no spoilers as always
I initially was a lil turned off by the art style, but had to try for the queer rep & cause so many folks seem to love this game, & I'm so glad I did! I actually warmed up to the art style quite quickly~ the environment BGs in particular are so pretty!
I thoroughly enjoyed the extensive options for pronouns & other social terms/titles, & how such a wide variety of different kinds of queerness were woven into the characters & their relationships so naturally (whether gender, sexuality, romance, relationship style, family structures etc). I really loved the characters, they all felt real & had interesting arcs, which u really need to do multiple playthroughs to experience, it's designed really well for replayability! I really appreciated that following the kids from age 10-20 was well handled, with everything feeling v age-appropriate.
while it maintains a fairly light & sweet not-too-deep vibe, it definitely doesn't shy away from darker things like death, grief, illness, mental health, trauma, tragedy...
I loved the way relationships between the characters & ur player work!! all the characters maintain their agency & stay true to their desires & needs, even when they change- it doesn't stoop to that gamified/coercive/transactional entitlement zone that games too often do. i do have a few critiques, like how even though there are some open relationship & polyamory options (which is wonderful!), they are still based in a hierarchical relationship escalator ideal (ie: open relationship is less serious/commited than an exclusive "romantic" relationship) & most options are actually quite mononormative, but overall I was quite impressed!
the gameplay is very straightforward & simple, & I found the whole combo of everything to be quite engaging and enjoyable! I may utilize the dice rolls in place of the card game on further playthroughs (which I for sure will do!), a cool option if u wanna focus on story.
that being said, the story is alright? it's nothing groundbreaking that's for sure, it's definitely more focused on the characters, but I felt like it didn't really need to be anything more than it was.
it does touch a bit on the complications of what it means to colonize a planet, & I was sort-of satisfied by the level of critique in my playthrough, though I think it could have easily been focused on more, & I wonder how different playthroughs will affect what I think. I did appreciate that it wasn't heavy-handed & focused more on giving space for u to think on things. however, keep in mind that there is a wiiild amount of different possibilities & variations on how each playthrough might unfold, so I'll see how further playthroughs inform my perspective~
overall, a breezy & cozy game with a simple & enjoyable gameplay loop, adorable characters & a satisfyingly huge amount of choice & variation in how the story could unfold!

at first I thought "oh, yet another VN with a silly name". this game broke me in the best way possible. I had been craving for a good story driven game for a while now.

at first I ignored its existence, but then in the last steam sale it popped up and I was like "oh it has a demo? ok why not". immediately bought the game after the demo.

amazing story and characters, with cool time management and challenge mechanics.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is an interesting game with a lot of moving parts that have a distinct take on social simulation VN games like Princess Maker. The game tackles a lot of interesting science fiction ideas, with an engaging story that encourages multiple play throughs so that someone can get various different endings and variations on each playthrough to make each one feel unique as you cannot complete everything in one playthrough, much less your first which does lock you out of certain content.

However, the gameplay does not support multiple playthroughs. Each playthrough is very lengthy and time consuming, while the means of playing the game being tiring after even just one playthrough. The VN portions while having decent albeit young adult writing, can start to feel dull due to the text window needing a bit more refinement. The day to day movement along the map while being charming at the start begins to overstay its welcome due to the way it handles finding collectables which are very helpful with low respawn rates and also when events come up with certain characters, requiring you to run around the entire map every day to ensure nothing new came up. Furthermore, while the card game is interesting and fun at the start, it overstays its welcome and gets extremely tedious later on, especially once you start doing a lot of expeditions outside of the colony where you do multiple card game checks a day. The game just doesn't support multiple playthroughs through its gameplay, since it gets dull halfway through your first playthrough and will only get worse as you get to other playthroughs.

Speaking of, in your first playthrough there are many things you cannot do until your second playthrough, which does lock out some things. This would be really cool and something I would praise the game for, but its rough when each playthrough is so incredibly draining that I do not think I can handle a full second playthrough despite the good ideas behind it. As it is, this does mean the game locks you out of being able to get with one of the 2 women characters that will actually stay with your character in the ending, since 2/3 of the women characters you can date in your first playthrough will break up with you and sleep around with others after it despite you telling said character you're fine with open relationships, which can feel a bit problematic considering everyone in this game is bisexual so 2/3 first route romances with bi women end in getting broken up with for them to mess around feeling like a harmful stereotype. Speaking of, a lot of progressive ideas in this game can feel almost regressive or problematic at times which can be quite rough. While it has some interesting things to say about gender, some stereotypes and how it expresses polyamory, open relationships, and sexuality in general can be very rough. I will say I will always appreciate a piece of media that tries and fails to explore LGBTQ+ topics than one that doesn't bother at all, but it still bears bringing up.

Definitely a very ambitious, creative, and interesting game that is dragged down by a tedious gameplay loop that doesn't evolve enough as the game progresses to be able to support all the content in the game. Which is a shame, since there is a lot of good content in this game post a first playthrough that is worth exploring. I will probably get back to other playthroughs another time, but right now I feel it would be unfair to be trudging through gameplay I am burned out on to get to the new content.

An incredible game about relationships, capitalism, colonialism, and what it means to be human.

It's one of the most touching video game stories I've played. A story that can wrap around you like a cozy blanket, only to tear you away and toss you out into the rain.

I don’t normally NG+ games because I have so much to play but I immediately jumped back in the moment credits rolled. There’s a compelling time loop mechanic that provides context for it.

I’m kicking myself for not having played it at launch. If you've had even a slight interest in Twine, I highly recommend it.

