Or itвЂ™s a big theme, dropping perfectly in time with a dramatic on-screen moment to drive home how far John and Sam have come thus far. Sometimes itвЂ™s a small town with quiet little melodies or cheerful chirps, or maybe a somber, nostalgic tune wallowing in the background. The way Lee grimaces when Alva chides him for smoking indoors the cold, calculated way Isabel reaches for her blade and especially the little celebrations Sam and John do after winning an arena fight or finding a key, all continuously remind you of who these characters are, and how they feel in the moment.ДЄnd then thereвЂ™s EastwardвЂs soundtrack, which is a frontrunner for my favorite soundtrack this year. Everything, from idle animations to little trademark motions, clearly conveys who a character is, how they feel, and what their personality is like. One aspect that continually took me aback about Eastward was its animations. It doesnвЂ™t just look good in stills, but it plays out incredibly well in motion as well. It is, simply put, one of the prettiest pixel art games IвЂ™ve played in a while. Its greatest moments are bolstered even further by the clear amount of work and passion put into EastwardвЂs look. There are still standout story moments, ranging from shocking and emotionally draining to laugh-out-loud funny. And one of the main villains, Solomon, is an enigma that never really solves or sticks he just seems present when an antagonist is called for, and I never felt I understood his motivations or, really, much of anything about him.Д®ven so, when Eastward hits, it hits hard. Even so, the storyвЂ™s latter half still veers off into odd side ventures. They form some solid pillars of growth, change, and emotion that by extension help John and Sam have more direction, too. Those characters are made up of similar pairs: the father-son duo William and Daniel, and the couple Isabel and Alva. It wasnвЂ™t until I was well into New Dam City, EastwardвЂs largest hub and home to one of its longer chapters, that I started to get really interested in the characters around me. Eastward takes a while to establish some characters and flesh them out, and with John silent and Sam sometimes unaware, the early half of Eastward had trouble getting me invested. ItвЂ™s silly and lighthearted, and plays into a lot of the comedy in Eastward.ДЄ lot of Eastward has good laughs, though it creates an awkward pacing problem when things get much more dramatic and tense. John is a silent protagonist, a point Eastward often pokes fun at, with characters having one-sided conversations with him or recognizing that itвЂ™s him on the radio when their calls go unanswered. ItвЂ™s endearing, and the pair make a good vehicle for this, or at least, Sam does. Often Sam ropes John into taking care of some daily chores for the town theyвЂ™re staying in, or helping a new friend with a problem thatвЂ™s been hounding them. Eastward tells a great deal of story through cozy, slice-of-life segments. And as Sam and John travel ever-eastward, they start to unravel some of the mysteries behind whatвЂ™s happened to the planet, while befriending the people they meet along the way.Д®astward sets these mysteries in motion, but they often sit in the background of whatever daily excitement is at hand. ItвЂ™s a dark fog that plagues the world, threatening to swallow up everyone and everything. ItвЂ™s both not terrible in the ways theyвЂ™ve been told, but holds new terrors theyвЂ™ve yet to fully comprehend: the Miasma. Sam dreams of the world outside, causing rifts among the community and eventually leading to the pair leaving the town and venturing out into the real world. But even when it falls short, developer Pixpil has made it clear theyвЂ™re a studio to watch for in the coming years.Д®astward ( PC, Nintendo Switch )Д®astward starts in the underground town of Potcrock Isle, where veteran miner John watches over Sam, a mysterious girl he found in the caverns below. It does some aspects so well, and misses the mark in others. Its combat can feel a bit uneven, and at least on the Nintendo Switch, it had a good few technical issues, ranging from slowdown during hectic scenes to crashes.Д®astward is really difficult to nail down with a score. ItвЂ™s also a narrative that has trouble maintaining an even pace, with a few characters and threads that feel left by the wayside by the storyвЂ™s end. Eastward is a game where even routine animations have a clear degree of craft put into them, and high moments dot the story, always ready to whisk you to a new side activity or little slice of life. ItвЂ™s very clearly paying homage to a host of video games past, with its EarthBound and The Legend of Zelda nostalgia worn most prominently on its sleeve.

LeavinвЂ™ on that midnight train for EastwardДЇrom its outset, Eastward is soaked in style.

When does eastward come out