The upcoming cinematic narrative adventure game Goodbye Volcano High has announced its release date to be June 15. It's one of several upcoming titles to appear at the latest PlayStation State of Play event, and players won't have much longer to wait before the indie game releases on PC and PlayStation consoles.
Developer KO_OP revealed its interactive high-school drama Goodbye Volcano High with a short trailer in June 2020. Set in a world populated by anthropomorphic dinosaurs, players take the role of a teenage musician named Fang. Fang and their friends have one last chance to find love and connection as their world faces impending destruction from an oncoming meteor.
KO_OP previously planned to release Goodbye Volcano High in 2021 or 2022. However, the game faced significant delays due to COVID and the worker-owned studio's decision not to engage in crunch to make up for the lost time. The game is now set to launch for PC, PS4, and PS5 on June 15.
The indie studio made this announcement in a new trailer for Goodbye Volcano High that premiered today during Sony's live-streamed State of Play showcase. In addition to revealing the game's upcoming release date, the trailer also gave viewers a look at Goodbye Volcano High’s gameplay, which combines rhythm game mechanics with that of a more traditional visual novel. Only time will tell if that combination works in practice, but it is certainly an interesting way to blend genres.
The latest trailer also let viewers enjoy more of Goodbye Volcano High's original soundtrack, which will naturally be important in a title where music plays such an essential role in both the gameplay and narrative. Fans of actor Lachlan Watson, who played Theo Putnam in the Netflix original series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, will also be glad to hear more of their voice work as protagonist Fang. The trailer additionally showed off more of the game's hand-drawn animation, which developer KO_OP has compared to a playable cartoon.
Still, just because Goodbye Volcano High depicts a colorfully animated world populated by talking dinosaurs does not mean it's a game for kids. According to KO_OP, Goodbye Volcano High touches on serious and mature themes like death, drug and alcohol use, and sexuality. However, Goodbye Volcano High will probably appeal to anyone who enjoyed Don't Nod’s Life is Strange series. Either way, it seems like rhythm and adventure game fans have something to look forward to when Goodbye Volcano High launches this summer.
Goodbye Volcano High releases for PC, PS4, and PS5 on June 15.