June's Journey is a Mobile Phone Game released in 2017 by Wooga, a Hidden Object Game set in The Roaring '20s in which players follow the story of June Parker, a charismatic American detective who returns to her home on Orchid Island after the murder of her sister and brother-in-law. Together with her heartbroken niece Virginia, June rejects the murder-suicide hypothesis proposed by Sam Watts, the detective investigating the case, and begins to work towards uncovering the shocking truth behind the murders.
The game contains examples of:
- '20s Bob Haircut: Sported by June.
- The Ace: June is an adventurous, well-traveled, very skilled woman who can pick a lock, dress a wound, charm a stranger and neutralize a bad guy with equal efficiency. Jack is a fantastic daredevil pilot and a writer.
- Addled Addict: Jack's father Avery Hayes drinks himself to death.
- Amateur Sleuth: Both June and her niece Virginia have a nose for detective work. Later in the game, June earns a professional reputation as a detective, and several people write to her asking for her help.
- Amicable Exes: June and Jack dated for a brief time before deciding they were better off as friends. They give their relationship another chance at the end of the first volume.
- June and Nicky make peace with their past after their jungle adventure, and become friends.
- Anti-Frustration Features: After many people complained that they were stuck because they didn't have enough space on their island to place more buildings (and therefore couldn't earn the flowers necessary to unlock the next scene), the creators introduced an airport to the island, through which the players could trade raw materials for flowers, gold and even items. This made unlocking scenes much easier.
- An Interior Designer Is You: Orchid Island (and smaller islands, once the player reaches a certain level) can be customized with buildings, gardens, roads, decorations etc.
- Art Deco: Since this take place in The Roaring '20s, Art Deco is present throughout the game.
- Artistic License: Detective David West is frustrated that the money seized by his unit won't be donated to the pregnant widow of the man who found it many years ago. So he decides to steal the money from the evidence locker, give it to the widow and then quit his job. Amazingly, there are no repercussions for him.
- June and Polly use Minnie's listening device to illegally record a conversation between Duke Duchamp and his lawyer Larry. They show the tape to a judge, and the evidence is accepted as valid, even though Duke rightfully points out that it shouldn't be admissible because it was not obtained legally.
- Asshole Victim: Bonfils is a greedy, corrupt jerk who endangers the life of the men who compete in his games. Eventually, one of his victims makes sure he pays for his crimes, and he is murdered aboard the Orient Express.
- Bad Boss: Madame Boucher and Elmas verbally abuse their employees.
- Beware the Nice Ones: When Irene gets cold feet before her wedding, Mrs. Talbot tells June in no uncertain terms to bring her back immediately, because she has worked very hard to organize the wedding and her efforts will NOT be in vain. Whether Irene (who is also Mrs. Talbot's employer) wants to or not, she will get married.
- Big Bad: Arabella Peel is the main villain of the third volume. She bid her time for more than half a decade to exact her revenge on June.
- Big Fancy House: The Parkers own several on Orchid Island: the main house, the mountain chateau and as of 2020, the summer home.
- Bittersweet Ending: To Amelia's quest to find her mother. After many trials and tribulations, they find Dalphine's address, a church. Amelia is thrilled to finally meet her mother, she has a million questions... only to find out that her mother died ten years ago, and the nuns were the ones who kept paying for flowers to be laid at the monument celebrating Amelia's father. Amelia is heartbroken, but finds comfort in the fact that she now knows what happened to her mother, and that her mother loved her and did not want to abandon her.
- Bribing Your Way to Victory: The players can purchase energy bar refills, three and five point star boxes and diamonds, which allow them to unlock more scenes and bring the story forward faster. Worth noting however, is that all of the aforementioned purchases are quite pricey.
- With the introduction of Memoirs, the players can spend diamonds to buy packs of snippets, and have a better chance at finishing the complete event and obtaining all the prizes.
- The Bus Came Back: Julian Reyes makes an appearance in the fourth volume, after a very lengthy absence.
- Classy Cat-Burglar: Irene Parker is an internationally wanted, sophisticated jewel thief.
- Clear My Name: While on the Orient Express, June, Amelia and Pierre work together to clear Joe's name when he is accused on murdering Bonfils.
- June endeavors in the third volume to clear Irene's name after she gets unfairly accused of stealing the Jade Monkey.
- In the same volume, June must clear her own name after being framed by Arabella Peel for a murder she did not commit.
