The team also drew inspiration from franchises such as Macross, Akira, Cowboy Bebop, Memories, and titles from Studio Ghibli. Stylistically, Eastward was inspired from Japanese animations from the 1990s and classic role-playing games such as Mother and The Legend of Zelda. Designs were done in Photoshop, while the pixel art was created in Aseprite. The game's graphics engine utilizes homebrew technology, generating two-dimensional visuals created in the pixel art technique, which is complemented by three-dimensional lighting. The team later developed it when creating the universe of Eastward, with the goal of creating a role-playing game that was plot-driven and contained subtle science fiction elements.Д®astward runs on a proprietary game engine developed by Pixpil, Gii, with the open source engine MOAI. The name 'Eastward' was coined by co-founder Zhou as a key concept for the game, as the characters are trying to go east. They came up with several concepts, including a mobile puzzle title, but eventually settled on a role-playing game.

Д®astward was conceived around pixel artist Hong Moran's post-apocalyptic designs 'about a weird monster dormitory building, resembling Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City.' Other members of Pixpil liked the idea, and started to brainstorm around the aesthetic. An announcement trailer for the game was released on April 26, 2018. Early art from Eastward was shared by team members on Twitter, and the game was reported to be seen on Steam Greenlight in 2017. The project had been under production since 2015, with only three people taking part in the beginning. Players can collect ingredients to cook meals that give different health benefits and powers.Д®astward is the debut title from Pixpil, a Shanghai-based independent development team founded in 2013. Sam, meanwhile, has two different stamina bars: one for her normal energy attacks, which replenishes over time, and one for her magical abilities, which must be refilled with magical orbs obtained by smashing pots or defeating enemies. John's guns and bombs are a finite resource that must be replenished when fighting enemies. Players will have to manage different resources for each of them. Д®astward features a dual-character mechanic, where the player assumes the role of John, the miner, and the little girl, Sam, using the latter's telekinetic powers in combination with John's more earthly options such as frying pans and flamethrowers. According to Chucklefish, Eastward takes about 30 hours to complete. The action gameplay focuses on switching weapons to suit the enemy, and swapping between the protagonists to overcome environmental puzzles, which occasionally demand the pair to collaborate or separate. The title is heavy on exploration, puzzle-solving, item collecting, and cooking.

GameplayД®astward takes place in a fantasy world where society is on the brink of collapse and the population is declining. Sam desires to know about the outside world and the two end up exiled to the world above. The duo live in an underground mining community taught to fear the outside world. The story follows John, a digger who finds a capsule that contained Sam, who has psionic powers and becomes John's adoptive daughter. Eastward received generally positive reviews upon release. Д®astward debuted on Septemfor Microsoft Windows, macOS, as well as the Nintendo Switch as a timed console exclusive. Following expulsion from his own village, including the discovery of a mysteriously gifted young girl named Sam in a secret underground facility, the unlikely pair will embark on an emotional journey to discover the truth, traveling across a wonderfully strange world and exploring bustling towns, curious campsites, and shady forests. John is a gruff middle-aged man who gets by as a miner.

The last remnants of humanity who were able to flee the miasma flocked to underground villages to begin a new life. In a near-future society on the brink of collapse, the majority of human civilization is destroyed by a deadly toxic presence that has spread across the land, accompanied by sinister creatures destroying and devouring everything in their path. The title combines action-adventure and role-playing elements into a roguelike game with puzzle-solving elements. Single-player Eastward is a Retraux-style video game developed by Pixpil and published by Chucklefish.

Eastward metacritic