I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

I wishlisted this purely because I saw it recommended over and over again. I knew nothing about it. I must have grabbed it on sale. It was doomed to be another unplayed purchase in my Steam library until I started it up a few days ago on a whim. There are... very few pieces of media in my life that make me feel like IWATE does. I'm glad I had no idea what to expect. I'm really thankful I played it, and I have a feeling I'll probably play through it several more times, at least. I can't say much more than that.

I really dont know why this does not have more attention. Its incredibly in deph, detailed, beautiful art, story. At first, I didn't buy because of the card system. Im not into card games much. But here, it felt more like a rpg with the card system, then anything, they decide your choices and actions, sort of like dnd.

If you are debating on buying it, remember steam lets you refund things if theres less then 2 hours of playtime, and this is less then 2 gb. But for its price and how low storage it is, I will say, you are getting an incredibly good deal. Its really its own kind of genre too and has very unique gameplay. Id say VN, stardew valley, and rpg fans would like this game.

SPOILERS FOR SPECIFIC CHARACTERS & ENDINGS:
I have a lot of feelings about this game, and they’re very mixed.

I overall absolutely adore the gameplay mechanics, art style and music. I really like building up my stats and seeing the different outcomes of my actions in each play through. I’m currently working through getting all of the special endings.

However, at the start I mentioned my enjoyment of the game was very mixed and the part that I’m not actually very fond of is the characters which I think is odd for a game that is based around community building, in a way.

For several romances, you will always be a second choice to either another character or to the career’s of the character you romance and it just makes me think why even add in the romance aspect at all if you’re always going to be fighting for a character’s affection and attention?
With Dys, Tang and Marz’s romance this isn’t much of an annoyance as they do seem quite commited, or it was never exactly romantic from the start.

However, with Cal… it actually made me start to dislike him when he was my favourite in the beginning. You will always and forever be 2nd to Tammy, no matter what. I even romanced him when she had unfortunately passed in the crèche (as it was my first play through and I wasn’t actually aware she could be saved) and it was still all about Tammy and it really got on my nerves. I would’ve understood if she died when we were older and they had a relationship but that wasn’t the case at all. I know it’s weird to get annoyed about being second place to a bunch of pixels but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

And that’s not even mentioning Vace. What on earth?! I haven’t romanced him yet but I got the ending where he was outed as a whole domestic abuser and why on earth would someone want romance that?! Let alone the fact that he’s a genocidal maniac!

There’s also just some other things that have made me gone ‘hm.’ from a social standpoint, it’s not enough to put me off the game but it’s enough to raise some questions. I do absolutely adore the game and it does mean a lot to me and this is all just more personal morality stuff that I know people will feel differently about which is totally fair, I just wanted to ramble about it a little bit.
Anyway, I love my little emo boy Dys <333

I've only done one play-through so far, just started my second and it feels like the journey has only just started. The story is solid. It never really allows you to settle into a routine, which assists in making the gameplay, which admittedly is not particularly deep, feel actually not all that repetitive.

Esse jogo é incrível. A história, os personagens, trilha sonora, tudo é ótimo. Muito bem escrito. Ilustrações e design de personagens muito boas também.

É aquele tipo de jogo que tu mal vai começar, vai escolher estudar ou treinar coragem ou biologia, e daqui a pouco aparece um teste ou opção de diálogo que precisa 20 de carisma, que tu tem zero. E aí tu fica... porra, o que teria acontecido se eu tivesse 20 de carisma?

O tempo passa, merda acontece, todos choram e amadurecem. Gente morre. Você chora.

O jogo é lindo e você vai querer jogar de novo.

This game causes Intrusive thoughts in the best possible way. I can't stop thinking about it even when I'm not playing it. I can't wait to play it at least another 26 times.

i got this game because i thought that i would get to date aliens and stuff instead i got lasting trauma. 10/10

Art style is absolutely gorgeous and I really love how replayable the story is

Compelling story and fun mechanics. I was roped into the plot and so far it is very replayable. - My first playthrough took about 12 hours.

I was not ready to like this game as much as I did. I heard it had great replayability but I was skeptic, I don't usually like to play games over and over. I was so wrong, this game has continuously gotten better the more I play it. It has a very fun story and so many possibilities. I really recommend it!

this game is absolutely wonderful. I loved all the the character designs and their stories (or at least the ones I had seen at the time of this review) made me like them even more.