- Character Development: Virginia grows from a depressed teenager into a confident, courageous young woman with political ambitions.
- Cool Old Guy: Mr. Talbot is a charismatic, funny, hard-working individual who loves restoring the different monuments found on Orchid island and has a passion for the island's rich history.
- Cool Old Lady: Mixed with Silver Fox in the case of Irene Parker, a beautiful woman of many talents.
- Commitment Issues: June outright admits that she has them. She literally runs away when David proposes to her, and even after she marries Jack, seeing him with Amelia's baby scares her to such an extent that she chooses to run away and secretly become a spy.
- The apple does not fall far from the tree in the Parker family. June's mother Irene also suffers from commitment issues and just like her daughter, needs an amount of freedom that was highly unconventional for women at that time.
- Deadpan Snarker: June, especially when confronted with the antics of Jack. Virginia turns into one whenever her school is mentioned.
- Didn't Think This Through: Annette hired an assassin to murder June and Virginia Parker, because she believed that her own son (an illegitimate child of George Parker) should be the rightful inheritor or the Parker fortune. Except that June survives and pursues the lead back to the (unknowing and completely innocent son), getting him imprisoned. Well done, Annette!
- Dirty Cop: Sam Watts. He murdered his ex lover and her husband and tried to pass it off as a murder-suicide.
- In Chicago, it turns out that Ralph Bristol is a ruthless version of this trope.
- The Dragon: Mr. Rudd is this for Arabella.
- Everyone Can See It: June found a photograph of Clare and Sam in one of Harry's old albums, and mused on how obvious it was that the two of them had feelings for each other.
- Evil Mentor: The seemingly straight-laced, professional Rosa turns out to be this for June. She turns out to be a Well-Intentioned Extremist who is willing to murder her own colleagues in her quest for power.
- Evil Plan: Anette, a woman from Mr. Parker's past, wants to murder June and Virginia so that her illegitimate (and unaware) son would inherit their fortune.
- Expy: June looks and acts very similar to a certain Australian lady detective. Just like Miss Fisher, June was a nurse during World War I, and is in love with a man called Jack.
- Fair Cop: David West is both a handsome and morally upstanding policeman.
- Family Portrait of Characterization: By opening three and five point star boxes, the player can gather enough characterization cards to put together a photo that offers information on one (or more) of the characters. These photos are stored in a photo album that can be accessed by the player at any time. The more character cards the player finds, the more background information they can unlock about the characters of the game.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Strong-minded, independent June was seen as the foolish sibling by her father, in contrast to Clare, who married well and stayed on her family's estate.
- Fortune Teller: Marjorie, a fling of Jack's who appears in the second volume, works as a fortune teller for a traveling circus.
- Fowl-Mouthed Parrot: Mortimer, Madame Boucher's parrot. He repeats the mean things he heard from his owner.
- Friendly Enemy: The Russian spy Svetlana, who opens June's eyes about ICARUS. She might not necessarily be a danger to June, but she is a danger to the other ICARUS agents such as Nathaniel.
- Good Bad Girl: June is unmarried and a spinster by the standards of the time, and has been involved with at least four men, which would have caused a scandal in polite society.
- The Great Depression: The events of the third volume take place during the Great Depression. June and Jack travel around the country trying to help as many people as they can.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Marie Hamada is understandably jealous of June after she witnesses Jack's behavior towards his old flame. Granted, she's a bit of a Hypocrite about it, seeing as Marie herself is very close with her childhood friend Tetsuya and ignores that Jack seems to be jealous in turn. They eventually cancel their wedding when it becomes clear that Jack is still in love with June. Add in that June has to admit that her suspicions of Marie are solely based on being jealous of her in turn, and we come full circle.
- Clare is jealous of June's freedom and adventures, and resents the fact that she was the one who got saddled with taking care of the Orchid Estate.
- Guile Hero: Both June and Virginia are very clever and resourceful.
- Happily Married: Mr. and Mrs. Talbot have a wonderful marriage. While fixing the mountain chateau, Mrs. Talbot will often talk about how he wants to pick flowers for his wife or surprise her with dinner. His son Bobby ends up equally happy in his marriage.
- Nicky and his husband are also very happy together, although they go through a rough patch in the third volume.
- Irene and Hermann are a surprising pair, with her being a thief and him being an Interpol agent, but their marriage is a success.
- In the fourth volume, Rosa and her husband share a happy marriage based on trust.
