Finding a great pixel-art RPG or action game that was released in recent years isn't hard to do, and a lot of them are superb.  Starbound, Stardew Valley, Timespinner, Wargroove — the list goes on and on. Impressively, Chucklefish has a knack for leading the charge in finding and releasing games of that nature.  Eastward, a new action-RPG with detailed pixel art graphics from developer Pixpil, is one of the next games to be released under the Chucklefish portfolio.

The demo, made available as a part of the Games Festival event during The 2019 Game Awards, starts the player in the middle of a dirty, rundown town.  You play as John — a disheveled, bearded miner, with a cozy, orange vest who's accompanied by a young blonde girl named Sam.  Her oversized clothes and blonde hair that extends to her feet imply something odd about her.  John found the girl "deep underground in a secret facility," but the demo doesn't explain any of this. There's little explanation about to who these folks are, what's going on with the town, or what our purpose is. Perhaps Pixpil is trying to keep the story under wraps in the demo, and there are more interesting details as you progress into deeper parts of the game. 

Early on, John and Sam are sent on a mission to enter a forest to take care of some monsters.  Leaving the town means leaving behind the comforts of pixel art eye candy and intriguing world design, and throwing the player into combat and puzzles.  As you make your way through the forest, John has access to a frying pan to clunk three-headed serpents, mushrooms, and pot-covered bugs.  This consists of either quick hits or more powerful charged attacks, which are accompanied by a slight lunge forward.  The movement within Eastward is on the sluggish side, and this was exacerbated during combat, during which my hits didn't feel satisfying or strategic. This was only a slice of the gameplay, so it's difficult to tell how this might improve within the context of the full game or as the developer has more time to work out any issues.

Beyond combat, there are puzzles that involve rafts that must be launched across a river by smacking a nearby post with your pan.  Hitting the pole sends the raft floating down the river in the opposite direction.  The slowness of the raft felt like another barrier, and the puzzles in the demo don't provide much challenge or satisfaction. 

Eastward also allows you to swap control between John and Sam.  Instead of using a pan to launch rafts down rivers, Sam has an energy-based missile attack that can destroy certain plants.  This opens up the puzzles a bit, forcing you to switch between the characters to unlock new areas.

John and Sam's character designs intrigued me, and the various hoodlums, oddballs, and juggling men within the starting town immediately caught my attention.  The pixel art within the game is appealing, and it's obvious why the game caught the attention of pixel art aficionados like Chucklefish.

Thus far, Eastward feels like a collection of fantastic pixel art assets and some basic game mechanics. The demo doesn't provide much insight into the story hinted at by the game's Steam Store page, and the trailers show John using a flamethrower to battle monsters.  With all of this in mind, and in addition to the fact that Chucklefish has a knack for seeking out and publishing top-notch pixel art games, I feel like I must be missing something.  Perhaps hidden in the depths of the darkest corner of the slum towns in Eastward is a fantastic game, but this demo certainly didn't shine a light on it. Here's hoping the full game proves me wrong when it comes out in 2020.