Highly recommend! I have just finished my 4th playthrough and the replay value is really high. I find myself wanting to try different paths and explore other areas of the game. Sure, I skip a bit of dialogue at this point but there is still so much to do. For anyone who likes immersive storylines with some flair and multiple endings.

This game is genuinely one of the best RPG games I've played and, trust me, I've played A LOT. It balances a rlly interesting game system of card collection and management and a shockingly brilliant story line.
AND The game rewards you for replaying it! The characters have so many moments to shine and the art styles are so pretty.
I especially love the different art for cards it's nice to see artists come together and make something amazing. Getting this game will never be a regret. I would kill for more like this. <3

One playthough is all you really need if you just want a story, but will require multiple if you actually want to learn more about the characters or the lore behind everything that's not immediately obvious. The main character remembers what you do in previous playthroughs and able to abuse that information in new ones.

I actually do enjoy the card system a lot. So simple yet gets extremely challenging and complex as the game progresses. Could use gear, consumables, or power through at the cost of extra stress to turn things in your favor. Needing to rest more often isn't entirely a bad thing and it builds up relationship to specific character depending where you rest at, and you able to forget a card if you wish.

Its not just cards either, there's a individual relationships and an overall colony reputation system to manage. Even some hidden stuff like food supply and the overall state of colony defenses. Wont be able to see where you stand overall in food or defense but you'll know when it increases or drops.

It's hard to describe just what a masterpiece this game is. Mechanics-wise, it resembles a coming-of-age dating sim: you grow up, beginning at age ten, and decide how to spend each month in a settlement on an alien world. These small choices build up -- what you learn, how you treat others, etc -- into massive consequences that will ultimately determine the fate of the planet. Unlike the dating sims of my own youth, Teenage Exocolonist punishes you for treating relationships like a game. You are instead invited to push people to do their best, including yourself. Matters like sex, gender, and disability are handled with significant nuance, and the depictions of friendship are so caring, so profound, like no other story I have ever read. Whereas games like Fallout suggest that there are no good guys in a morally grey universe, Teenage Exocolonist transmutes this neutrality: in an indifferent universe, we are free to choose who we are, and whoever we become, foibles and all, is a sacred expression of the mystery of being. If you're still reading this, play this game.

Overall: 8/10

It is a great role play game. You decide how to grow up. You decide in which way to contibute to the colony. Some decisions can change the time line and it is nice to try again with other options. After using charisma I used strength next time and will use intellgence as main attribute the next time.

It is also nice to explore the world. Learn about the flora and fauna. And trying to apply your skills.

The skill challenges are little puzzles which are fun for me. The can be turned off as it is often the same puzzle as your cards do not change that much.

Recommended for time travelers ;)

👍

I stumbled upon this by accident. I bought it because of the card battles (+ it was on sale on the visual novel fest)... and after playing the first 10 minutes I was hooked. And after getting my first ending even more so.

Stories are incredible, art is lovely and the game has amazing replay value.
Now if you'll excuse me ... time to wake up again.

This is a beautiful game. I normally shy away from games like this, but I truly enjoy 'starting over' and trying things differently. I feel like the characters are actually unique and that their dialogue supports it. The art style is so pretty and the music is nice and not overly repetitive.

I'm at the end of my first playthrough atm, and as such I don't have the confidence to speak for the whole experience. However, I do have to commend the game for a few things so far. The balancing of queer identity, community management, time loops and eldritch horror has been fantastic, and at no point has any one element felt like it has stepped on the toes of the others. Not a single line of dialogue has felt out of place and the pain I felt at certain events was perfectly executed. Very much looking forward to playing this again and again.

It is easy to use for me with the arrows and enter key only - which I love as someone with hand mobility issues. The game is very visually pretty and I like how the visual novel is broken up with some actual game play which keeps it engaging. I am excited to try and get more of the different endings.
Hopefully new dialogue gets unlocked to make multiple endings interesting to uncover.

Well the gameplay is like A spinoff of princess maker, but more diverse with a lot of options that open up as you learn how to play. It's a quality visual novel! I'm enjoying it a lot. I think all genders would enjoy this game because it has options for everything.

There are truly many different ways to get to many different endings. I'm having much fun changing personalities.