- Also in the fourth volume, we see Amelia happily married to Edouard.
- Has a Type: June seems to favor handsome, dark haired and adventurous men. So far, she has been involved with a stuntman, a detective, an ace pilot and a war veteran.
- Humble Hero: June is a wealthy adventuress living in a huge mansion, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at her. Her boyfriend David West was stunned when he visited her home and saw where she lived.
- Hypocrite: Rosa Schultz made a name for herself as a prominent figure within the Prohibition movement, but regularly drinks alcohol and claims that it's a problem for society, not for her.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Virginia develops one with Nicky. It started when Virginia wrote to Nicky asking about advice regarding her sexuality.
- Intrepid Reporter: Marie Hamada developed a reputation for uncovering uncomfortable truths, and is quite adventurous.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Nurse Pratchett is very abrasive and sometimes unreasonable, but she has a good heart and looks out for the nurses under her care.
- Elmas sometimes acts in a manner befitting a diva, but she is a genuinely good person underneath her spoiled and demanding exterior.
- The Klutz: Polly the detective. If she touches something, there are high chances that she will drop/break/lose that thing.
- Limited Wardrobe: Characters wear the same clothes throughout the years, with few exceptions.
- Love Triangle: Sam was in love with Clare, who returned his feelings but eventually chose Harry, with whom she was happy.
- David was in love with June, who still had unresolved feelings for Jack.
- Maligned Mixed Marriage: The marriage of the Talbots was seen as such by some people, and their son Bobby was bullied because of that. Young June was shocked to realize this painful truth, as she had grown up on Orchid island, where she didn't come into contact with the racism inherent to the time period.
- Mama Bear: June is very protective of her niece Virginia since the murder of Clare and Harry. She is the only close blood relative Virginia has (Irene is largely absent from their lives), and June feels responsible for her.
- Microtransactions: The game offers some rather expensive ones. You can buy energy, three- and five-point star boxes and even certain flash sale objects (usually from past seasonal collections).
- Meaningful Name: Elmas' name means "diamond" in Turkish. Fitting for a beautiful, dazzling and glamorous movie star whose talents were visible since infancy.
- Missing Mom: Irene Parker, Clare and June's mother, left the girls while they were still children in order to dedicate herself to her rather unusual profession: jewelry thief.
- The second volume of the story reveals that Amelia's mother left her in an orphanage and disappeared. It was because she was running away from some dangerous debt collectors.
- Mystery Magnet: Even before she became a detective, June seemed to attract mysteries.
- Non-Idle Rich: Although she is a wealthy woman, June does not shy away from hard work and wanted to make it on her own in London. She also worked as a nurse during the war and afterwards. She is also never shown to take money from the people she helps with detective work.
- Not in Front of the Parrot!: When Madame Boucher dies after seemingly falling down the stairs, her neighbors June and Pierre don't think there is any foul play until they break into her apartment, alarmed by her parrot's cries for help. Turns out that Mortimer the parrot did witness something illegal happening, and repeated some suspicious phrases in fromt of June and Pierre.
- Paparazzi: A nasty example is offered by the paparazzo who follows June to Edinburgh University and snaps a photograph of Virginia kissing her girlfriend Skye, which ends up splattered across the newspaper.
- Parental Substitute: June is this to Virginia, after the tragic death of her parents.
- Mrs. Talbot is this to Clare, June and Virginia.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Irene Parker and the Marquise. They were infamous jewel thieves until Irene wanted to leave that life behind. The Marquise did not react well to that.
- Plucky Girl: Once she recovers from the death of her parents, Virginia becomes a bundle of energy and vivacity.
- Poor Communication Kills: After George Parker's affair gets discovered by his wife, they decide to give their marriage another go for the sake of their children. This prompts him to break it off with his mistress. She sends him a letter, which he does not read because he wants to leave the past behind. That turns out to have been a grave mistake, as the letter was written by a desperate Annette to tell him that she is pregnant with his child. Since she never received an answer from him, the mistress believed that her lover had callously abandoned her, and hatched a plan to murder his entire family.
- Posthumous Character: Clare, her husband Harry and June's father George Parker have all died before the beginning of the story. They appear in flashbacks, are often mentioned in conversations and their lives and personalities are brought to life in the photo album the player has at their disposal.
- Puzzle Game: Each chapter has a puzzle at the end. Solving the puzzle brings the story forward, and is a prerequisite to unlocking the next chapter.
