Overview

Last Day of June is an adventure puzzle game that revolves around Carl and June. The game starts out with them spending some quality time together on the pier. When they decide to leave they have an unfortunate accident. It claims the life of June and cripples Carl. You will get to control Carl throughout the game as he explores the past in hopes that maybe he can change the outcome of that fateful outing.

Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty basic. You will use the analog sticks to control the characters and use R1 for jogging and X to interact. The point for this seems to be more so the player can truly focus on the story and less on the actions with the controller. Trying to change the outcome of the accident will put you in control of 4 other people aside from Carl. You will get to see how each of these persons had a hand in the accident and try to change that. Different actions from each character will force you to complete one and return to another that you thought you were finished with to change your initial choices. Each choice you make will affect the next characters choices and outcomes causing for multiple attempts with each character to get the outcome right. There are hints at what you need to do to complete each section but they are very, very subtle.

Graphics/Sound

As you can see from the trailer and pictures posted, each character has a claymation type of style. Leaving each character without a mouth and therefore the dialogue, when presented, sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown. Now, without playing the game, that sounds terrible. However, this game is one that you really don’t need a full English dialogue to enjoy. The story and journey are pretty well laid out for you through memories and paintings that really tell the full story. The story is really more in the animations and choices rather than in the narration.

The sounds of the game are beautiful. It really takes you to the pier with Carl and June and really brings you along for the ride and the entire journey. This is where you get to hear the ambient noise coming from outside while Carl and June are indoors. While you play as the other characters, you will pick up on the noises that each controllable character is making doing his or her desired action. You will be able to sort of pinpoint where each character is and that will help influence decisions that you make in order to put each one in the right spot at the right time.

Summary

The developers really took the time and care with this little game. It’s not that long of a game but definitely had some effort behind the few hours it takes to complete. They tell a story of an undying love and devotion of a husband mourning the loss of his beloved wife. They really portray the lengths one will go to get that one last moment with their special someone. The artwork and lighting in this game is really beautiful and stands out among the other games I’ve played as something unique. This title was really a refreshing and moving one.