Edited by: Tiffany Lillie

Eastshade is a relaxing open-world adventure and exploration game. You play as a travelling painter whose journey begins when your ship wrecks on the shores of Eastshade, one of your mother’s favorite places. In honor of her memory, you set out to paint all of the special sights she told you about and explore the world so near and dear to her heart.

A BEAUTIFUL WORLD

From the snow-swept peaks of the Restless Reach to the bustling city views from the top of Nava, the design of Eastshade is stunningly beautiful. Perfectly-placed foliage paints the forests and meadows, and each house is finely detailed with books, candles, and other trinkets to discover. You’ll feel at peace exploring each area of the map and will find that the inspiration to paint comes naturally when surrounded by such lovely views. Beyond the pleasing aesthetic, the lore scattered throughout the world will also catch your attention, whether it be from a charming folktale found within one of the inns or a book about the history of Lyndow’s beautiful architecture.

THE QUESTS

Quests are the main bread and butter of Eastshade, and there are plenty to complete. You can choose between lending a helping hand or taking a more calloused approach toward those in need, which adds some replayability to the content, but does not alter much apart from the ending. The quests also have a nice variety between them, with some simple and easy to complete and others much more complex. You might be tasked with painting a portrait of a certain bird, or even find yourself playing amateur detective after stumbling upon a mystery at the Sinkwood Inn.

With a solid eight to ten hours of quests to complete, you’ll uncover many secrets and interesting histories as you help the citizens of Eastshade and become entangled in their lives. The characters you’ll encounter are pleasantly diverse and each have their own unique personality, although there is not much interaction or backstory to them beyond the quests presented. Each character also has their own voice acting, helping to set them apart and make the world feel fleshed out and populated with real people.

A RELAXING EXPERIENCE

As the developers intended, Eastshade provides a quaint and relaxing experience. Full of tranquil music and scenic views, exploring the world is peaceful in nature and you rarely feel rushed to complete the quests provided. The pacing truly heightens the calm experience intended, however, the lack of urgency might not compel you to complete the quests either. Depending on your preferred play style, the easygoing feel can be a refreshing take on a genre that can often rely on fighting battles to progress, or it might feel a little too slow and provide less of an incentive to keep playing.

CRASHES

As beautiful as the world is and as fun as the quests are to complete, I did run into several problems with the game crashing. After playing for more than an hour, choosing the option to rest would typically result in a crash and require restarting. The screen would also occasionally freeze when walking through the forest areas, requiring the use of the task manager to ultimately exit out of the window. These crashes are frustrating to encounter and can easily disrupt the tranquil feel of the game, especially if you do not save frequently.