named Sam deep underground in a secret facility.

Working class hero nonsense. Blue collar workers are usually dumb with dumb faces and default expressions, not some rugged subtle pseudo-intellectual nigga Hollywood wish they would be.

 

[Modron]

Plus the game probably doesn't have an accurate depiction of what life is like for the average chinese miner getting buried alive every other week and having to dig yourself out because your company and government left you to die. Only to go home to 2 by 6 apartment with the toilet/kitchen/bedroom all being the same and only room.

 

[Machocruz]

Also, stop this:

a hardworking miner called John discovers a young girl named Sam deep underground in a secret facility.

Working class hero nonsense. Blue collar workers are usually dumb with dumb faces and default expressions, not some rugged subtle pseudo-intellectual nigga Hollywood wish they would be.

More likely than a sheltered, soft IT nerd, who are also mostly dumb and bland outside of their field, discovering a girl underground and fighting. I expect that Miyazaki did this kind of shit better anyway with Castle in the Sky. The main "hero", a miner boy, mostly just follows the lead of more capable, more knowledgeable people, which is pretty much everyone else in the story. But Miyazaki is a grown up and a visionary who grew up in the real world, does research on his subjects, not the opposite a modern video game developer.

 

[RNGsus]

Ping pong are not ready for hero-kangz.

 

[Shinji]

The visuals look great. Not a big fan of the character design, music and dialogue though.

 

[CyberWhale]

Gameplay mechanics look solid, but the lack of rolling/dashing seems really awkward.

 

[Machocruz]

My stuck in the 90s tastes can't process rolling/dashing in isometric or top down views. Feels wrong man.

 

[CyberWhale]

 

[CyberWhale]

I know it isn't from 90s, but whatever. Previous games at least had sprinting, but I haven't noticed even that in EastWard.

 

[Machocruz]

Well I didn't say my objection was rational. I've played such games that had rolling and were still challenging, so I can't say the problem is designers just put it in there to give i-frames and make games easier, though that's probably the case with some games. It's just two flavors that don't go together in my head ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[HeatEXTEND]

My stuck in the 90s tastes can't process rolling/dashing in isometric or top down views. Feels wrong man.

 

[Machocruz]

My stuck in the 90s tastes can't process rolling/dashing in isometric or top down views. Feels wrong man.

I don't see any defensive rolling or dashing (a la Bastion, Hyper Light Drifter). I thought that's what CyberWhale meant

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Oh well.

 

[Grokalibre]

FFS when I saw the title I imagined something inspired by Cyber City Oedo 808

 

[Dodo1610]

Demo is out!


The gameplay is simplistic yet fun but the artstyle is just fantastic.

 

[Tito Anic]

Clearly they dont know 90s anime...

p.s. looks cute

 

[lightbane]

Played the demo a bit. It looks like modern-setting Sword of Mana, with actual good graphics instead of the hipsterish pixelated crap many indie games do. There's also "crafting" (or more like cooking recipes) and many stuff to explore. Writing is serviceable, except for that use of the cringy and dated "arrow to the knee" joke, and the fact the publishers are Chucklefish, which means it might go woke at some point.
Verdict: Wait and see.