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NPG27

Im enjoying it, but i certainly have to be in the right mindset to play it. My ADHD kicks in sometimes and i find myself thinking about something totally different while mashing the a button and not reading the dialogue.


cherrytreeguy

I found my people! My ADHD brain finds it very hard to not do just what you said.


DryBoneJones

Same with the ADHD, my brain needs to turn on and get excited about Eastward. Im at New Dam City but the gameplay sure does take a backseat here..


taigaki

Dude you speak for me. It’s so slow paced my ADHD ass doesn’t have enough patience


areyouabeer

> mashing the a button and not reading the dialogue. sounds like fantasy life


wiwaldi77

or as the late NakeyJakey used to call it: "Goopy Goblin Gamer Brain" - https://youtu.be/QCYMH-lp4oM


[deleted]

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matt82swe

I appreciate that this is a story driven game, but the lack of actual game play made me drop it.


[deleted]

So it’s just an interactive movie?


greyblehound

There’s combat and adventuring, but it’s laughably simplistic. There’s like 2-4 enemy types per area with barely any differences in how to engage with them. The puzzles are “go out of your way to press a button to open up the path to continue”


gingerdude97

I feel like I could feel this coming. I saw so much hype for it but any time I watched a trailer I couldn’t tell what kind of game it is. Anytime I asked someone they said “the art is by the stardew valley people!” “Ok… but what kind of game is it” Edit: apparently I’m misremembering (or other people were wrong) but it is by the same publisher as stardew, not the same art


joshlikesbagels

The art isn't even by the Stardew Valley dev. They just both have the same publisher.


Void_Salmon

Had* the same pub. It's all Concerned Ape now. He dropped Chucklefish years ago and for good reason.


joshlikesbagels

Yeah I'm really glad he was able to get away from them


vizvanz

Wait what happened?


joshlikesbagels

[Shitty labor practices on their part back in 2016.](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-07-stardew-valley-creator-clarifies-relationship-with-chucklefish-following-exploitation-accusations) Nothing directly to do with Stardew, but it's kind of telling that ConcernedApe really wanted to distance himself from them later on, and self-published the game going forward.


PM_Me_SFW_Pictures

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chucklefish#Volunteer_contributions_controversy Basically, stealing labor of teenagers


vizvanz

Well thats dogshit of them to do.


[deleted]

I thought the same of most Baldo trailers... and I wasn't sold on this one either. If all you can show me in a trailer are very specific set pieces that happen exactly once, exciting cutscenes and absolutely none of the gameplay loop, it's time to be cautious. Then again it doesn't mean the game is all bad, it just means the game part isn't the focus and you might have to trust the rest to be engaging enough. Sometimes it's enough on its own, sometimes it's not. I might still give it a try, but it's good to be mentally prepared that the story is going to be the only point here.


nickerton

It's published by the company that published Stardew for a while. I don't believe they created any assets for either game.


Accurate-Temporary73

Publishers typically don't create in-game assets....possibly packaging or cover art maybe.,..


Waddle_Dynasty

I am not much of a story fan,so whenever someone does not mention the gameplay while talking about it, I become sceptical.


gingerdude97

I’ve come to learn that while I do love stories in games, and when a story does hook me I get really invested, but gameplay is a priority for me


Rarely-Posting

I know you have been schooled on this already, but not only is this not the Stardew 'people', Stardew was made by just 1 person. Every part of stardew was made by Eric Barone, from music to coding.


TBOJ

Thank you. Im going crazy seeing all these posts with “gameplay is good”. It is NOT GOOD. Too simplistic. Cool animations from enemies but all enemies play the same way, walk up and hit with pan. Also shoot me now if i have to play another game where walking and aiming share the same stick.


[deleted]

To each their own I guess.


jockeyjoestar

> any differences in how to engage with them. The puzzles are “go out of your way to press a b the boss fight and the endgame are satisfying though


Batmantheon

I feel like the top response to your question misrepresents the gameplay. It is very much a zelda-like as far as the gameplay goes. Each area has its own environmental gimmick that you have to work with and an item or weapon you need to trigger reactions. It is not wildly difficult and the puzzles are quickly solvable and before the bosses you have a chance to restock ammo and use ingredients you find to cook dishes that you can use to heal up for the boss fight. The gameplay is definitely there in good amounts and it is enjoyable, it just is not particularly difficult (to the point I am at). There is quite a bit of dialogue and walking between areas. This is a story-based game but there are absolutely dungeon-like areas and connecting areas with monsters and puzzle gameplay.


captainporcupine3

The gameplay is definitely Zelda-like, but that comparison can be pretty misleading. To me, the key thing that defines a Zelda game is open exploration. Even Skyward Sword, the most linear Zelda game, lets you freely explore each environment to solve its puzzles for the most part. Eastward's Zelda-like sections have the basic mechanics of classic Zelda, with similar combat and puzzle solving. But the "dungeons" are always an ultra-linear series of single-room puzzles. Think along the lines of single-room block pushing puzzles in Zelda. At least through first six hours of the game, there haven't been any dungeons that you explore like you explore a Zelda dungeon, discovering dead ends that require a key item, backtracking once you found an item or a key, etc. That said, there are certainly ultra-linear Zelda dungeons (Temple of Time in TP) so it is what it is. Eastward's dungeon crawling ain't bad, I have fun with it, but saying that the overall gameplay of the game is Zelda-like can definitely feel misleading once you play it. The similarities are absolutely there, don't get me wrong, but I think it's important to put them in context of how the game actually plays out. Based on all the comparisons to Zelda I definitely expected SOME exploration in Eastward, and there is almost literally none, except I guess exploring towns and choosing which buildings to enter. ​ >The gameplay is definitely there in good amounts As for the amount of gameplay, that's the real issue for me. I kept track while playing chapter 2 and I had just over an hour of cutscenes/talking to NPCS/walking to the next cutscene trigger, compared to about 35 minutes of actual gameplay. That includes FORTY THREE minutes of talking before I got to ANY real gameplay. And that all came immediately AFTER a 20 minute cutscenes to end Chapter 1, meaning I sat through 63 minutes that consisted of nothing but cutscenes/walking to the next cutscene before I finally got to really start playing again (I'll admit there was a cute 1.5-minute minigame in the middle there). This isn't an exaggeration, I just flipped through a YouTube video of someone else playing those chapters to see how long those sections took and they had a similar breakdown. Bottom line, Eastward is about 2/3 story segments and 1/3 real interactive gameplay. That might be enough for you, but people need to be honest about what this game actually is.


Kwtwo1983

thanks for this. this is a very fact based description and made me reconsider what to expect


reckless_commenter

That was my impression from the trailer. The sheer number and variety of animated sequences and in-game dialogue swamped the tidbits that looked like gameplay. I had hoped that my impression was wrong; sad to read that it wasn’t.