I really recommend this game, i've only played 12 hrs so far, but it feels amazing to replay it again and again to see what you can improve. I love how many different routes you can take and the characters feel really fleshed out. I can see a lot of passion has been in the making of the game

Beautiful art, engaging characters, interesting sci-fi, real wins punctuated by what feel like meaningful losses. Well done, game designers.
This game is worth your time.

I will be frank, I did end up not liking the game personally, but I'm not going to sit here and bold-faced lie and say it's a bad game. It's not. It controls just fine, it's art style is delightful, the world it creates is at the very least interesting. I'll say if it looks appealing to you it's at least worth giving it a shot, 100%.

However a lot of things personally rubbed me the wrong way:
- it is very much not an escapist fantasy it is pretty grounded in the "shitty things happen" reality type of story, which for some that's great and I have nothing against that kind of storytelling at all. But after a while it just feels like it's kicking you in the balls and you're not getting anything for it no matter how good you do sometimes. It got pretty draining for me after two go rounds.

- It very much is counting on you to play it over and over again, which for these kind of games is pretty par for the course. What it does differently (and not the best in my opinion) is it's not because you want to see what's different (though you could) but because some stuff you legit cannot avoid unless you've seen it once or if you just have played it a ton so you know exactly what you're doing (or are married to a guide, but that's not really playing, is it?). Like because of the note above it just feels like "Yeah that sucked didn't it? Guess you gotta try again so it doesn't suck as much" which, again, is draining.

- something about the writing is very... monotone and robotic, the characters don't really feel like they have a lot of character to me beyond the very two dimensional traits they have at the beginning they basically have towards the end just--and I hate to say this as it feels mean but--"edgier".

- the romances are all pretty unsatisfying, you're basically no one's first choice and it feels like all of them have this extra hurdle of breaking them up from someone else up (either before or after they start dating). Plus a lot of them won't even stay with you and yeah that's "realistic" but is it fun? Why have the mechanic at all if it's not even like a reward, just another reminder of uncertainty and bleakness which the rest of the game does quite well without its help. That one is maybe a little petty/nitpicky, I can admit that, but it is annoying.

- the deck building aspect is just not good, which sucks because I was looking forward to it. Like it's pretty mindless and serves as little more than padding. Thankfully it offers to turn it off and you should as the more "Chance Based on Stats" system is way simpler and makes the game a little faster which for the "sort of rogue-like/replaying is important' aspect of it all... this should have been the standard system. Felt very shoehorned in.

- another nitpick, if that whole replaying rogue-like thing was going to be important, stats should carry over each time. Starting over from scratch every time is pretty tiresome too, but that one I can let slide that after a bit you learn how to efficiently get what you need.

Over all I think it's well made and looks great and I even think the stat farming and such is really fun; I just hope they take what they learned from this game and really iron out the story a bit more, make it all feel a little more rewarding, and make sure game play mechanics are fully satisfying.

This is one of the greatest slowburn type of story games I've played probably ever. I've played a lot of story driven games and few come close to this one. This game is one you can't look for reviews for, can't search videos for, if you like life sim story games just dive in. You will be taken for a ride unique to you the first time you play it. I just finished my playthrough and while I was playing it, I didn't realize how much the characters and the setting mattered to me till it was over. Thankfully there are reasons to play again and I certainly will but I just can't sing this games praises enough.

Absolutely mindbendingly awesome. I'm on my second run to try and find all the secrets of this game.

If I could give this game a neutral opinion I would. I went through one full run of t he game, which is not nearly enough to discover what's exactly happening, at least when you're going in blind.

Game is way less philosophically and politically loaded than you might expect. Or rather, it is loaded but in a good way. It's not "naive" and it definitely makes sure you feel the consequences of your decisions.

I didn't really like the graphical vibe of most of the game, although parts of it were amazing.

My main pet peeve is the gameplay. The "card game" part of the game is not really enticing. In the beginning it's trivially easy, and at the end it feels just pointless. You can play on a harder difficulty, but again, mechanics of the cards themselves are just not that interesting. You're being punished for pursuing a lot of different skills, and pruning mechanic just can't keep up. This pretty much makes me not want to pick up the next run.

Best friend: You should play this game, it's a really good game.
Me: Why?
Best friend: Can't tell ya cause it's story driven.
Me: K...
That's how I was recommended this game 1-2 years ago. Safe to say I bought the game on a whim and now I wish to give
the same recommendation with just as little information. Its a really good game, you should play it.

