Last Day of June
A puzzle adventure based on Steven Wilson's song 'Drive Home'.
Karl Bryullov · Public domain
The gameplay blends adventure and puzzle elements from a third-person perspective. Players start as Carl on a lakeside date with June, just before their car crash. The story then rewinds to the day before, letting players control June at home, then Carl shortly after. It returns to the lake date, where Carl drives them home. Later, Carl discovers he can interact with June’s paintings, allowing him to control other characters from the accident day. By solving puzzles, he alters the events that led to the crash. Each failed attempt to save June unlocks new paintings and characters, creating increasingly complex sequences. Over the course of the game, players control six characters in order: Carl, June, The Kid, The Best Friend, The Hunter, and The Old Man. The plot follows Carl and June, a couple shattered when a car accident kills June and leaves Carl in a wheelchair. Touching one of June’s paintings, Carl revisits the memories of people present on the accident day. By changing their actions, he tries to prevent the crash. Each attempt stops one accident, but another event causes the same fatal outcome. In the finale, Carl finds a sketchbook showing June’s own attempts to save him, revealing the crash is inevitable—someone will die that day. Carl then travels back to the accident, swaps seats with June, and dies in the wreck, sacrificing himself for his wife and unborn child. The game ends with June visiting Carl’s grave on a hill overlooking the lake. Announced in May 2017, it released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on August 31, 2017. Critics received Last Day of June warmly. Eurogamer ranked it 33rd on its "Top 50 Games of 2017," and Polygon placed it 38th on its list of the 50 best games of 2017. In Adventure Gamers Aggie Awards 2017, it won the award for "Best Story", while it was a runner-up each for "Best Concept", "Best Graphic Design", and "Best Non-Traditional Adventure".
Quick Facts
- Title
- Last Day of June
- Developer
- Ovosonico
- Publisher
- 505 Games
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- PlayStation 4 · Microsoft Windows · Nintendo Switch
- Released
- PlayStation 4, Windows · 31 August 2017 · Nintendo Switch · 16 March 2018
- Genre
- Adventure, puzzle
- Modes
- Single-player
- Director
- Massimo Guarini · it
- Producer
- Elia Randon
- Designer
- Mattia Traverso
- Programmer
- Briano Casotto
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Last Day of June incorporates elements of adventure and puzzle games in a third-person perspective. The player initially controls Carl, who is on a date with June at the lake on the day leading up to their car accident. The game then moves back to the day before the crash, where the player controls June at their house, and Carl shortly after. It switches back to their date at the lake, where the player controls Carl again, and they drive home. Afterwards, the player controls Carl in their house at a later date and discovers that June's paintings can be interacted with, allowing the player to take control of various characters from the day of the accident to solve puzzles and alter the sequence of events that indirectly caused the accident. As the player fails to prevent June's death, new paintings and characters are unlocked for increasingly complex changes. Throughout the game, the player alternately controls six characters: Carl, June, The Kid, The Best Friend, The Hunter, and The Old Man.
Reader's Guide
The game's significance lies in its unique narrative structure, where the player repeatedly attempts to prevent a car accident by controlling different characters and altering events, only to find that the crash is inevitable. The story culminates in Carl discovering a sketchbook by June listing her attempts to save him, leading him to swap seats with her and sacrifice himself. The game was received favourably by critics, earning a spot on Eurogamer's 'Top 50 Games of 2017' at 33rd and Polygon's 50 best games of 2017 at 38th. It won the Adventure Gamers' Aggie Awards 2017 for 'Best Story' and was a runner-up for 'Best Concept', 'Best Graphic Design', and 'Best Non-Traditional Adventure'. It was also nominated for 'Game Beyond Entertainment' at the 14th British Academy Games Awards. The game was developed by Italian studio Ovosonico, directed by Massimo Guarini, and featured music composed by Steven Wilson.
Did You Know?
- The game is based on Steven Wilson's song 'Drive Home'.
- It won the Adventure Gamers' Aggie Award for 'Best Story' in 2017.
- The game was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in August 2017, and ported to Nintendo Switch in March 2018.
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