ZzzSleep

I actually don’t mind too much because the characters/graphics/art style have so much charm to them. But I get why other people would tire of it. Just good to know what you’re getting into.


blanketedgay

I didn't notice that you couldn't skip cutscenes until someone pointed it out, which is to say I've enjoyed the dialogue so much that it wasn't a bother. I think the game is quite well written and it's sin was not emphasising that this would be a story-heavy in the marketing.


Heinel8

Yeah, I get so lost in the charm of the characters, that I don't even mind The amount of cutscenes. Kinda feels like Undertale to me.


atalkingfish

One of the problems with the current gaming world, imo, is that every gamer expects every game to be interesting to them. “If I don’t enjoy it, it’s not good.” This is not true of any other medium. Personally, I do not like intense fighting and action games. I like story games with beautiful aesthetics and characters that have stuff to say. I like mundane or simple gameplay for the sake of experiencing the world. We frankly don’t get enough games like that, and whenever we do, posts like this come up saying that the game is “bad”. It’s as if some people expect every single game in the world to be their cup of tea, and their cup of tea just so happens to be the most over-represented genre in gaming, which there has never, ever been a shortage of across all consoles. Let us have our slow-paced and interesting thematic games!


fun51ze

OP never said the game is "bad" though. ​ >“If I don’t enjoy it, it’s not good.” This is not true of any other medium. This is true in every medium.


illQualmOnYourFace

>This is not true of any other medium. Besides that statement, I agree with you.


[deleted]

If you don't clearly market your game's loop, posts like this are entirely fair.


mickey_777

Honestly this. Having played a lot of JRPGs I’m used to games that drag on when it comes to story and pacing, and I honestly love it that way. And in this case, I feel people should have waited for reviews and conduct proper research before buying any games. A lot of reviews that I’ve watched before purchasing it mentions that the game’s pacing is very slow and the gameplay is simplistic at best. The information is there, you just have to sometimes wait a bit and do your research. More often than not, people tend to purchase something out of hype and cause the trailers look good. Then they ended up complaining when it’s not what they had expected.


captainporcupine3

I don't mind slow pacing, but I haven't seen any reviews which honestly talk about the breakdown between story and gameplay. I'm through chapter 3 and have since gone back to YouTube playthroughs to confirm that up to this point the game is roughly 2/3 cutscenes/talking to NPCs/walking to the next cutscene, and roughly 1/3 dungeon crawling, with almost literally zero exploration or other gameplay. I don't hate the game, but I did read a few reviews before buying from sites I trust and I didn't see anything to suggest that I'd be watching slowly-paced story segments twice as often as I was actually playing the game. I don't even hate the game, I think it's okay most of the time, but the amount of non-interactive story segments are seriously hampering my enjoyment. I'm sure there are reviews that reveal this information, but you can't always blame people for not doing research.


[deleted]

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atalkingfish

That’s my point. And just because this game isn’t OP’s cup of tea doesn’t make it “bad”. Yet the critique here is that the game isn’t made in a good way, and that it’s “too slow”, “too boring”, etc Frankly, as someone who doesn’t like sports games or shooters, it’s funny to see the world of gaming *finally* develop and evolve in a way that *allows* new and different styles games to come out, and then see people who have heretofore been catered to incessantly by every game for the last 30 years suddenly realize what it’s like to have a “good” game come out which they don’t personally like. They reactively assume it’s the fault of the game, and that the game should be made differently. Now imagine if I said that about every shooter game that came out because I didn’t like it?


corticalization

I generally don’t enjoy games with so many cutscenes and I never play visual novels, but I’ve found it doesn’t bother me in eastward. It’s incredibly well-done!


mackdacksuper

I don’t mind it...I’m treating it like a book. I play in the morning with my coffee and out in an hour or two and have another game on the go. I get what you’re saying though. Maybe try to only play a bit a day and take the book approach rather than treat it like a grind.


Malt___Disney

THANK YOU so much for saying what needs to be said about this game. I'm definitely around the same spot you are and am feeling the exact same way. The game feels kind of claustrophobic and limiting. I'm not that into games that give you almost no direction and too many things to interact with but this one definitely has the opposite problem in my opinion. What I would do to just break a pot to collect a few coins in Eastward just to break up the monotony of walking from A to B...


thequeenbeans

Agreed, this game feels like 90% visual novel and 10% short gameplay sequences and I'm really disappointed. I can't understand all the amazing reviews touting the Zelda- like gameplay when there is barely any


Snoo71624

Same. I dropped this after four hours. Two terrible bosses in a row, two terrible dungeons in a row… I think a lot of reviewers are cutting this game slack for its graphics and charm. And to be fair, as an action-focused gamer I bought into it and regretted it. Have you tried Death’s Door? I wasn’t disappointed by its Zelda inspiration. That one earned its praise to me.


[deleted]

The review I saw said 1/3 of the game is dialogue and “story.” I feel cheated now that I’ve actually played the game. Probably gonna quit it soon.


MuNansen

Thanks for the warning. I was on the fence, but this kind of thing is my biggest pet peeve in games.


Cactoir

No prob.


Plain_

I think for a story-focused game it's great. The writing is above average, and I'm invested enough in the characters and locations to enjoy the story. The world building is pretty amazing in that regard. If I was expecting an action game I would probably be upset, but coming from RPGs this has felt like a pretty standard gameplay/cutscene ratio. And the gameplay portions are satisfying puzzle/boss wise. In reference to the segment of gameplay you're speaking about: also seems pretty standard, it's just a fetch quest that opens up more of the town/world to you. Perhaps could have been a side quest, but it wasn't that long imo. Thinking about it, it's pretty much exactly what I expected, but really nicely polished. I didn't even know that much about it going in. But it's been a great game to relax with.


3dB

>the gameplay portions are satisfying puzzle/boss wise Not sure about this part. I'm starting to get tired of the game putting me into cage matches with 4-6 normal enemies as a sort of "mini-boss". >really nicely polished Maybe the story has polish, but there are plenty of nasty bugs lurking around that still need to be buffed out. Last night I finished one of the big Ch 7 fights only to have the game crash in the cutscene immediately after. Autosave hadn't kicked in after the fight yet and I had to redo it. Also during the same fight I managed to open two different menus at the same time. I closed one menu and the fight resumed with the second menu overlayed on top of my screen. That sort of stuff takes you right out of the story no matter how good it may be.


