Art direction is off the chain. Stylish as hell with a point of view. Gamifies language learning in a way I've never seen before. The gameplay system for decoding the languages is stunningly simple, elegant, and flexible. It rewards observation and inferences, and it genuinely tickled the part of my brain that I used taking language courses in school.
Only a couple of minor gripes. I echo those who feel the stealth seems shoehorned in. Easily the weakest element of the game. It's not what I'm here for. That said, at least it breaks up what would otherwise be gameplay largely made up of jogging up and down the environment. My only other complaint is that the difficulty scaling seems off. I found the third language the most challenging by far to piece together, while the last was disappointingly easy; translating almost all of it relies on linking cognates from the previous languages in a contrived way. This is a mechanic used sparingly throughout the rest of the game. It makes the final stretch somewhat less satisfying than it otherwise could be.
All in all, though, an exceptional title. Absolutely worthy of the praise it received in 2023.

French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir argues in her 1947 book The Ethics of Ambiguity that 'existence precedes essence;' that the personality and the core beliefs of each human individual is defined through their environment and their actions, and that the challenges that allow those personality-shaping events are the ones that truly test the scope of the limits between their limitations and potential, their past against their future, the comfort of familiarity against the fear of the unknown.

"I Was a Teenage Exocolonist" is a quiet meditation on this and other questions asked by de Beauvoir and her fellow existentialists, packaged stealthily in the wrappings of a Solarpunk-themed dating game. Beneath the cotton candy colored environment of Vertumna and the egregiously tumblr-era character designs lies one of the best narrative experiences I've had in years, one that manages to succeed at the challenge of remaining both replayable and emotionally impactful. IWATE introduces the concepts of string theory, mortality, identity, collectivism, and on and on and on as each character you meet lives, grows, dies, lives again, and becomes a different person entirely.

When asked about the passing of her lover, the famed philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, de Beauvoir simply said "His death does not separate us. My death will not bring us together again. That is how things are. It is in itself splendid that we were able to live our lives in harmony for so long.” Vertumna asks you to spend ten years with it before it lets you go, and readily welcomes you back again for the next loop of a cycle that continues on into infinity. But each of those cycles of ten years creates a unique you, and the life you live with its people is truly splendid.

ps: rex is best boy, even with the dumb tattoo, fight me

Gone Home’s world building is sublime. Purely with interactable objects in your family home, that you find abandoned on your return from travelling around Europe, the game manages to tell so many rich and relatable stories. Most of these stories have satisfying arcs as you discover more and more of the house’s secrets. I love how interacting with certain items triggers wonderfully voice acted audio diaries from your sister and how a series of letters details the downward spiral of your Dad’s failed writing career. The house itself is rich with detail and has a spooky, ominous tone which I personally would’ve liked the game to lean more into, as this aspect of world building is just brushed aside towards the end of the game. I also would’ve appreciated more complex interactions with the environment, perhaps with puzzles to open up different areas of the house. Regardless, the game’s narrative is fantastic and for the short time it took me to complete, I was completely lost in this incredibly well-crafted experience.

2013 Ranked
Indie Recommendations

look half the year hasnt even pass yet but i know this is the best game ill ever play in 2021 this game really hit close to home and everything from the art to the music to the story was SO GOOD!!!! !! !! i really enjoyed the entire ride!!!!

also the roller coaster ride from the high you get seeing michelle with sam and the anxiety you get from michelle confronting her mother after forgetting to let her know she will be home late for the nth time truly had me on edge. the real victim of the story was the expensive fish maw soup michelles mom made that just went down the drain