I would call this game a surprisingly cool smaller rpg. Even without knowing what you're doing, a run(or route if you prefer) only eats up about 8 hours of your time. Getting through what's basically a quick visual novel route can just be a cozy little thing you do for a day or weekend. One thing I was actually surprised I liked was that the card games were skill checks. It made every check feel like you could pass it with what you had on hand. You aren't blaming rng for shitty dice rolls or getting pissed off you didn't upgrade your speed to 50. It's a wonderful system that I hope the devs or possibly someone else will use again. Dys is best boy, Tang best girl, I hate Rex and Vace.

Despite its Sci-Fi setting I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, like few other games I have played, encapsules what it is like growing up.
To become an adult, see you friends grow up into real humans with opinions and hopes and dreams that sometimes mesh with yours, and sometimes clash. Some people you will be close to forever, some you might grow apart from.
Discovering romance and sex, in all its innocence and awkwardness and sweetness. Celebrate birthdays. Morn losses.
Look back at it all, years later, realizing that you truly are a combination of everything you ve ever met, and everything that ever happened to you

An excellent bit of sci-fi writing with enough gameplay chunkiness to be engaging for people who need a bit of that anchor (like myself). Starts off precious but quickly Gets Real, and then takes a deft hand with pretty much everything it brings up throughout the playthrough, not the least of which is the thorniness of colonization as a concept regardless of whether there is a native people to bulldoze or not. Despite outward appearances, this is not some cozy hangout game, and there are moments of real violence and struggle that were a pleasant surprise. The game bits are easy but engaging enough to string you along with a bit of strategy and numbers going up, and metaphorically tie into the conceit of the game nicely. Was also very impressed with how multiple playthroughs are contextualized, though admittedly being sent back to the beginning with my little baby deck was deflationary enough for me to not go for it - would be nice to try one day though.

proper review coming when i get through more playthroughs but i just have to get this out: this game has some bonafide pure autism flavor CRACK in it.....tell me why i spent AN ENTIRE DAY playing this, literally trapped in tism'd tunnel vision trying to make That Stupid JROTC Twunk go to therapy. the PERILS of good character design the PERILS of promising + relatable early characterization the PERILS of dropping lore as insane as [insert genetic enhancement] right as im starting to get tired of his ass. just pissed me off so bad omggg [character in abusive relationship/Psychological Bondage with twunk] i UNDERSTAND you, we are sisterwives atp

anyway ive given up on that endeavor bc like i have a LIFE and a HOME and a MAN and PHOTOSENSITIVITY and RENT TO PAY i cannot be glued to the SteamDeck® like this! i really just got so irked that I didn't get the outcome i was casually seeking out that i spent hours backtracking and/or save-scumming (if it should be called that in such a game) to resolve the frustration and dissonance. classic erik moment #MentalHealthMatters

unfortunately this mental reset will NOT free me from this game's clutches (ive done three? four?playthroughs, technically) bc every playthrough my blue hair and pronouns femme queen will stumble upon a piece of interesting game-changing lore that i know i can learn more about it if i reincarnate and start EngineerMaxxing from birth 😭 Nigerian Father Mode ON ☝🏿

anyway . shit need to come with a surgeon generals warning.....its 5 am, i have work today......five stars

This game is compelling for a plethora of reasons but my reason for not being able to put this game down is because I wasn't satisfied with the endings I was getting. Because of that I kept playing and each playthrough, each session there was something new to learn whether it be about the world or the characters I loved that.

Starting off with the music it works in tandem with the game being effective when it wants to be and being unconcerned and peaceful otherwise. I daresay this is my favorite cast of characters in any game of all time I could only find one I didn't like but that's because I personally found him revolting but he could also be the best and I'm just missing out. The main plot is great. The art is very good. The gameplay is in a interesting spot for me. I like it and had trouble understanding it to its core but once you do it just clicks.

This is a must-play if you don't mind reading and love getting enthralled with a great world with amazing characters.

An insanely addictive game with engrossing life sim/RPG elements intermingled with the story. While I generally didn't find the actual writing particularly compelling, the gameplay and story integration is very satisfying and the characters are likeable and interesting enough. I hesitate to give it a full 5 stars because while it's a very finely-crafted experience I don't know that it's one that will necessary stay with me for a while, but it's up there as some of the most fun I have had with a game.

He leído en varios sitios que el juego tarda en arrancar, pero tras 4 horas del mismo bucle jugable, creo que ya le he dado oportunidades suficientes para que me sorprenda. Pese a que la idea es interesante y algunos de los dilemas que plantea pueden estar bien escritos, el juego falla prácticamente en todo lo demás:

- El apartado artístico es muy mediocre. Las ilustraciones de los personajes no varían ni un ápice para mostrar ninguna emoción. Casi ningún evento va acompañado por imágenes, solo por textos.
- El juego de cartas, pese a ser entretenido por momentos, es muuuuuy básico y se vuelve repetitivo con demasiada prontitud.
- Como he comentado anteriormente, el bucle jugable no varía prácticamente nada durante el juego, con la única decisión como jugador de qué barrita subir ese mes.

This was a roller coaster, where I'd experience highs of genuine awe realising just how far I could affect my own character's, and the world's, fate, then lows of utter disappointment at how meaningless so many interactions with the core cast of the game actually are, and how little they truly matter. The art, by Bkomei, is spectacular, and the overall execution of this extremely promising idea is positive, but a core aspect of the game feels unfinished. Still, a game that so effectively blends visual novel elements with a life simulation game and deck building aspects is one of a kind.