Last Day of June

Inspired by Steven Wilson’s haunting “Drive Home“, Last Day of June explores this line of questioning as it tells a heartfelt story about loss and the acceptance of it. These themes are steeped in every aspect of the game, from the visuals, dream-like and haunting, to the gameplay itself, as Carl seeks to change the events of that fateful day to save June’s life. Whimsical yet disturbing, the game’s solid narrative and sublime graphics are bogged down by mind-numbing repetition, making it difficult to fully enjoy Last Day of June.

While short, Last Day of June is a nice story that will capture you for the entirety of your playthrough. However, the ending ensures that the game won't stay with you after you're done.

Last Day of June is a personal and emotional journey that brings you to the most beautiful corners of love and the darkest and most painful corners of loss at the same time. It's a compelling journey, with relatable characters within a beautiful world, brought to life with a sensational score. But ultimately, it's uninspired, core ground-hog day gameplay loop hinders and undermines everything that has been built around it.

Games are often about how many people you can slaughter, and the efficiency with which you can do so. This makes death abstract – a means to an end. The more death you can cause, the more points you’ll get, and the more points you get, the more likely you are to win. Last Day of June isn't about death in the abstract. In fact, it's about just one death. And it’s not about causing that death – it’s about trying to stop it from happening in the first place.

Last Day of June is a short but emotional tale that is worth an afternoon playthrough, though at times the gameplay feels a little lacking.

The true test for any game of this kind is whether it can keep player hungry enough to see it through to the end. Although I wasn’t completely enthralled (the repetitive puzzles and a couple of bugs broke my immersion) it still managed to lodge its hooks in me and I’d be lying if I said those final moments didn’t make me feel anything. Last Day of June is a emotive, sometimes enchanting story of love and loss that, while it doesn’t break new ground, will resonate with plenty of gamers out there.

Love is a powerful emotion, which can make us feel both euphoria and devastation. Last Day of June explores these feelings and how they change when tragedy strikes. While it has some poignant scenes, Last Day of June loses its lasting appeal with mediocre gameplay and repetition.

A joy to view but sometimes a chore to play, Last Day of June delivers a touching story that’s worth finishing.

A visual masterpiece with an interesting central gameplay idea that unfortunately fails in its main mission of being emotionally engaging.

Can a game based on Steven Wilson's Drive Home use its great art direction to make up for lacking design? Or does repetition make it feel like you've played through one too many last days?

Last Day of June is a narrative puzzle game that makes full use of a wide range of powerful emotive devices to make its point. Its fairly straightforward puzzles won’t keep you up, scratching your noggin at night, but the effect of its wonderful characters and the love they have for one another will leave you feeling like you belong to something bigger than yourself.

Last Day of June feels a bit like a hazy, strange dream that you’re unable to wake up from. Like a recurring nightmare or a fantasy that glows in a way that makes it near unforgettable. This is not your traditional puzzle game, nor is it an entirely narrative driven experience. It’s a beautiful love story that uses a gorgeous visual style and strong audio to craft a game that is imperfect but special all the same.