There are very few games, in the videogame field, capable of gently accompanying us in a reflection on the important issues of life. The new work of the very Spanish Ovosonico team, Last Day of June, manages to touch our hearts and does so with impressive care
Love conquers all things
We all believe we know the true meaning of the word love, what it means to love someone, how muchlove is good for our lives. For millennia, artists all over the world have tried to represent love in any form of artwork. Probably giving a precise shape or definition is not so simple, because the magic of love consists precisely in thecaress the heart of each of us in a different way.
The most beautiful love is the one that awakens the soul and makes us want to reach higher, it is the one that ignites our heart and brings peace to our mind.
Last Day of June instantly catapult us into lives in love with Carl e June, in front of a beautiful sunset by the lake. She is intent on drawing, he is peeking slyly into his arms. From the first moments it is impressive care for colors (warm and intense like the love of the two) and for the animations used by the boys of Ovosonico; it was literally impossible not to get attached to Carl and June. During the incipit we experience some excerpts from before the departure for the lake, which tell us how the decision to go to that evocative and evocative place has matured.
But, just as in real life, good times don't last forever, so too, the lives of our lovers are turned upside down by a painful twist of fate. The drive back from the lake will be sadly fatal for June's life.
If this is the reality, don't wake me up
Following the accident, Carl wakes up as if from a sleep, but the reality that surrounds him inside the apartment is no longer the same. Colors are transformed into dark shades, almost macabre, he is confined to a wheelchair and his dear June is gone. Carl is alone, dejected and now with little desire to live life without his true love. Overwhelmed by melancholy, he manages to gain strength and enter the garage, where some paintings by the now deceased June are kept. It is these paintings that initiate the main mechanics of the game.
Each painting allows us to relive a memory prior to the departure for the lake based on the character depicted and it is precisely by changing past events that a faint hope lights up in Carl and in us who command it. Can we perhaps, thanks to this "power", challenge fate and save June? We do not want to tell you, we trust that you play it to the end, we do not want to spoil the ending of a work of this kind. Because yes, the finale of Last Day of June alone is worth the price of the game and leaves ample room for speculation and personal reflections.
Change-relive-change-relive
The game, it is undeniable, winks at another highly successful graphic adventure, that is Life is Strange (in this regard, we invite you to read ours special if you haven't already).
The gameplay is simple and certainly does not boast anything innovative. We find ourselves solving environmental puzzles by impersonating a child, a woman (friend of Carl and June), a hunter and an old man. Each time we relive and modify a memory, we unlock the next memory and, by taking the right actions, we are able to modify the causes that caused the accident.
To tell the truth, it is precisely in this dynamic that it resides the biggest flaw of this title. Each time we conclude a memory, we are shown a scene that makes us understand whether we managed to avoid the road accident or not. Since it is practically impossible to conclude a memory with the right sequence from the first attempt, we will find ourselves reviewing the same cutscenes several times: an experience that we would have preferred to avoid or, at least, have the ability to skip.
For the rest, Last Day of June accompanies the gamer, through an invisible but always present direction in the right direction, among deliberately not too complex enigmas that allow complete the story in under three hours.
Love at first sight
We don't know if Carl and June have loved each other since they first met, but that's what happens to us. The two protagonists they have neither eyes nor mouth, but this video game is the classic example of how little else is needed when the heart speaks. The empathy that is established with the protagonists is immediate, it could not be otherwise. From the first moment we wanted to discover the evolution of the events between the two. The rest of the playable characters also have very realistic and communicative animations. Praise, in this sense, to the team of Ovosonico for the result: we just can't imagine a better result.
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As in a picture of fine workmanship
Without useless turns of words, the rendering of the settings is impressive. The player finds himself immersed in a bucolic landscape, at times evanescent and at times damn daily and painful, expertly painted with color tones that perfectly reflect the emotions of the character we are playing. For real beautiful to see and perfect in terms of fluidity on the tested PC version. Here too mention of praise to the team, a result of the highest artistic level. In terms of sound, the videogame makes use of the collaboration between Steven Wilson e Jess Cope. The result is a profound, perfectly joined harmony between settings and background music.
Last Day of June: a romantic journey through the values of life
Last Day of June puts us in front of very important themes such as love, death and the role of destiny in our lives. It does all this respecting our feelings without expecting anything, leaving us upset by an unexpected ending. If you are a person who believes in love, in the meaning of family, if you are deeply reflective and emotional, play it at all costs.
Last Day of June is available from 31 August 2017 for PlayStation 4 e PC, at a price of 19,99 euro.
8.5 UNMISSABLEPoints in favor
- Story that captures and makes you think
- Perfectly characterized characters
- Technical sector of the highest artistic level
Points against
- Repetitiveness in some situations
