Finji has built a reputation around distinctive indie experiences, and Usual June looks set to continue that tradition with an action-adventure that combines supernatural mystery, coming-of-age drama and fast-paced combat. Set in the fictional town of Fen Harbor, the game follows a college student whose plans for an uneventful summer are derailed by disappearing ghosts, strange crystalline creatures and a mystery that threatens the entire city. We got to take a closer look at Usual June during an online presentation hosted by Finji, as well as spending some hands-on time with the Steam demo.
What we know
Usual June is a third-person action-adventure in which June finds herself caught up in a supernatural mystery during her summer break. After discovering that she can communicate with ghosts, she and her friends become involved in investigating what is happening around Fen Harbor, eventually uncovering connections between the town’s past, another realm and a threat capable of destroying the city. Alongside the paranormal investigation, June is dealing with more personal problems: her grades are slipping, her future is becoming increasingly uncertain, and she is still processing a tragedy from the previous summer. The changing town around her also raises questions about whether there is still a place for her and her friends in Fen Harbor.
The supernatural investigation is intertwined with action-focused gameplay. June relies primarily on close-range attacks, dodges, dashes and parries, while gaining additional abilities and equipment as she progresses. Charms and other loadout options allow players to alter her fighting style, while levelling up provides new combat abilities, projectiles, defences and summons. The game also makes ghosts an important part of its investigation mechanics, with their memories providing information that June and her living friends can use to piece together what has happened. Exploration takes June through locations including abandoned stations, buried tunnels, secret laboratories and haunted observatories, with more than 20 locations and over 25 characters planned for the full game. Usual June is being published by Finji and is scheduled for release on October 28, 2026.
What we saw
Our preview was based on an online presentation hosted by Finji CEO and co-founder Bekah Saltsman, writer David Pinckney and game director Adam Saltsman, followed by hands-on time with the demo available on Steam. The presentation provided additional context about the game’s characters, narrative and design, while the demo offered a practical look at both its exploration and combat systems. This gave us a useful impression of how Finji intends to combine the quieter character-driven sections with the more energetic encounters that form the other half of June’s adventure.
What we thought
The most immediately interesting aspect of Usual June is the way its supernatural premise is tied to a fairly grounded coming-of-age story. June is not simply a convenient hero who happens to stumble across a world-ending threat; she is also a young woman trying to work out what she wants from the next stage of her life. Her relationships with Max and Sunny, along with the presence of ghosts such as Teddy, give the mystery a personal dimension. The dialogue-heavy sections are consequently important rather than merely serving as connective tissue between fights. The conversations have a casual, youthful rhythm, and the game’s focus on friendship gives the paranormal elements a surprisingly human foundation.
That slower pace is balanced by combat that is considerably more active than the presentation’s relaxed character moments might initially suggest. June’s melee attacks are straightforward to pick up, but dodging, dashing, parrying and managing her super meter introduce more possibilities as encounters become tougher. The emphasis on movement is particularly effective, since successfully timed dodges can provide a tangible reward and encourage players to stay aggressive rather than simply waiting for an opening. There is also a useful degree of flexibility in the equipment and abilities available to June, with projectiles, barricades and other devices offering alternatives to simply hitting enemies with her primary weapon.
The controls generally feel responsive, and the combat has enough speed to make even relatively simple encounters satisfying. Larger groups can become hectic, however, and the absence of a conventional blocking option means that positioning and timing are particularly important. The demo also provides little in the way of a traditional tutorial, although the basic mechanics are easy enough to understand for anyone familiar with melee-focused action games. One slightly awkward design decision is that June cannot jump or engage in platforming, which can occasionally feel at odds with the three-dimensional environments. It is not necessarily a major problem, but there were moments when the movement restrictions made exploration feel less natural than the otherwise fluid combat.
Visually, Usual June makes a strong impression by refusing to treat horror as synonymous with darkness and muted colours. Its pastel blues, purples and pinks contrast with the unsettling supernatural creatures and environments, giving the game a distinctive identity that becomes particularly apparent when June enters its stranger alternate spaces. The character designs are similarly expressive, with individual clothing, accessories and color palettes helping the cast feel recognisable rather than interchangeable. Audio is also being used in an unusual way: instead of conventional voiced dialogue, Finji has created distinctive vocal sounds for the characters, while the soundtrack comes from BAFTA-winning composer Adam Hay. There is still plenty we have yet to see of the full adventure, but the combination of visual style, conversational storytelling and energetic combat already gives Usual June a personality of its own.