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Eastward is a post-apocalyptic pixel version of The Last of Us

Stardew Valley with a bite.

We love the pixels. Chucklefish loves to publish the pixels. We love to play the pixels that Chucklefish publish. Full circle. Video game harmony. Although their upcoming title Eastward may look like Stardew Valley, this is a post-apocalyptic adventure that packs more of a punch.

Set in a future world that is on the brink of collapse, Eastward casts the player as John. Beautifully profiled in animation inspired by 90s Japanese animation (and there is most certainly a hint of the old Pokemon games here) John’s world is turned a little upside down when he discovers a young girl named Sam within a top-secret facility. From this point on begins this game’s adventure, as the pair journey out of their original city in search of some sanctuary from ‘the sinister creatures who descend on the local towns, devouring everything in their path.’

Players can switch between playing Sam or John along their journey, which is always a helpful trick when navigating puzzles and needing to unlock pesky doors. If co-op games have taught us anything, it really is that doors require more than one person to open them. Although this game is single-player, just to be clear.

Eastward

The real appeal of this game, however, has to be the world itself. Despite it’s post-apocalyptic death sentence, the towns this pair traverse are bright and vibrant in their dingyness. The Singapore-based team at Pixpil have used 3D lighting effects to make the pixels jump off the screen in realistic lighting and the towns are full of strange characters, just waiting to be interacted with. The soundtrack already seems pretty wonderful too, taking a similar route to the Undertale soundtrack in its retro vibe.

At Gamescon this week it has been announced that Eastward will also be coming to the Nintendo Switch, and I can’t think of a better platform for it. To keep an eye on this title, which so far doesn’t have a release date, head on over to their Steam page.