- Redemption Equals Death: Sam Watts shields his biological daughter Virginia with his body from Annette's bullet and refuses to get the wound tended to, as it would mean a potentially fatal delay. He eventually succumbs to his wound. In-universe, this does not absolve him from murdering Clare and Harry, but it gives Virginia conflicted feelings about him.
- Red Herring: Nasty Madame Boucher, June's neighbor, dies after supposedly falling down the stairs. June and Pierre begin investigating her death and question her young housekeeper, Elise, who tells them that she saw Madame Boucher's estranged son leaving her apartment carrying a suitcase. Knowing that Madame Boucher's jewelry is missing, June and Pierre begin to suspect that her son might be behind his mother's "accident." He's not. He might be a bit abrasive, but otherwise a very nice guy. He forgives Elise for stealing her mother's earrings and her money and gives her a job at his restaurant so that her and her unborn child won't starve.
- Returning Big Bad: The cruel and greedy Arabella Peel returns in the third volume to fulfill the role of major antagonist.
- Runaway Bride: Irene Parker gets cold feet before her second wedding and runs out into the estate garden. Fortunately, June is there to reassure her, and the wedding goes off without a hitch.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: David West breaks into the police evidence locker in order to steal the money stored there as evidence and return it to a grieving, penniless, pregnant widow.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: June was a nurse during World War I, and the horrors she witnessed have marked her profoundly.
- The second volume features Pierre, a shell-shocked veteran who used opium to self-medicate.
- She Is All Grown Up: In the third volume, June goes to visit Virginia at the Edinburgh University and notes that her niece she has left her teenage years behind and turned into a young woman.
- Snail Mail: Occasionally, June will receive a letter from the many people she interacts with throughout her adventures. It can be a thank you letter from someone she has helped, a threat from someone she has angered, a simple hello from an old friend or an advertisement for the business of one of her clients.
- Spirited Young Lady: Virginia becomes this, after she recovers from the pain she experienced due to the death of her parents.
- Starving Artist: Notably averted with June's friend Amelia Dumas. She is a prolific and successful artist living in Paris.
- Supreme Chef: Mrs. Talbot's cooking is universally praised by all who are lucky enough to sample it.
- Take a Third Option: Annette initially gave June two options: either do nothing and wait for another assassin to come and finish the job, or follow the clues she laid out in places around the world significant to Annette and George Parker's relationship. June decides to take a third option and skip the wild goose chase, and after some detective work she goes straight to the island where Annette was holding Virginia hostage.
- Time Skip: At the end of the first volume (Virginia is off to college, Bobby and his wife are expecting a second child). The whole second volume is a time skip to the past where we witness June and Amelia's search for Amelia's mother, June's work as a nurse, her adventures with Jack and other shenanigans. The third volume starts with yet another timeskip, this time of five years.
- Third Act Stupidity: June and David have discovered the true culprit behind the murder of a man who had stumbled upon a stash of money a long time ago. His pregnant widow is left destitute because the money found by her husband ends up as evidence and is not returned to her. Both June and David worry about her desperate situation, to the point where David resorts to stealing the money from the evidence locker and returning it to the widow. If only June was a wealthy heiress who can afford to fly around the world at a moment's notice and stay in swanky hotels... oh wait! Inexplicably, she doesn't even consider to help the poor woman financially.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: June is the pants-wearing, adventurous tomboy while her sister Clare is the girly girl. June recalls how Clare insisted in putting lipstick on before leaving the house even when she was in labor, and that she wanted to look perfect at all times.
- Tragic Keepsake: Amelia's locket becomes one after she finds out her mother died a decade before. June's hat turns out to be one, as it was given to her by her late sister Claire as a sign of reconciliation at the end of the second volume.
- Trespassing Hero: Both June and Virginia regularly sneak or break into places where they're not supposed to be. While most of the time June's snooping has a well-intended reason behind it (she's usually hunting for clues), sometimes she trespasses out of pure nosiness, such as when she sneaks into Marjorie's trailer because she is curious about the other women in Jack's life.
- Undying Loyalty: The Talbots are extremely loyal to the Parker family for their kindness and fairness.
- Yandere: Marjorie the fortune teller alternates between being angry and overly sweet to Jack. June finds it off-putting.
- Wire Dilemma: A few puzzles have to do with cutting or connecting the right wire.