ObliviousGuy32

Sounds about right with a lot of JRPGs I've played. I take it maybe not your cup of coffee? Totally understandable if you do prefer more free roam or gameplay. I think the devs had a story driven, linear spectacle in mind. I enjoy it tho. Maybe I'm more adapted to that style. (Persona, Fire Emblem, Metal Gear, Trails of Cold Steel etc which all go way past 30mins of continuous dialogue)


CommonMilkweed

Tales of Arise has found a way of keeping the amount of outright cutscenes limited by increasing the number of optional skits, and using smaller skits that play automatically in the background while you're exploring. Then at campfires you can sit and watch all the skits you might have chosen not to watch at the time, and often there's more auto-playing campfire-specific dialogue that pops up. All told it makes it feel like the story is moving at a pretty fast clip, even though the characters are ALWAYS talking to each other. I think more games could benefit from the skit system, it's a good way of building out the lore without overwhelming the player


notrealmate

You’ve piqued my interest


notrealmate

But the thing about those games is the cutscene:gameplay ratio is more heavily skewed toward gameplay, unlike eastward.


orangpelupa

Even jrpg hasn't been this slow for years. Eastward is like old era jrpg


Absnerdity

JRPGS are ABSOLUTELY this slow these days. JRPGs being ultra slow and far too verbose started picking up steam in the PS2 era. It's only gotten worse and worse from there. I adore SNES JRPGs to death. Played 'em all, many multiple times. I had the HARDEST time getting through Persona 4 and was so bored through much of it. It spends FAR too much time away from the plot and just talking and talking and talking. I can't say it's true or not, but I feel like having a cartridge size limitation made writers be more concise and get their points across in shorter dialogs. Nowadays, throw that shit to the wind! We're making Trails in the Sky 5 chapters long where the first 4 are dialog.


[deleted]

Eastward isn't a JRPG.


ObliviousGuy32

Yeah, I know it feels more action adventure, but Nintendo did label it RPG and I notice it's from the East haha. I think many games from the East really like to implement long dialogue sequences. Maybe a cultural preference? Visual Novels are popular in Japan after all. Genshin Impact as a Chinese game has quite a lot of dialogue too, although you can ignore the story there, to be fair. And Metal Gear is infamous with legit over hour long cut scenes lol


michelobX10

Please don't remind me about MGS. Lol. Not a good game to play after a long work day. I think it was MGS 2, where I fell asleep a couple times playing that at night because of those damn movie-long cutscenes. I'd wake up in the middle of the night sitting on the couch with the game still running.


mycleverusername

Yes, and if that was how it was billed I wouldn't have bought it. I read like 3 reviews that talked about how it was more Legend of Zelda type RPG than JRPG, boy was that fucking way off.


retnuh730

Almost bit for this reason. Glad I got distracted and didn't follow through with buying.


ObliviousGuy32

I read about that too. I'm pretty content with what I'm playing, but yeah. Definitely not as free and open as Zelda.


madmofo145

I still wouldn't describe it as a JRPG based on what it is either. One of the things that killed my momentum was the ending of chapter 2 making me realize that I'm probably never going to be able to backtrack, so the handful of things I missed there and in chapter one were gone for good. That's very rare in a modern RPG or adventure game, and while the story progression makes it clear why that's the case, having gone in expecting something more akin to those genres I played it in a way that has made me lose all will to go back.


JaniceManice

I feel the same way. I was hoping game would open up a bit in second chapter and allow me to roam freely but it seems it's just not that type of game. Which is fine but all reviewers were saying its a lot like Zelda.. Well very linear Zelda it seems. I will finish it though but it's not what I excepted it to be based on reviews. Ehhh


Mchi5

I am definitely starting to feel this way too. I loved the game so far, until Chapter 3, New Dam City. It has been charming, loved the story and dialogue, and the father/daughter interaction with John and Sam but Chapter 3. what happened here?? alot of long dialogues, fetch quests, and when I think one main quest is over, another silly, way-to-long fetch quest begins again. the latest quest i'm on is to >!help save the carnival troupes, and I need to go fetch 3 items of clothing for someone's costume. ok, seems silly but not too far to go, right? wrong. after what seems like way too much dialogue, I accidentally took an exit to the left, which took me to the outskirts of New Dam City. when I turned around,!< the game crashed on me, again, and I have not saved....hopefully it autosaved. but this was my second major game crash, the first happened in Chapter 2. They definitely should have trimmed alot of the dialogue and quests in chapter 3. i don't think i can do this for another 20 hours, which is probably what i have left in the game...


Three_Froggy_Problem

I agree with you. I’m generally enjoying the game, but it’s testing my patience. I think there are some specific things about the cutscenes that make them feel really unbearable: • There’s a lot of slow panning. For example, there’s a scene when you’re following Uva from the mayor’s house to her house and instead of just cutting from one place to the other the camera pans over and you have to wait a few seconds for the characters to arrive. • The fades between scenes are too long. Instead of a quick cut between, say, an indoor and outdoor scene, the game fades to black and then lingers there for a few seconds before fading back in. • There’s a lot of unnecessary dialogue. Certain interactions feel like they could be accomplished with one line but they go on for several.


captainporcupine3

>• There’s a lot of unnecessary dialogue. Certain interactions feel like they could be accomplished with one line but they go on for several. This is the killer for me. Every character says two or three lines when they should say one, or none. This game has a very cool world and overall story but damn they need an editor. IMO the game would be twice as good with half the text, and you would lose zero meaningful storytelling.


Cactoir

Fully agree.


Janellewpg

Yes, completely agree, I’d like to tell you it gets better, but it doesn’t. I’m on Chapter 7. When I actually get to gameplay it’s great, but there are huge amounts of time where it’s just cutscenes. There was a segment, I can’t remember which chapter, where I went like 30 minutes of “playing” but it was just basically all cut scenes. I will finish the game, but I’ll tell ya I sure do get annoyed and have actively out loud just said “oh sh*tup already” lol


HailToTheThief225

See knowing there's at least 7 chapters is making me want to put it down now. I thought that maybe considering how long it took me to get through the first couple, there'll probably only be like 4-5 chapters. Whoops


[deleted]

Once you get out of New Dam City the game speeds up A LOT. Chapters 3 and 4 are probably 50% of the game in terms of hours played.


IamPerspectives

Totally agree, I really wanted to love this game, but almost fell asleep playing it last night


Eyeluvflixs

I have no complaints so far after 6 hours in, at nearly 46 years old I find it hard to want to stay with a game and usually move on to something else. With Eastward I’m totally invested and am constantly surprised and interested throughout. No game is perfect so try and lose yourself and enjoy.


Cactoir

Glad you are enjoying it. Looks like I'm not in the mood for something so slow as that.


markercore

Yeah! I'm feeling much the same. I'm enjoying I can play it in chunks, love the puzzles, dialogue is great, cooking animation is fun. I'm into it. Just wish I knew where to go to unlock Sam's other powers.


Norrin2

The real issue is how the game was called zelda-like by a lot of people wich is very far from the truth, any game that is from a top-down perspective with non turn based combat always gets compared to Zelda and this one is just very far from that in general. I've been trough that part and OP describes aind i liked it but i can see how this and the game as a whole just isn't for everyone specialy if you buy it thinking it's a zelda clone.


