I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

I really did not connect with this game. it's not rewarding, straight up depressing during some parts, and tedious/repetitive. I loved the adult character designs but felt kinda weird flirting with children idk

I'll just say that this game and Wildermyth are the 2 reasons I stopped playing AAA Games. You follow the life of this boy (or girl or non-binary) inside a newly-formed colony in space, collect cards from memories to use in skill tests, work, explore, fight, love, cry and laugh with the other kids (and then teenagers) and your actions will decide your ending... And if the colony itself survives. After you reach age 20 your story ends, there's an ending that tells you what happened next in your life and how and when you died... And then something happens and you get reincarnated and you can start all over again, but with new choices connected to the memories of all your past lives. Absolutely fantastic, give it some time to reach your heart and you will never forget this game, I promise.

This is an impossible game to review without truly spoiling it. But all I can say is as someone who should be annoyed by every little thing in this game that feels tedious or repetitive, I wasn't at all. The story, characters, and gameplay are so well done. It's highly satisfying and addictive in the right ways. No other game out there quite like this and is now one of my favorite games of all time and vying for my personal GOTY this year, even though its way to early to call. This game truly isn't for everyone, but I highly encourage everyone to try it - you'll know within steam's refund window if its for you or not. If you can't put it down, well, you have your answer just like I did and will probably beat it five times in one month just like I did lol. Avoid all spoilers for this game and just play it!

I loved the beginning of this, it felt so well written, open and full of promise. But after a while cliché after cliché popped up and most characters felt like flat stereotypes. On top of that I felt completely railroaded towards an ending that I didn't want and I had no idea what I could have possibly done to change that. Maybe I did something strange, or maybe I'm just extremely picky when it comes to writing in games but the last third of this was so frustrating that I can't possibly recommend it.

MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME. I got 100 hours in this game /in the first week?!/ I adore every single character (except for Lum and Vace obviously) and replaying the game is a core mechanic! If you only go through one life you are missing out on like 80% of the game. The trigger warnings are no joke, so I would go through those first, but the storyline is so moving and considers topics like childhood trauma, living through traumatic global events, grief and recovery, survival of humanity vs preserving and submitting to nature, all in a truly enjoyable, funny, and realistic view of growing up! You grow so attached to these characters you grew up with that when tensions brew you are pulled in so many different directions! Art is gorgeous, everything is gorgeous, INCREDIBLE game.

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This game has an atmosphere I can't put into words. It just feels strange, in a good way. I highly recommend trying it out for yourself. It's worth it!