Don’t overlook this indie masterpiece

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is a kind of video games that I saved listening to about, however it took me a minute to get round to taking part in it with all of the wonderful titles that got here out final 12 months. I do know I’m a bit late to the social gathering on this one, as the sport initially got here out again in August of 2022, however I’m so glad that I went again to offer this one a shot. 

I went into this playthrough with out understanding something concerning the recreation and with none actual expectations, and precisely one accomplished playthrough later, I’m completely in love with this title. I can’t consider every other recreation prefer it, and I can’t consider a recreation I’ve ever performed that’s made me wish to dive instantly into one other playthrough immediately as a lot as this one did.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (PC [Reviewed], Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5)
Developer: Northway Video games
Writer: Finji
Launched: August 25, 2022
MSRP: $24.99

From the attractive artwork to the lovable characters to the addicting gameplay and a lot extra, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist had me hooked from the start, and my intrigue solely snowballed because the hours ticked away.

The premise of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is that Earth’s first extrasolar area colony has set down roots on an alien planet known as Vertumna that they accessed by way of a wormhole, and the participant takes on the position as one of many teenage members of the group. The sport follows the participant character from age 10 all the way in which as much as age 20, chronicling the dramatic highs and lows of colony life. 

Let’s speak gameplay

Gameplay-wise, it’s a mixture of a story RPG offered in a visible novel type with deckbuilding mechanics. The primary gameplay loop consists of rising friendships by way of conversations and items, finishing useful duties across the colony, and collaborating in card-based battles and different deckbuilding mechanics.

Gamers even have a complete of 15 totally different stats, that are damaged down into three totally different coloured classes: emotional, psychological, and bodily. Specifics embrace traits like bravery, creativity, toughness, empathy, and group, simply to call a number of. You largely enhance your stats by taking over totally different jobs across the colony, however there are another modifiers that may make leveling up even simpler.

This recreation presents an enormous number of content material, together with 10 totally different romanceable characters, 25 totally different jobs, 200 battle playing cards, 1,000 story occasions, and 50 totally different endings. It’s additionally vital to notice that the sport solely took me roughly 10 hours to get by way of the primary time, however it’s designed to be performed on repeat – it’s even marketed on its official web site as a “narrative deckbuilding RPG with a timeloop twist.”

I’m an enormous fan of deckbuilders, so I used to be pumped to leap into the card-based mechanics on this recreation. Mainly the way it works is that everytime you partake in an exercise or have to take part in a “verify” to see for those who had been profitable at performing a activity, you’ll enter a card problem. Every activity has a selected quantity objective that it is advisable to attain, both in a single go or on the finish of three rounds. The playing cards themselves have a special go well with (yellow, blue, or crimson based mostly on their associations with the three totally different stat classes), a numerical worth, and infrequently a singular card energy that impacts the opposite playing cards on the board.

There are additionally different mechanics that may allow you to achieve bonuses or eliminate playing cards you don’t want anymore, however in any other case, it’s a reasonably easy minigame, however a balanced and endlessly gratifying one at that. 

My different absolute favourite factor concerning the playing cards is that they correspond with recollections your character kinds – having a brand new or notably compelling encounter, both with different characters or alone, will reward you with a brand new card. This ties the primary battling/minigame mechanic again into the sport’s story extremely properly by appearing as a meditation on how your experiences form your personalities, pursuits, and skills. It additionally simply encourages you to mirror in your journey as far as you commonly have a look at all the pieces you’ve gone by way of and the bonds you’ve shaped, which not solely ties completely into the themes of the sport, but in addition mimics how our recollections work in actual life fairly superbly.

A loop you received’t wish to break

In case you’re frightened you’re not gonna get your cash’s value with this one, I can guarantee you that there’s nothing to worry about on that entrance. The sport encourages you fairly strongly proper after you end that it’s meant so that you can begin once more, and I do know for a undeniable fact that I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is barely going to get higher with every subsequent playthrough, as per a good friend’s anecdotes now that they’ve performed the sport 3 times by way of.

The characters on this recreation are so extremely loveable. You not solely get a transparent sense of who everybody is true off the bat, however it’s notably intriguing to see how every particular person adjustments and grows as time goes on. The younger solid members are actually formed by their surroundings, and each step of the way in which you get to see how your mates react to the hand that they’ve been dealt. It’s among the finest character work I’ve seen in a recreation in a very good whereas, and I do know I solely scratched the floor of these 1,000 distinctive story occasions.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist can be a recreation that hinges on its choice-based narrative and let me say, I don’t suppose I’ve ever felt like my decisions matter a lot in a recreation earlier than. Even the smallest motion, or lack of motion, can totally alter the established order of a playthrough within the opening hour, which is able to ship ripples all through all the remainder of your expertise. It’s so extremely straightforward to overlook sure encounters that those you do discover really feel actually particular.