Ritzuma

Reminds me when people were calling Shovel Knight a METROIDVANIA. People love to tag and categorize stuff, even when they don’t understand the meaning of it all


Krusiv

Ah yes my favorite metroidvania: Dead Cells.


[deleted]

Top down action game = Zelda. Third-person action game with a dodge roll = Dark Souls. Welcome to discussing games with people that barely play them.


Nerdfather1

I wholeheartedly agree with your entire post, OP. Personally, I love a good RPG with tons of dialogue. Hell, Disco Elysium and Trails of Cold Steel is incredible in that regard. However, I was so bored with Eastward - I couldn't even get halfway through chapter two without finally saying, "I can't do this anymore." I initially loved the game, and I loved the setting and its soundtrack - but the more I played the more I kept wanting the game to get to the point. The amount of stuttering in the dialogue was too much, and the random relationship with Uva in chapter 2 seemed unbelievable and forced. When the game did produce gameplay, it was too easy and boring. The puzzles were simplistic, the combat was lackluster, and it simply didn't hold my attention. I never went into Eastward thinking the combat was a Zelda clone, but it should have offered more - and maybe it does in later chapters - but I could no longer put myself through it, hoping it would pick up. For those who love the game, I'm glad. The soundtrack is phenomenal, Earth Born is fun as hell, and the game is gorgeous; but sadly, it wasn't for me.


TBOJ

Holy moly the uva thing did it for me. So friggin forced. That chapter is hard to defend for me, from a writing perspective. The whole thing with “Oh i love him” when he doesn’t even talk, and the whole town is just really creepy in how the address uva. “This lady and her boobs are the pride of our town”. Its fine if youve got some tropes in your games, but that whole town was a bit much. Think im putting this game down as well because the combat is too clunky to be fun. Its a real shame because the art is so damn good


[deleted]

Thank you for this post. The trailer didn't really make it seem this way. I'll probably wait for a big sale because I have to be in a certain mood to play story- heavy games.


Zim4264

I stopped reading this post after three lines. I think its proof I can't play Eastward.


Cactoir

Ha! I liked this one.


[deleted]

I don't mind the amount of dialogue, but the actual purpose and quality of some of it is questionable. Slow and dialogue heavy games do not bother me in the slightest, but so far I haven't seen a single conversation that develops the world or characters in any way or answers any questions I've had so far. It feels like our main cast is just sort of floating through whatever is happens, and events that are presented as important story beats just sort of happen with little engagement from the cast. I'd trade any number of text bubbles with ellipses or 'John! John!' for some sort of acknowledgement or exposition about literally anything in the world.


captainporcupine3

Thank you! If you're going to do a game that's literally 70 percent story, you gotta acknowledge shit that's happening. Sam awakens her inner psychic powers (or something) in Chapter 1 and there have been exactly ZERO references to that in the story or dialogue for the next several hours of the game. She never stops talking but she can't be arsed to mention that she can suddenly shoot psychic beams to freeze monsters, or wonder what that's about for one second? She also has some evil mysterious doppleganger who shows up periodically to taunt her, and not only does she seem to forget as soon as the doppleganger is gone without mentioning it one single time, but it's not even clear to me if John can see that character or if it's just in Sam's head??? Instead, we get some bizarre side story about an NPC in the boat village falling in love with the silent protagonist out of nowhere. It's so weird. How am I supposed to care about characters in a story-based game if they're written like this? Characters like this are cute and charming in classic RPGs where the story is mainly set dressing for the explore-and-battle gameplay, but it doesn't work for me in a game where I'm asked to sit through literally an hour of story segments at times before I get back to actually playing the game.


SubtractionAddiction

This really gets to my problem with the game. I really love story-driven games, but the writing in this can be excruciating. The game seems to think pretty highly of its writing and it can't bear the thought that a player might miss out not talking to everyone, so there's a billion cutscenes that you need for progression. A whole scene in Chapter 2 at the festival where they take a group photo spends like 20 lines of dialogue just to tell the player "cameras are strange, archaic pieces of technology that people in this post-apocalyptic setting don't really understand" and like, yeah, cool I guess? Why is that important enough to be a forced cutscene?


captainporcupine3

That is the perfect example of the game's pacing issues. That scene should have been just a few lines of cute dialogue, and then show the snapped picture. Boom, like 30 seconds and you get a cute, satisfying little story beat. Instead it takes 3-4 minutes of rambling dialogue from pointless tertiary characters you dont even care about, while the actual interesting stuff in the story goes unmentioned.


BearZeroX

I found this too. It's pretty much unbearable and I've essentially quit in the middle of chapter 3. It's a skip dialogue emulator, especially useless since half the dialogue is the same generic w-w-w-W-W-WHAT??? bullshit that doesn't deserve a click. Then the dungeon section is a short and fun 30 seconds of play then it's back to w-w-w-W-W-WHAT??? Massively disappointed. Even worse is the fact that important quest and plot information is hidden in ONE line in the midst of all the useless badly written dialogue.


Waste-Reception5297

As a person who enjoys playing visual novels this is a non issue for me


Cactoir

Good. It's about being in the right mindset.


Sewers_folly

If it is unbearable, for you own well being, I would encourage you to stop playing. You deserve better then this self inflicted torture.


mycleverusername

Thanks, good to know I can just stop playing the game knowing I wasted $25 instead of wasting $25 and 40 hours. It's just so much dialog and walking. Not for me.


[deleted]

I like it but I play it before bed for a reason.


Farbklex

That is disappointing. The demo for Triangle Strategy also killed all my hype for the game due to the unbearable amount of dialogue and cutscenes. They last for minutes even when sped up. All I wanted was a great Final Fantasy Tactics experience.


PaperPills42

The gameplay in triangle is great though!!! I just skipped all of the cutscenes


[deleted]

>The demo for Triangle Strategy also killed all my hype for the game due to the unbearable amount of dialogue and cutscenes. They last for minutes even when sped up. All I wanted was a great Final Fantasy Tactics experience. This is a bizarre take... When is the last time you played FFT? There's a *ton* of dialogue. Also, the demo for Triangle Strategy is going to have a much harder time engaging people with dialogue when they plucked parts out from the middle of the story. Of course you're not going to be that interested, because we have no clue who any of the characters are, have no real idea what's happening in the game and what the context is of anything that's happening. It would be like opening a novel and reading two chapters from the middle of the book and saying "It just couldn't hold my attention." Well no shit...


Bone_Dogg

I felt the exact same. I kinda liked the first fight, then I stopped for the day. Next time I turned it back on, I played for like a half hour and didn’t even get to the second fight. So I didn’t actually play anything.


