I came away from Eastward with mixed feelings - I almost felt I should have loved it more because the gameplay is engaging and creative, the artwork and animation are beautifully done and the general polish and attention to detail is excellent. However, the storytelling left a LOT to be desired. I struggled to care about most of what went on and many of the plot twists felt forced or simply didn't add up. I love rpgs that focus on world building, which this game is clearly keen to do - it succeeds in some ways (the game-within-the-game is a really immersive touch) - but this makes it all the more noticeable when there isn't enough exposition to really show the player what is going on in Eastward's world. I came to the end of the game still uncertain what the motives of several central characters were and didn't feel many of the elements of the story connected to one another in a meaningful way. When there's no consistent internal logic to a narrative, even magical fantasy stories lose their impact because when things keep happening without compelling explanation, they seem meaningless.
In conclusion, I loved many aspects of this game, but I feel it dropped the (pix)ball on one of the most important things for its genre. It was fun to play and nice to look at, but if you want an emotionally or intellectually involving experience (as I believe many rpg players do), this isn't going to be your next favourite.
7/10

MIASSSSSSSSSMA!

Unbearably long an boring. I don't quite many games even when I hate them but this one broke me.