I do know the “visible novel” type isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, however any skepticism ought to actually be helped by the truth that the artwork on this recreation is attractive and so lively. One other advantage of the sport’s restrained but stylized artwork is that it permits for a ton extra variation in what gamers can expertise within the story – an absence of animation and smaller scope implies that the story can department any which manner with out it being a pressure on sources, which additional opens the door for a choice-based recreation to completely embody its descriptor.

I additionally need to say that I completely love the music in I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. I’m already pre-disposed to having fun with something remotely associated to the lo-fi style, however I discovered the music all the time completely matched the temper and heightened the emotional ambiance. It was simply good to hearken to, truthfully. This recreation is very polished, as properly. All the pieces appears to be like and feels nice, and I can’t recall a single bug from my complete run. 

It’s darkest earlier than the daybreak

Proper from the beginning, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist makes it clear within the type of some prolonged content material warnings that it’s going to be pertaining to some fairly darkish material, and let me let you know, I’m glad it did – this recreation doesn’t pull its punches. I used to be happy that any darkness that’s included, although, is just not gratuitous or there for the sake of creating the title edgier. Mainly, the entire premise of the sport is that this colony of individuals has come all this fashion by way of area and landed in a precarious place on this new planet the place they don’t know whether or not they’re going to make it or not.

 It is sensible that they might encounter some harrowing conditions, however what makes I Was a Teenage Exocolonist actually shine is the way it makes use of these difficulties to mirror on the characters, their relationships, and in the end what it’s prefer to proceed dwelling on within the face of life-altering adversity.

Contemplating the time we reside in now, the place a lot of our lives are on-line and we will all really feel so distant, there was one thing actually highly effective a couple of story that targeted on a small, tight-knit group that has to work collectively within the face of an ever-present existential risk. Whether or not it’s from an absence of sources, difficulties adjusting to the ecosystem of their new residence planet, or straight-up assaults from each inside and outside forces, there’s by no means some extent on this recreation the place it feels just like the colony can totally breathe a sigh of aid.

It’s actually a tough situation to think about, however I can’t deny the sense of hopefulness I felt in participating in actions in the neighborhood that had been a transparent profit to the remainder of the group at giant, whether or not it was digging round within the greenhouses, serving to out within the kitchens, or aiding within the med bay. It was refreshing and truthfully fairly grounding to have such a tangible, helpful impact on a fictional group when in the true world, having an affect on something actually substantial feels out of attain.

Referring to colonialism

After all, the sport’s narrative additionally touches on the “colonist” a part of this complete endeavor. Clearly, colonialism on Earth has its personal darkish historical past (one thing the sport additionally acknowledges), however I Was a Teenage Exocolonist leaves it as much as the participant to resolve what they make of individuals from Earth staking their declare on a planet that isn’t their very own. This determination is made barely simpler because of the truth that the colony solely actually encounters animals/bugs/vegetation versus, from what they can verify, absolutely sentient beings, however it’s nonetheless a key piece of the sport’s story. 

There’s an fascinating query to be explored about how a lot destruction of nature could be justified within the identify of survival, which I feel is all the time related as we’re a species that not solely depend on nature to outlive however has rotated and exploited it as means to our personal egocentric ends. You may most likely guess the place I landed within the recreation’s political divide – no matter the place you fall, this recreation presents an fascinating strategy to discover matters like this in a simulated surroundings, and one which challenges you to return at its story with a special perspective on every playthrough.

In conclusion

I do know that is excessive reward, however it’s deserved – this recreation jogs my memory plenty of Disco Elysium. In reality, it looks like I Was a Teenage Exocolonist noticed Disco Elysium, discovered from it, and put its personal spin on the closely text-based RPG in a manner that basically strikes the style ahead. Don’t let the cutesy characters and artwork type idiot you – this needs to be one of the vital well-told and built-in RPG tales I’ve seen in a very good whereas. I do know that is partially as a result of I have to play extra RPGs, however the level right here is that this recreation is one for the historical past books.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is a recreation to get misplaced in, from its heartbreaking, hopeful storytelling to its participating gameplay. I feel it’s a disgrace that this title most likely didn’t get as a lot widespread recognition because it deserves, as a result of it has to have one of the vital touching tales about what it means to be human that I’ve seen in video games. I’m so thrilled that this title is supposed to be performed on a loop, as a result of it’s a recreation I’m wanting ahead to returning to, and studying from, many times.