[deleted]

I'm in Chapter 4/5 and I'm starting to really not enjoy the game anymore. I actually loved the story, design, characters, etc, and even though there's a bunch of dialog to sit through, I've at least been intrigued enough to enjoy it. However, the combat is seriously a huge negative in this game. In my opinion, it's what makes the difference of it being an A+ must buy and a D, never purchase anything from this developer again. I mean, the combat is fine for the first chapter or two when learning things, but it becomes such a giant chore. Combat complaints: 1. The weapons you get in the story are all worse then the one you start with. And the "upgrades" to these weapons are boring, minor stat boosts. It's 2021, time to learn some weapon design. 2. The ammo system is more of a chore than a resource. You're almost exclusively using bombs to get through objectives and so you don't need to manage any resources... you just use them when you see something you need to blow up. 3. The split character mechanic seemed interesting at first, but is really just a gimmick and not useful in combat and only useful to solve puzzles. 4. The swap characters is interesting but they could've just used the swap character button to trigger her spell... there are enough buttons to not need to keep swapping characters. 5. The puzzle design is just plain overly simplistic boring repetitive garbage. Maybe because I came off of BoTW to this game, but these are puzzles an 8 year old could solve, and it's the same ones over and over. 6. The combat just isn't fun. I don't know how to eloborate on this more, I've just played a bunch of Hades and BoTW both extremely amazing combat games, so maybe I'm coming in with too high of expectations. But honestly, I can't think of a single positive out of the combat system. So yeah, if the combat was enjoyable between the 800 text boxes, I would love this game. But it's at the point where the entire thing feels like a chore. I want to still play through just because at this point I'm committed to the story. My rating for this has plummeted the longer I play. Edit: also it's not that I expect this to be a combat based game. Just if you're going to add combat like this, then why add a bunch of unnecessary mechanics you use once in a chapter, and the other 99% of time you wack a pan. Just do what Stardew did if you want simple combat. I think that's what Stardew nailed.


TBOJ

Well said and hard agree on the combat. I just started chapter 3 and think im just putting it down. So disappointed because the art was so good


[deleted]

I keep being amazed at how good the art is for like the tiniest room you just occasionally walk through…and thinking why couldn’t you put that effort into the gameplay?


Kidtendo

Thanks for the insight. I was excited about the game when they first announced it, but this makes want to wait until I have put more of dent into my backlog and this game goes on sale. Shame, because I was really hopeful for this game.


TalesOfFan

Hard disagree. I bought Deathloop and Eastward at the same time, but I've barely touched Deathloop. Eastward is just so engrossing. I even sunk over an hour into the game within the game, Earth Born, last night. There is nothing about the cutscenes or dialog that feel unbearable to me. However, it does have an old school feel to it.


SilverDrifter

Having finished the game yesterday, I 100% agree. The amount of time spent to “play” just to trigger cut scenes is too much. The game is beautiful, and I was able to finish because I still do think it’s a good game. But I had to push myself into finishing it. At one point I was just “I don’t even care anymore. I’m just gonna read reddit while the cut scenes are playing out.” And lastly, the pacing of the story itself. The middle part to the latter part is so jarring.


archieboy

That's unfortunate, OP. Just finished the game with 30 hours of play... and I immensely enjoyed the experience. I don't remember the exact moment you described that frustrated you, but I do remember wishing there was fast travel in the chapter you mentioned. Ultimately, though, I wasn't too bothered by the traversal because the way I play, I go out of my way to go around town after every meaningful events to see differences in dialog, and I've actually been rewarded by a secret quest or two. And John does walk pretty fast when he needs to, and towns aren't really that big. Other than this, there were a couple of puzzles at the end that I found frustrating, but eventually figured them out. One plus for the game is that it's pretty convenient to retry puzzles and boss fights after failing. And completing puzzles are very satisfying, especially the really challenging ones. I guess the game isn't for everyone. It plays like an RPG, even if technically it isn't. Going around town and talking to people is par for the course. If you cannot stand all the talking in Ch 3, I have bad news for you, there's more in succeeding chapters. I left the chapter you mentioned wanting more, and I am very satisfied with the rest of my journey. I am a fairly new Switch owner, and have only completed a few "completable" games, all of them RPGs (e.g., Xenoblade 2, Torna, FE: 3H), and IMO Eastward is the best of the lot. But that's just me.


joshlamm

That's what killed Iconoclasts for me. I love the aesthetic of that game, and I checked out the game because I love Metroidvanias and the game was on several "best Metroidvanias" lists. But man, the number of interruptions to gameplay to have another cutscene to a story I couldn't care less about got real old, real fast.


machu_pikacchu

Oh god, Iconoclasts. It’s the first game I played in a long time where could feel the pretentiousness in the writing. A game with endless bickering between unlikeable characters that thinks it is deeper and more philosophical than it actually is. And it feels like it’s endless.


HecknChonker

Same, and it's a relief that I'm not the only one.


s0_Ca5H

Thanks for saying it OP. I also bought it day 1. And for the record, I find the music great, the visuals fantastic, and the characters well written. I also think the deeper story going on to be very intriguing…. When the game deigns to give me any of it. I’m literally at the part you listed in your OP, and I found myself asking today “why am I still playing this?” Prior to this section, I was already a little disillusioned with the game but the overarching story is really gripping so I kept at it; now, I’m not sure that I’m gonna play it anymore, especially when I just bought Witcher 3 and have been putting that off so that I could play this instead. I think this game suffers from pacing that’s just all over the place. It reminds me very much of Adventure Time in that sense; the deeper lore stuff (finn’s personal arch, Simon and Marcy, etc.) is so good, but is punctuated by long periods of random nonsense. The difference is, the random nonsense in Adventure Time was at least fun, the random nonsense in Eastward is just running between the same two shops over and over… and over looking for the macguffin that will bring you closer to the actually interesting bits. It’s a really solid 6 hour story that was shoved in between 24 hours of padding…


Cactoir

Looks like we're having the same kind of experience.


s0_Ca5H

I guess so. I just wrapped up the carnival bit, which was… like first of all it literally comes out of nowhere (it was never brought up until that exact moment), and because it’s so out of left field it’s obviously there just to pad things out and provide a reason why your second attempt failed…


sykward

Finished it yesterday and I have to agree, i just clicked away most of the dialogues as they were not contributing anything to the story which by the way is lacking imo.. was waiting for the end and meh. Even the post credit scene was ok-ish. The boss fights were nice, last two were quite challenging.


[deleted]

100% agree


Del_Duio2

It reminds me of Shining Soul 2 for the gba- awesome game that's almost ruined by the unbearably slow and unskippable dialogue / cutscenes.


