Kioku: Last Summer

Kioku: Last Summer is a fairly simple game. You spend your days exploring Kioku Island, completing activities, collecting items, and building friendships with the other characters. The mechanics are easy to understand, and the overall gameplay loop fits well with the game’s relaxed summer setting. Unfortunately, my biggest issues with the game came from the technical side of the experience, which significantly impacted my enjoyment.

Kioku: Last Summer is a charming yet technically unstable cozy island adventure that shows strong potential but needs more polish to fully deliver its vision.

Kioku: Last Summer is Lugn Studio’s debut title, and it certainly feels like one – for better or worse. The team’s intentions are clear; the game is just the right length and delivers a storyline which, whilst simple, reminds you what it’s like to be a child. However, there are far too many technical glitches that undermine the experience, turning what should be a cosy game into an all too frustrating one. Hopefully, like many others, the team at Lugn Studio will learn from their mistakes and improve their game with their next release, as the foundations are solid but need strengthening, especially if they decide to continue with a series of similar titles.

Kioku: Last Summer is a relaxing summer vacation adventure that unfortunately still struggles with a number of technical issues. The in-game week offers plenty of variety through all kinds of holiday activities, and while the overall tone is cheerful and lighthearted, the story also includes a few more serious moments, particularly during interpersonal conflicts. At the same time, however, the adventure is not yet entirely polished on a technical level, and some of the bugs are distracting enough to noticeably affect the experience. As a result, I can currently only recommend the title with some caution.