Such a wonderful experience, I was completely hooked from the beginning and finished my first play-through in one sitting. The world is so immersive and I got attached to the characters quickly!

i bought this game last wednesday. as im writing this, i already have 33 hours on it and am on my eighth run. i found this game during the visual novel fest and while i was not too keen on the si-fi aspect, i decided to give it a try. and oh boy am i glad i did. i was a teenage exocolonist is a really fucking good game. like really good. the first day i played, i played for eight hours straight and stayed up till one am. it immediately pulled me in and i've been obsessed with it ever since. like this is legitimately my new hyperfixation. i've been yapping to my friends about it and even played it during my hour gap while said friends watched me. yes im completely normal about this game /j

enough about me rambling about my love for the game. let's get into the game itself. i was a teenage exocolonist combines visual novels and deckbuilders (aka card deck challenges). i've never played a deckbuilder before, but it's pretty easy to get the hang of and it's fun to test out new combinations. the challenge aspect is also fun. however, if you don't like deckbuilders, don't worry. there's an option to turn that off right away; or maybe you can give it a few tries before eventually getting a prompt option in game to turn it off. the same goes for harder cards challenges if you want to test yourself or if deckbuilders are up your alley. the story is well written and the characters have a lot of depth to them. i did not like marz at first, but once i did her story line i quickly fell in love with her character. i love each and every single one of them, minus vace. he can go eat rocks. and to touch on the other aspect i talked about, i personally am a big fan of visual novels, so that really appealed to me and was what drew me in in the first place

two more things before we talk about spoilers. one: i absolutely love the diversity in this game. it is so refreshing to see and i love how you can legit customise pronouns. as someone who uses she/they pronouns and struggles finding that in games, it was very refreshing to see. big kudos to the devs for that. two: right when you open the game you can find content warnings, which was super nice to see

moving on to some spoilers. another aspect of this game, and one that i really love is the time loop. i legitimately love the fact that you can choose different options over and over again. it's so cool to test things out and explore new story lines. one thing that i just realised (yes this late in) is that i can turn off seen text lol. so if you don't want to play clicking simulator turn that on. or don't. im not the boss of you. i will, however, be keeping that on just in case i like reading it back

tl;dr: go play this game please. it is such a good experience and i love it with all my heart :)

Deleted my first review because it wasn't very good. I was trying to not spoil the game, but what I hid wasn't really a spoiler.

This game is like Groundhog Day. You play from 10 to 20 years old. After you die (years later), you start again, remembering what you learned before. The reason that's not a spoiler (I don't think) is because the "death" and rebirth is how you learn the story.

There are 10 different endings, and 21 different "flavors" - were you a hero or a botanist or whatever. You can focus on physical, mental or social progress, or various combinations.

It's a fantastic and complex game. I should probably take more notes than I have, even with the wiki.

This is, frankly, one of the best and most unique games I have played in a long time. It’s one that I firmly believe players should go into blind. Do not watch anyone else play, do not read any spoilers, just play. It’s what I did and it was one of the best gameplay experiences I’ve ever had. The story telling and card game mechanics work so well together that, instead of dreading the card games, I look forward to them. I can see how the card games can drag though so the option of not playing is a nice addition.

This game is truly one of a kind.

This game has a lot of things going for it, the story is definitely its biggest strong suit. It'll make you want to play it multiple times and get to see what could've been. The card game is not bad, even in hard mode it can be enjoyable, and rewarding points wise. The only downside to it is the grind for the multiple endings and card collection; If you're not into achievement hunting or completion then pay no mind to this. I 100% recommend this game, all gamers should play this game at least once.

This game is a lot of fun. So much fun, I did not sleep despite class being in 4 hours now. So ya know, it's good. Not that I recommend not sleeping. But I do recommend getting this game.

OBSESSED
- time loop as a reason to play again and again is cool and only being given certain choices after having played a certain angle is Amazing anf fun
- amazing story and worldbuilding
- unlocking more of the story by befriending characters by giving them gifts & making narrative choices is fun
- doesn't feel like a card deck builder game as much because you also maneuver Sol around and it's embedded in a lot of narration without being a "next page" constant clicker game
- alien pets :') (technically the humans are the aliens tho)
- beautiful landscapes!! lovely art style and character designs
- getting to choose your adult appearance and romantic interests each round anew is also a neat thing! really drives home the "living many different lives" idea

only con: year 10-12/13 get a bit repetitive bc a lot more happens from year 13 on, but it's a small con

Genuinely one of the most engrossing and well-written indie games I've played in a very long time. Stop reading reviews. Play this game.

fun with multiple ways to play through and with each one you can learn more

If you're trying to figure out what kind of game Exocolonist is before you pick it up - don't. Go in blind and just let yourself enjoy the experience. This game is so special, and unlike anything else you've played.