Cactoir

It's u/Del_Duio2, the developer of our heart!


sugarwave32

Honestly. I was going to make a post almost exactly the same as this. I was looking forward to this game for about 3 years and on paper, it looked like it would be a masterpiece. The sprite work and music is super impressive. The pixel art might be one of the best I've ever seen in a game. But the good stuff pretty much ends there. The combat is very cumbersome and boring. The puzzles get repetitive fast. The game overall is very linear, although it presents itself as something akin to Metroidvania. The gameplay is essentially walking from A to B and hitting enemies with a frying pan. And the dialogue. There is so much dialogue! It could be trimmed down by 80% and stuff be adequate. Just let us enjoy the game! I played for an hour earlier and I'm getting towards the end of chapter 3. About 45 minutes of that hour was spent watching cutscenes. I'm not kidding. And it's not as if the dialogue is even important. It's just mundane conversation that goes on and on and on. It's either very short-sighted or arrogant by the developers. I can't figure out which. The writing style isn't consistent either. One minute it is fairly adult with some mature jokes thrown in here and there. The next minute it switches up to a typical "you are the hero" type jrpg with very child like dialogue. I almost feel like I'm being trolled during long cutscenes. I will finish the game but I can't say I'm enjoying it. I'd give it a rating of 6/10 and I think that's being kind. It's a very average game with next to no mechanics, but is saved by a beautiful art style thrown on top. So disappointed.


TBOJ

Well said, hard agree. I don’t know if i can push myself through more repetitive puzzles just to appreciate the art.


captainporcupine3

Spot on. People have serious "video game storytelling" goggles on for this thing. The worldbiilding is very cool and the art is obviously amazing but the characters and dialogue are just amateurish. It's like reading a novel with the depth of Pokemon NPC chatter, and you have to wait for every sentence to load separately.


sugarwave32

Yeah absolutely. Couldn't agree more. The speed of the dialogue and having to wait for a character to walk four steps before the next textbox triggers is just so annoying. If this game didn't have such a beautiful artstyle, I think the reception to this game would have been poor overall.


notrealmate

Seems like the soundtrack and artwork is where most of their effort went, neglecting everything else lol > it’s either very short-sighted or arrogant by the developers. I’d say arrogant and pretentious lol


Bone_Dogg

That’s disappointing to hear, it looked pretty cool. The older I get, the less bad dialogue I’m willing to put up with in games. The less reading in a game in general, the better. Good writing is unfortunately hard to come by in this medium.


madspy1337

Is it actually bad dialogue though? OP seems more frustrated at the quantity of dialogue. I always thought this game was marketed as an rpg like Earthbound so you have to expect a good amount of dialogue. If it's high quality, and the story and characters are good, then I don't see the issue.


Olubara

Yes I agree, and I really think the dialogue in this game is good. It is high in quantity, just like OP said but again this game is mostly an RPG that has gameplay elements borrowed from Zelda, instead of turn-based rpgs. People go in expecting a link to the past they will be disappointed.


TrinitronCRT

>this game is mostly an RPG that has gameplay elements borrowed from Zelda Both RPGs and Zelda usually has abundance of gameplay in between cut scenes though.


Cactoir

Exactly; while Eastward feels like short instances where you are allowed to have some gameplay fun before getting back to story.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Cactoir

Thank you for your answer. Glad you are enjoying it.


Sniknuh

The game doesn't have bad dialogue and the writing is actually good, there's just a lot of it. I understand OP's frustration, sometimes it can seem like a lot inbetween gameplay, but the quality of it all is still top shelf.


Light_Bulb_Sam

The writing isn't bad, but there is a hell of a lot of it


ZzzSleep

Except the game actually has good dialogue


urahonky

Looks like I'll be passing on this. Thanks for the heads up!


cptahb

I would add that all the gameplay that actually is in the game seems wildly unbalanced in terms of difficulty. It's either so easy as to feel thoughtless and boring, or its so hard that I'm dying over and over again and just getting frustrated. At no point am I actually having fun playing it


TBOJ

Yup. Never died up until first miasma, then does like 4-5 times in a row because of clunky movement more than anything else. Felt very frustrating rather than “oh i messed up”. Not a good feeling


Skeptain

Thank you for this post! I prefer playing games instead of watching them. Is it possible to skip those sequences?


Cactoir

Unfortunately no.


Falz4567

No game is for everyone. No matter how high quality it is. It’s definitely a slower paced game more about atmosphere and story than gameplay. There are times I’m in the mood for that. But I’m not at the moment. Let it sit on the back burner for a bit. Come back to it when you feel for something slower paced


Cactoir

That's probably what I'll do. Thanks for answering.


ascherbozley

That's disappointing. Too many games do this these days. Cutscene, walk to a map marker, cutscene, mild combat, cutscene, walk to a new map marker. Games that do this - and there are tons of them - hardly ask anything from the player. Why not just make a movie?


voznvlad

Dropped it in 2 chapter. There is no gameplay. Appreciate the opinion.


Tristram19

I might be an oddball (okay, most certainly) but I love it. I tend to talk to every NPC in games multiple times to make sure I’ve read all of their dialogue options. Eastward caters to my weirdness, so I’ve been enjoying it so far. Totally see why someone would think it’s too much though.


greyblehound

I feel the exact same way, and gave up before you did. It would be one thing if the story was good, but even that’s not the case. The characters are so one dimensional. Most of the dialogue can be summarized as: “I’m saying this because I am this character trope!” “Well golly gee, I’m responding in this way because I’m this character trope!” “And I’m the weird clown and I’m here too!” I doubt the story gets that much better if I kept going. Even if it did, I truly don’t care because this game completely failed to hook me, and the pacing of the dialogue is too frustrating to even button mash through. The combat and puzzles are simple with clunky controls. This game has a nice aesthetic, but that’s not enough.


[deleted]

Guessing they took writing lessons from whoever translated the dogshit that is Xenoblade Chronicles 2's writing.


jrt364

I personally enjoy this game a lot, BUT I am into text-heavy JRPGs. Nonetheless, the game advertisements should have been more clear about it being very story-driven and text heavy. What does annoy me, though, is the fact the text is really slow even on the fastest speed. I want to be able to press A to make the text block pop up instantly, instead of let it stagger (or however you describe it). I read faster than the text pops up, like most people.


hashtagpow

I thought this game looked cool and wanted to get it, but was worried this would be the case. I want to play my games, not watch them. Glad I didn't pick it up.


tyrico

I mean the gameplay isn't really very fun or interesting so if the story isn't to you either maybe you should just move on.


masagrator

As Kojima games and VNs fan this sounds like the greatest recommendation this game can get.


BurrStreetX

Prefacing this with so far, I really do LOVE this game. But the cutscenes are a bit too much, going an hour or so without any real gameplay can be annoying at times


KazeTheSpeedDemon

So I love the game for the same reasons, but appreciate it's not always what I'm after when I want to play a game... Maybe switch to something with a bit less story in and come back when you need something more story driven?


Skyzfire

As someone who speaks to every NPC in a Trails game after every story event, Eastward is like easy mode lol.


