There’s technological prowess poking through its scene of sun-kissed wheat bristling around a village of junked ships, or the efficient characterisation of a man in rags who nervously pokes a hand through a hole in his shirt. Eastward looks more sumptuous than they ever did, with its dynamic lighting, HD detail and plethora of animated NPCs. In particular, that pixel art (and accompanying eclectic soundtrack) took me back to Square’s SNES triumphs, Final Fantasy VI and Secret of Mana. Much of my initial delight stemmed from the palpable 90s vibe seeping through the experience, from bulbous headed villagers loitering outside their homes, to the wibble-wibble squeaks that stand in for their speech. There is plenty to love about Eastward, however, most of it skilfully built on lessons learned from the golden age of 2D JRPGs. As it turns out, developer Pixpil hadn’t dissolved those big narrative lumps so much as punted them down the track, where they waited to ambush me with a vengeance.

If only I could have sustained that sense of anticipation and excitement, but it wasn’t to be. READ MORE: ‘Lost in Random’ review: an enjoyable dark fairy tale marred by plodding action.By the time its characters boarded a train to depart from the opening location, Potcrock Isle, I was very much on board. This confident action-RPG had me at hello with its glorious pixel art, irresistible protagonists and elegant dungeoneering. RPGs are often slow starters, chipping through blocks of lore and backstories before hitting their strides.

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