I don't 100% a lot of games, nor do I even try to. This is one game that I fully completed every possible route. Cannot recommend enough.

genuinely obsessed with this game. i have yet to get every achievement and ending (although i plan on it) but everything ive seen ive loved. the characters have lots of depth and i have very complex feelings on basically every single one of them, the music is very nice, the cgs and backgrounds are absolutely beautiful to look at (plus all of the different card arts) and i dont know if even after 100% if ill have truly seen everything. its very narrative heavy which i love in games but is definitely not everyones thing but if you like the visual novel style of games i say go for it. i dont usually play visual novel-esque games with stats involved but i feel this game does it very well. ive also cried multiple times from this game kinda hitting a way ive personally felt

I gotta say, very clever integration between gameplay and story. Very character-based. The card game is solid.

I consider this game a narrative masterpiece. Despite being a deckbuilder, the card system is simple and isn't the main focus of the game.

Every job you do, every choice you make, even the way you interact with the other colonists will impact the story in a way you may not realize. This game is meant to be played multiple times, with some choices only being available after your first playthrough.

The relationships I built with my fellow colonists felt real a meaningful (They can also make me a simp :p). Their behavior is believable and they feel like actual people. Some routes and endings are only available if you have high friendship with specific characters.

This game is an absolute gem, a masterwork.

The writing is phenomenal and shows just how much they get it, and get things right. Triple A studios could never. Difficult themes and topics are handled with care and grace, and inclusivity is actually done right instead of just being included to say "Hey we have X in game BUY BUY BUY CONSUME".

The game itself is as deep as the marina trench, and every playthrough I find something new, whether that be an event, path, or section of dialogue. Hell even finding new cards is excellent because you get to view the absolutely gorgeous art.

Not to mention the gameplay with said gorgeous cards, its simple at first, then it gets complicated in a beautiful way quickly. Do you spec your build to be generalist or specialised, stacking up straights, flushes or pairs are all options and your gear can reflect this. Do you build a mono deck or multifacted one. And the wonderful part is the gameplay is never the same, each challenge offers a unique brain puzzle that tickles me in all the right brain places.

Buy it at full price, and then play it until the end of time. That seems to be where I'm at and you should join me.

Intricate character-focused RPG where your choices guide how your character grows up alongside the colony where you live in. The setting is refreshingly original. Story-telling wise it's more mature and complex game than it may initially seem. Getting to follow the growing-up stories for different characters is quite unique, and I found myself completely absorbed in the world for the first playthrough. The card based challenges, while not the strongest point of the game, work well as the main game mechanic.

Ridiculously good story and the replay value is insane, the game itself is only about 8h but you need to play it multiple times to understand the full story (each playthrough is very different if u dont make the same choices) . Characters are so well-written and i was hooked on everyone's plots from the start. Multiple endings made me cry :(

This is one of my favorite games now! The choices really feel like they matter, the art is amazing, the characters are brilliant, and the writing really pulls you in. All of the details yank you into the games world and it is a brilliant play through.

Story based game where there are over 29 endings! The card games to do activities are not difficult. Extra kudos at times for getting the exact score of what is needed to pass.

Greatest downfall is that during the exploration, there are some repeats even after 1 playthrough.

Otherwise a wonderful game where you become who you want to become each and every timeline.

This is such an incredible game. You can easily spend a couple hundred hours in this world. The card mechanic is simple, but adds a lot to the experience beyond a standard visual novel. The game is beautifully drawn, and has really interesting themes to explore around environmentalism, colonialism, transhumanism.

Played this game like a year ago and boi am I already nostalgic about it. The attention to detail, the twist in how everything makes sense, the themes of colonisation and cohabitation combined with growing up and your own place in them - everything was just so delicious. I stayed up until 5am for one playthrough because I just didn't want to stop before reaching one specific ending. Easily one of my favourite games with its mix of mechanics and genre elements. (And the music!!)