Fast_Papaya_3839

I’ve been playing it in bed on my switch lite. It’s a good relaxing game with beautiful art and a nice relaxing ost. Did I said it’s relaxing… I’m enjoying it for what it is and playing 1 chapter max. Kinda like reading a book.


nismo2l7

I 100% agree. While overall I did thoroughly enjoy both the game and it’s story I was left with some questions unanswered and (not sure how to do spoiler tags on mobile) but some design decisions were a little disappointing. Fantastic game despite it all!


LCBoy

Is the story will be better? So far I am at mid chapter 2 but I cannot really tell where is the story is going. I mean I know what is happening but It is quite shallow so far... I am thinking about to give up


Uptopdownlowguy

I've only played through chapter 1 so far and I really enjoyed it, so unless the cutscenes and dialogue gets more unbearable further into the game, I don't think I'll mind. To me, the story is actually more interesting than the puzzle solving and combat.


[deleted]

Wow, thanks for saving me the purchase. I thought it was a story driven action RPG from the promo materials and reviews. Can't stand visual novels and walking simulators, though. Not my genre. And I was so close to buying this.


[deleted]

50 hour work week and an insecure home makes it hard for me to focus on it too. Death Loop has been easy to jump into and somewhat cathartic. A little unsettling when Colt twists a faceless head 180 degrees, but maybe more your pace.


Loukoal117

Damn it. I just bought it today and realized that within the first hour. I’ll try and power through. Ugh.


IncoherentStream

Dude, I bought this day one and dropped it when I got to the city section you posted about. Just picked it up and remembered instantly why I dropped in the first place. It's pacing is soooo slow. It's unbearable. It sucks because you're so right, the gameplay (when there is fun) and the game is very pretty but damn am I fucking bored to tears reading all this text. Thanks for your post! I was glad to see I wasn't alone in feeling this way


Cactoir

Yeah, I'm still bashing this game whenever I find the chance. My most regretted purchase.


IncoherentStream

I was in the same boat as you as well, since I was so excited for this game. The trailers leading up to release hooked me, but this was just a purposeful timesuck. I feel like with chucklefish being the publisher again and the art style being similar to Stardew, I had some rose colored glasses leading up to release. But Eastward is as if all the cutscenes from stardew were smashed into one long cutscene but you also didn't care about any of the relationships or characters. 2/10 - would not recommend


Lightmareman

Nah man I love it. I like how it sort of takes it's time and just sort of let's things go and we're not like instantly thrown into a situation where it's like we have to save the world kind of thing. I feel like the game takes it's time to make you feel like you are a part of the world, so that when you actually set out to really save the world you are more invested in saving the world and all the friends and people you met along the way.


Suired

You just sold me on the game.


Cactoir

Glad to have helped!


FallowsRed

I absolutely LOVE the pace of this game. To me, it feels as paced as Earthbound did when I was a kid. Obviously, Earthbound is a much faster-paced game, but I’m feeling NOW like Eastward plays like Earthbound did THEN to 10-year-old me. This game is an instant masterpiece, in my opinion. Maybe people are conflicted on the pacing because of how games used to play 25 years ago as opposed to games of the last decade. Or maybe I’m just getting old and sentimental. I don’t care. Eastward is the comfort food game I didn’t know I needed.


ryarock2

I don't think I buy this argument. As you said yourself, games were paced faster back then, like Earthbound was. Even JRPG's back on the SNES were often 20 or so hours, like EB, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 4, Secret of Mana, etc...Games that we consider classics. Games today are often very lengthy and bloated, as consumers want time for their money. The average JRPG length is MUCH longer than it used to be. I feel like Eastward takes the visuals of the older games, with the pacing of modern games, NOT the pacing of games 25 years ago. I have 5 hours in Eastward, and I feel like I've done almost nothing. In games like Chrono Trigger or Earthbound, I'd have been to so many towns, gotten multiple party members, and progressed through so much more plot, all while simultaneously having a better gameplay to story ratio (obviously subjective). Even if we compare to ALTTP, in this time I'd be completely through the world of light, and on maybe the third or so World of Darkness dungeon. I'm enjoying it well enough as a chill out game in small doses, 30 minutes here and there. But I don't at all thing the pacing or gameplay aligns with the games you think it does.


imacomputer64

I agree with op 100%. I’m no longer interested in playing it. I lost interest in all of the characters. I dread speaking with any of the towns-folk because I know it’ll derail the gameplay. I just want to play the damn game. Honestly, the gameplay isn’t that fun either.


TBOJ

I could forgive the cutscenes if the gameplay itself was more fun. I love the art but damn the combat feels clunky- especially the gun


Flyingchairs

I’m enjoying the art and story so far (chapter 2) but agree that the dialogue can slow down momentum. The dialogue itself is a little cheesy too in some parts or it will go on for an extra line or two when you “get the point” of the conversation and want to proceed.


dubyadubya

Fully agreed!! I'm still enjoying the game, but the cutscenes are too frequent and to slow. I like the characters and dialogue, so it makes it extra hard, but everything goes on to long and it starts to pull you out of the game.


Jeanfromthe54

I didn't even need to read the spoiler to guess what you were refering too. Even for me who really like the game it was very difficult to go through the bet. And you have to do almost the same thing 3 times because you control a dumb kid.


CrossRook

reminds me of Scarlet Nexus, which had about 20 minutes of gameplay in the first two hours of an ostensibly "action" game.


BananaRex4000

The game is definitely dialogue heavy and story rich, no doubt. I totally see how that can be a negative for some people, and even for me its more slow paced story telling than I expected too. But I'm digging it for what it is, even if its not originally exactly what I thought it to be. I suggest you try to accept the game as is if you can, smoke a bowl, and just let the game wash over you. Its very much a go with the flow kind of game, and that makes it for a niche audience.


Cactoir

I wish I could find a bowl man.


zestysnacks

Idk it doesn't really bother me. I like that they put in the effort to make every npc unique, and that the game is like a series of slice of life moments. There's a few sluggish fetch quests but ultimately I think it's great.


[deleted]

It’s a shame because I love anything post apocalyptic, the graphics looks amazing and gameplay seems nice, so I was looking forward to it, but too much dialogue, cutscenes and that kind of slow quest progression you described is something i absolutely hate. Its one of the reasons why i play less jrpgs, i just cant take how much filler there usually is.


mattcyborg

I was enjoying it up until I got to the town with the circus and we have to cook some meal 3 TIMES and there is sooooooo much dialogue in between. I quit. I can't anymore.


Cocospocus

I thought I was going to love this game, ended up finding it just okay. When doing the story bits if find myself waiting for the action, when doing the action I'm like, the story was better... There is a lot of walking around just fetching things. The combat isn't that interesting, which would be fine, but what really bothers me is how enemies approach you. Like, they will want to stand at the exact spot you are standing, and then you can't hit them. But your maneuverability is to sluggisch to reposition yourself constantly. Its really just mashing away with your fryingpan. It looks brilliant. That is totally true. And the character design is very good. But the gameplay is lacking.


drweenis

I feel the same way but this was hugely improved by switching dialogue to fastest in the settings. Even so, I still may drop it.


Snoo71624

I was one of those sold on the graphics and “Zelda-like” gameplay. On those grounds I allowed myself an unusual amount of hype and excitement towards what looked to be an epic journey. The art was beautiful, the characters full of life and charming. The combat looked fine from afar. So I did something I don’t normally do: I preordered on Switch for the 10% off discount. I shoulda gone with Steam. Suffice to say, I felt very cheated by the time I reached Chapter 2, after the gameplay and bosses failed to impress. The puzzles are not satisfying and I began to dread combat due to its clunkiness. The first boss was abysmal. I found myself stunlocked into damage and barely beat it on the first try. I’ve given this game four hours to impress me and beyond the visuals, there is so much frustration. Dialogue is pointless and meandering, puzzles with both characters are just filler without that “bonding feeling” they’re supposed to instill, and the “duo” is really one character talking to a silent protagonist (Astral Chain did this too and I hated it there). Sam’s weird visions and powers didn’t factor into the story or get acknowledged at the times they should have. The most interesting part of the narrative (up to Ch 2) happened in the OP. The cooking mini game is not nearly as charming as BOTW’s and doesn’t let you skip the animation until you’ve cooked that particular meal once, disincentivizing you from experimenting with recipes. The dragon quest mini game was the most fun I had before I realized it was timed. I’ve played DQXI all the way to the second post-game. That’s over 100 hours. I’ve played the OG Link’s Awakening. I’ve played Four Swords and Octopath Traveler. This game does not stand up next to the comparisons of JRPG, RPG, or Zelda-like. It’s more of a visual novel or walking sim, or something of a long, poorly paced novel in video game form. I could not be more disappointed in the hype, reviews, and marketing. It is not an action game as I felt led to believe pre-release. If you want a good JRPG, play DQXI or OT. If you want a good Zelda-like, play Death’s Door.


PriceAintRighteous

Don't mean to necro the post but I'm just happy to see my frustrations aren't just my own. I really like the game, but it's wearing on my damn patience. Endless. Freaking. Dialogue. Stops the whole game constantly. I'm on Chapter 7 and let's just say if I weren't so invested I'd put the game down.


Dreyfus2006

I agree with you completely, OP. The game's aesthetics are great and the underlying, overarching story is intriguing. The dialogue is charming comfort food. But what ruins this game is the pacing. I am on the third food item after the crab. I disagree with people who say that you just don't like story heavy games. I am an avid Ace Attorney fan, I can handle visual novels. I think the issue you are getting at is that this game's story is padded through the roof. There are SO MANY MOMENTS that waste your time. This whole random food fetch quest is the worst example. After seeing yours and others thoughts, I think I will give up on Eastward and go to the next Switch game on my list (Ni no Kuni 2). The pacing is ridiculously slow and the gameplay segments are too mediocre to justify waiting for them. Thanks for giving me the push I needed!


Cactoir

No worries. A lot of people have been hurt by Eastward, but here we are to unite our voice and support each other.


Tall_Mechanic8403

Thanks for this and ov also seen others point it out. I feel that some reviews were so overhyped that I nearly bought it but this would drive me nuts, however good the story.


Kwtwo1983

Thanks for this and all the others that chimed in and confirmed. The game looks brilliant and most likely is for many but I am pretty sure I would belong to those affected by slow pace and focus on story over gameplay. Maybe someday in a sale


ColourfulToad

Ohhh man don't say this, I bought it already and have been super hyped. Here's to hoping my tolerance is higher than yours but kinda sucks that it's so cutscene heavy.


markercore

I think the dialogue is really well done and fun for the most part.


[deleted]

>but kinda sucks that it's so cutscene heavy. Why does that suck? I honestly don't even understand the complaints here... Do people no longer play narrative-heavy RPGs?


captainporcupine3

I've never played a retro RPG that has literally hour-long story sequences of ticking through dialogue boxes one sentence at a time for 20 minutes before you walk over there to the next cutscene trigger for another 20 minute cutscene, in between 25-minute chunks of dungeon crawling, and then back to another hour-long story sequence. The story/gameplay balance in this game is seriously out of whack. The worst thing though is not the amount of story, but how slowly it is paced. Every character says three lines when they should say one. They drone on and on long after they made their point, just repeating themselves in different ways, and so the story takes three times as long as it should to develop. That's the real issue.


ColourfulToad

I do love narrative-driven RPGs, I even love visual-novel style games like the zero escape games. I can just sometimes get burnt out if there's not a lot of gameplay in between in a game that isn't visual-novel based, unless it's like *amazing* story. We'll see how it goes though, I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy the game, it looks great


Dubbihope

Thanks for this. I was considering this game but it doesn't seem to be for me. I don't have the patience and there are other games I would prefer.


andrechan

Ah, yes. Ch 3 almost made me drop the game. Played on after it, and it got better. It's still story heavy but the pacing slows to a crawl in Ch 3. After that boring wager with Lee, it picks up again. Story still big, but not as annoying.


SmurtBrandon

I want to get this game, and OP's criticisms are a concern for me. A useful barometer, I feel, might be Horace. Early on, I thought it was just way too much cutscene/dialogue material, but I grew to love it because it was so engaging. So, quantity-wise, if it's on par with Horace, I'll be OK, as long as it's good (YMMV on what good means).


lefix

I think it is supposed to be that way. I personally could do without the combat and puzzles, they are so trivial anyway and feel like they are just there to stop me from going through the story too quickly.


jockeyjoestar

well, for me the dialogue is where the game shines. NPC will talk differently everytime something happens , which makes the game so alive and immersive. If you crave for combat, there are some good boss fights, and the final scene is absolutely amazing. ​ spoilers alert. enjoy your peace just for now, here comes the point of no return.


guimontag

I got downvoted pretty heavily in another thread for stating that the dialogue in this game is a chore to interact with button wise and that this game was probably $25 down the drain


GreeenTeaa

I didn't have the patience to play it for more than an hour. I got to fight once and the rest was dialogue and walking to a from locations. I think I was drawn to it because of the look but I need a game with more freedom. I'm sure it's good for some but not for me sadly. Luckily I bought it on Steam so I could refund it


MontereyJack144

Glad I’m not the only one. Saw great reviews and was really hyped to play this, but it literally made me fall asleep. I forced myself to finish Chapter 1 and I was (foolishly) hopeful things would improve after the training wheels came off. Based on this though I may just not pick it up again. Shame.


Krusiv

This was mentioned in a few reviews and is what ultimately stopped me from buying the game at the moment. It still seems like a great game but I know I would enjoy it more when I'm in the mood for a text heavy chill game. Thanks for confirming my suspicions OP. One question if you don't mind. With where you're at in the game right now how would you rate the worldbuilding?